You can configure AirPort Express wireless routers to work as standalone devices, connecting your computers wirelessly to your internet modem and other networked devices. You can also use multiple AirPort devices, including AirPort Express and AirPort Extreme routers, to extend your wireless network across your home or office. Connecting the devices by Ethernet usually gives the best result. Generally, the WAN port on a router connects to the device that connects it to the internet, while the LAN port connects to other local devices. Once the devices are wired together, make sure they're all turned on.
Setting Up Airport Express: 4 Steps (with Pictures)
There was a time when connecting to the Internet meant sitting at a desktop computer that was connected to a short yet expensive Ethernet cable. And this was a relative luxury compared to yesteryear, when you needed a modem connected to gasp a landline-based phone system. Nowadays, wireless Internet is practically ubiquitous, thanks in part to devices such as the Apple AirPort Express. The AirPort Express is meant to let you create a wireless Internet access point anywhere -- at home, in a hotel room or just about any place you need a fast, dependable connection. It also lets you stream all sorts of multimedia goodies to various devices and extend the range of an existing wireless network. You can even use AirPort to add wireless connectivity to any device, such as a gaming console, that's equipped with an Ethernet port but not its own wireless card. That's a lot of features for a device that's only 3.
You can also download it from Apple. After unpacking your Airport Express, connect the ethernet cable from your jack to the ethernet port on the Airport Express. Plug the AC adapter into an electrical outlet. Make sure the wireless card on your computer is enabled and turned on. Connect to the Apple Airport Express, which will most likely appear as Apple Network followed by some letters.
Because the hardware is no longer being sold and the software no longer being maintained by Apple, we are no longer updating this article. The AirPort Express is still available on the secondary market, though. The instructions in this article should still roughly apply to models bought that way, though some exact steps may have changed. Apple's AirPort Express Wi-Fi base station lets you wirelessly share devices like speakers or printers with other computers.