Apple AirPort Express [2012] Reviewed

[thetoad30]

Forgive me for this post. I'm not an avid Apple fanboy or supporter, but in this instance I believe you might have missed the point of the new Apple Airport Express.

I saw it come out and I knew immediately that I was going to get one. I have never purchased one before, but now that it's been redesigned and is less intrusive, I believe it fits in exactly where I want it to - as a wireless roaming AP that will also serve up my music to my home theater system.

To use this as a router - yes, I agree with you, it's really not for that and lacks lots of features. I am surprised they didn't have gigabit ports for one. That would have been a really nice feature.

But to use this as a supplemental wireless AP to also to do what it was intended to do - extend airplay to any 3.5" minijack device - is where this product really shines.

Another thing I have noticed with Apple wireless APs - they are stable and fast. Maybe not the fastest in the most ideal conditions, but they get the job done very painlessly. No fumbling with open source firmwares, no relying on the companies' firmware updates. They work out of the box (one of the few things Apple makes that truly does). For wireless, they should be what every manufacturer strives to provide. For features, well, like I said, they lack.

To reiterate, Apple is not my favorite company. I deplore most of what they do with their products - making it extremely simple for the user instead of letting the user decide how to use a product.

But in this case, simple is definitely better. You plug it in, you plug in an audio cable, and it's sending music to your device in minutes.

I can't even configure a USB drive in another vendor's router in that amount of time.

Thank you.

 

[thiggins]

Forgive me for this post. I'm not an avid Apple fanboy or supporter, but in this instance I believe you might have missed the point of the new Apple Airport Express.

Thanks for your report. No offense taken.

How did I miss the point of the Express? Given that Apple gave it the ability to act as a full-fledged wireless router, I just reviewed it that way. The wireless performance results are interesting whether the product is used as a router or extension AP.

 

[thetoad30]

Thanks for your report. No offense taken.

How did I miss the point of the Express? Given that Apple gave it the ability to act as a full-fledged wireless router, I just reviewed it that way. The wireless performance results are interesting whether the product is used as a router or extension AP.

While I certainly see your point, I would have to say that the fact that Apple gave it those capabilities would be an addition, not the main point of the product.

So I guess, since I'm more familiar/a power user with wireless routers (thanks to this site and my techiness), I see it from a different perspective. I see it as an AP/bridge first, and a router only as a last resort. In fact, I even see the Extreme that way, to be honest. I feel that Apple has left the power routing up to the rest of the market (or they just don't know how to tackle it) and have developed a no-nonsense way of wireless networking.

But, yes, as you reported, the routing features are very limited. I'm not saying that you shouldn't have reported this - in fact, I appreciate the thoroughness of the report. I'm merely saying that while reporting the negative aspect of the routing features it seems to overshadow how fantastic of a bridge/roaming AP/music server this product is.

Again, makes me sick to come to Apple's defense, but this is one product I think does more than it's predecessor and does what it's predecessor did even better.

 

[sfx2000]

I'm not sure what you mean about it's routing functions being limited?

They're competitive with other gear... name a couple of features that mainstream users would need from a router... it's not a NAS, and most AP's that have NAS functionality are fairly limited in what they can do...

The big thing is that the AP Express has always been more of a travel type of router, and there it has a bit more limitations, but still decent...

 

[sfx2000]

Thanks for your report. No offense taken.

How did I miss the point of the Express? Given that Apple gave it the ability to act as a full-fledged wireless router, I just reviewed it that way. The wireless performance results are interesting whether the product is used as a router or extension AP.

I thought it was a fair review actually... and I noticed the unbalanced links, but considering the use case of a travel router, where I'm less that 20 meters away, it's not a deal breaker - I've got the 802.11n previous gen, and this would be a nice replacement when the older passes on...

 

[thetoad30]

I'm not sure what you mean about it's routing functions being limited?

They're competitive with other gear... name a couple of features that mainstream users would need from a router... it's not a NAS, and most AP's that have NAS functionality are fairly limited in what they can do...

The big thing is that the AP Express has always been more of a travel type of router, and there it has a bit more limitations, but still decent...

No port forwarding. No SPI firewall. Both radios have to be on at the same time. As a travel router, it's killer. As a bridge, killer.

I'm just saying that the focus on the routing abilities is like focusing on the NAS part of a router... it's not really intended to do that. That's all I was saying.

Again, not disagreeing that the routing is not that good. Not disagreeing with anything said in the article. Merely pointing out that nothing was stated about it's other functions, where it really does shine. That's all.

 

[sfx2000]

No port forwarding. No SPI firewall. Both radios have to be on at the same time. As a travel router, it's killer. As a bridge, killer.

I'm just saying that the focus on the routing abilities is like focusing on the NAS part of a router... it's not really intended to do that. That's all I was saying.

Again, not disagreeing that the routing is not that good. Not disagreeing with anything said in the article. Merely pointing out that nothing was stated about it's other functions, where it really does shine. That's all.

Actually, it does do port forwarding, all airport devices do.

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3414

BTW, the updated version of Apple Airport Util 6.x also let's you forward ports and also supports DMZ

SPI firewall - Airport devices run NetBSD, and IPFilter is enabled - this is a stateful firewall, and it's always enabled, Apple doesn't expose the switch to disable. - it does permit ICMP ping packets, but that is all unless you specifically forward ports manual or thru NAT-PMP (similar to uPnP without the nasty Microsoft after-taste) - oh, BTW, their FW also works with IPv6, and again, it's stateful, trust me...

http://www.phildev.net/ipf/long.html

Enable/Disable Radio Bands - ok. got me there, but not a major deal breaker for a dual band router...

BTW - Guest Network is also available on both bands... but I'm sure someone will complain about that.

 

[sfx2000]

@Tim - you have the 2012 AP Express - what's the heating like?

I've got the older model, and when working hard, it gets pretty warm - for me it's a travel device these days, but for those who want to bridge/extend, the heat factor with an internal PS can be a factor for longer life...

Thx!

 

[thiggins]

I did not use it for extended periods. It was not warm to the touch at any point. But I did not pay close attention to this.

 

[sfx2000]

WiFi Cert here...

http://certifications.wi-fi.org/pdf_certificate.php?cid=WFA15436

@Tim - can you update the article?

sfx

 

[thiggins]

Tim - can you update the article?

Article has been updated

 

[sfx2000]

Just wanted to add a few quick words... picked one up over the weekend, as I had a need to replace my AP Extreme (son is going to college, needs it for the dorm).

1) It's a small router, no GiGe ports, and only a single port on the LAN side - this is a step up from the previous AP Express where a single port could be either WAN or LAN, but Apple gives and takes away... the ports now are dedicated

2) At the 802.11n PHY - the 2012 edition brings in LDPC and STBC support for the 802.11n physical layer - this is a plus when extending from a 2011 gen AP Extreme/Time Capsule, as it does reduce overhead and increases range a bit.

3) Dual Band Support - cannot disable radios, but can offer different SSID's - not a big deal, but something that some might consider when building out extended networks - the extended AP can only support a single SSID - this wasn't an issue with earlier editions of the Airport Express, but something to consider now (no different that using simultaneous dual band Airport Extremes however, the same concern exists there)

4) As a travel router - the change in form factor with the external AC cable, as opposed to the option previously of having fold-out prongs - it's going to take up more space in your traveling kit

5) Airport Util - supported under current IOS builds without problem - Windows and Snow Leopard have the best support with Airport Util 5.6.1, under Lion 6.1 is required, and 5.6 for Lion is not supported - this can be a significant gripe if you're managing many Airport Devices, and prefer the 5.6.x logging capabilities which is lacking in 6.1

5b) Airport Util 5.6.1 or 6.1 is required to administer this device - WinXP is not supported for admin (it is supported as a client STA), and Mac users must be at 10.5.7 or 10.6.8 at a minimum for admin purposes

6) Guest Networking - confirmed that Guest Network is dual band and supports it's own Authentication credentials. Primary network can support two SSID's (one for 2.4GHz, one for 5GHz), the Guest Network can only support a single SSID for both bands. It is important to note, if Guest Networking is enabled, it is both bands, cannot be locked into 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz

6b) Apple's version of Guest Networking is only for the primary AP, not for extended AP's, and only the Primary SSID can be extended.

7) Performance - decent in close range, mid-range subjectively with a dual stream client performance is similar to the Airport Extreme, longer range it falls short. Interesting thing to note, the older 802.11n Express supported 10 concurrent users, Apple is stating the 2012 edition supports 50 concurrent users

8) Other - the older Expresses ran very warm, and heating may be an issue for prolonged usage when acting as a repeater or as an AirTunes client - I can say the 2012 runs much cooler in that regard.

All in all, not a bad effort - there are other travel/small routers at a better price point, but if you have a Airport centric network, and are used to managing these devices, one gets most of the useful capabilities of the Extreme (no USB disk sharing) at a better price. The WAF factor is also a strong consideration, it's not as ugly as most routers, so in the AP extension role, easier to deal with.

I'd rate it as a solid 8 of 10 based on a couple of days experience.

@Tim - fix page 2 of the review, the comment that the device does not have WiFi alliance approval needs to be fixed there as well.

 

[smellalot]

3) Dual Band Support - cannot disable radios, but can offer different SSID's - not a big deal, but something that some might consider when building out extended networks - the extended AP can only support a single SSID - this wasn't an issue with earlier editions of the Airport Express, but something to consider now (no different that using simultaneous dual band Airport Extremes however, the same concern exists there)

8) Other - the older Expresses ran very warm, and heating may be an issue for prolonged usage when acting as a repeater or as an AirTunes client - I can say the 2012 runs much cooler in that regard.

Hi, thanks for the useful information. Hope you are still around to read my post

Did I get this right: the APX extends only one SSID, but both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz? Or will it only extend one frequency?

Regarding the heat: my 2. gen APX gets really hot doing nothing (32°C outside). So I ruled that model out for use as my main router. Regarding life time/ heat dissipation, should I get an AP Express 2012 or an AP Extreme 2011? Which one runs cooler?

Really hope you read this and help me. I couldn't find a lot on this topic on google.

 

[sfx2000]

When using any 802.11n based Airport to extend a network, it will only extend the primary SSID, the Guest SSID cannot be extended.

Dual-Band Airports, when used as an extension, will extend only the primary SSID on both bands. If you use different SSID's for 2.4 and 5Ghz, the SSID extended will be the one that you set up when you attach - and that will be used for both bands on the extended Airport.

As for the 2012 variant of the Airport Express - it runs much cooler than the previous generation.

 

[Recoil]

The firewall in the AirPort Express may have less ways to configure it than others in this price range, but is it actually any less secure than the firewall in your average Asus or Netgear router?

 

[thiggins]

The firewall in the AirPort Express may have less ways to configure it than others in this price range, but is it actually any less secure than the firewall in your average Asus or Netgear router?

No. It's a NAT firewall and is secure enough if you don't open ports.

 

[sfx2000]

Agreed - and no matter in any event - Even if you have a Router/AP that has SPI, open ports or a DMZ host, you have no Firewall on those ports/hosts.

 

[jms703]

Works great for travel

I bought one of these and I must say that it works great, especially for travel or temporary setups.

Configuration is very simple. The device doesn't get very warm, and doesn't use very much power.

Very happy with the product.

(it's not my primary router)

 

[Unregistered]

Doesn't work reliably with external DACs (even if the old model did)

But to use this as a supplemental wireless AP to also to do what it was intended to do - extend airplay to any 3.5" minijack device - is where this product really shines.

This model doesn't work well at all with external DACs. If you are using an older airport express to stream music to an external DAC, stick with the old one. This model produces too much jutter and most DACS loose their link to the airport express every few seconds resulting in stuttering music.

This is only a problem when using fiber out to an external DAC. If you use the internal DAC and connect it with copper to an preamp/amp then you will be fine.

 

[sfx2000]

This model doesn't work well at all with external DACs. If you are using an older airport express to stream music to an external DAC, stick with the old one. This model produces too much jutter and most DACS loose their link to the airport express every few seconds resulting in stuttering music.

This is only a problem when using fiber out to an external DAC. If you use the internal DAC and connect it with copper to an preamp/amp then you will be fine.

Firmware is still pretty green on the APExpress 2012 - for remote audio, the older APExpress has high marks - it's one of those things, if a working install is in place, leave it alone.

But this is good info for those moving forward as the older APExpress units now have to be sourced from Craigslist/Ebay/Amazon...