Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (Gigabit) MB053LL/A

10 Review to this product

• 

  Jacob Parks
  October 23rd, 2010 on 10:51 am

  Rating

  Let me just start by saying that I am completely bias on Apple products. I have a MacBook Pro. I have talked family members into buying Apple’s. I have convinced people where I work to get Apple machines for video purposes. The reason I keep doing this is because the products just work.

  I bought the Airport and had it up and running in less than 5 min. I went in and did some tweaking of course, but total time was still less than 30 min.

  The Airport had a firmware update which I was alerted to from Apple’s Software Update. That was downloaded and installed quickly. The router rebooted and I was good to go. Services which didn’t work before between my computer and MacBook ( Such as iTunes sharing ) started to work. My MacBook no longer has issues joining my wireless network after waking up, and I have great range.

  I say if you don’t have a router, don’t waste your money on something cheaper. You get what you pay for.
  
• 

  Big Bear
  October 23rd, 2010 on 12:53 pm

  Rating

  First, I have to comment about another reviewers statement that the Airport doesnt work with XP SP2. I set it up wirelessly for my wifes Dell that has XP SP2 on it and have no problems whatsoever. The setup was simple and as with most Apple products it walks you through the process and I had her computer up and running within 10 minutes. If you need to share a (PC) printer through the Airport, it includes Bonjour software which will walk you through the set up process for a pc and in an additional 10 minutes she was printing from the Airport as well. If you have a Mac it’s even simpler. The data throughput is exceptional and I have never had a problem with a sluggish connection. The range is also pretty impressive as my wife will sometimes go out on the deck (the Airport is on the second floor on the opposite side of the house) and has never had a problem. I recently switched to this router after using a another “n” router and had quite a few problems with it. The Airport is the type of device that Microsoft has never mastered…a true plug and play device.
• 

  Bradley
  October 23rd, 2010 on 7:22 pm

  Rating

  I own an iMac G5, a Nintendo Wii, an Airport Express, a Nintendo DS, a HP Printer, and an XBox 360, and this thing works flawlessly with all of them. I can’t speak for Windows based PC’s, but the Airport Extreme was a breeze to setup on the Mac. The new Airport layout does most of the work for you and all you have to do is click when it tells you to. So simple a caveman could…well, you know.

  *One note: If you install it, it says its working, but you’re still not on the internet, then restart your cable provider’s box and when it comes back on you’ll be up and running. This didn’t happen to me, but it did happen to a friend of mine. Just thought I’d pass the word.
• 

  Stephen M. Charme
  October 24th, 2010 on 11:22 pm

  Rating

  I use this router to connect to the internet wirelessly with both my new MacBook and my 4-year old IBM Thinkpad T40(for which I need backward compatibility for 11g), and through an ethernet cable with my desktop pc. All three computers share the same printer.

  I gave this unit 5 stars even though setup was a nightmare because I don’t think it was the fault of the unit. My internet provider is Comcast, and for whatever reasons the base station was not recognized until I plugged the ethernet cable from my cable modem directly into my MacBook. I then had to unplug and restart the cable modem several times before the Airport Extreme finally picked up the correct IP address, DNS Server info etc. Finally, I had to go into manual setup and change to a specific channel number rather than obtaining a channel automatically because I was getting interference. I wound up with level 2 Apple tech support to walk me through all of this.

  In retrospect, I think that I should have intially unplugged my existing wireless router (even though it was no longer connected to my cable modem) and also unplugged both the power cord and phone cord to my cordless 2.4 phone, as I ultimately did, since these may have contributed to my setup problem, though I am not sure.

  Once the unit was setup, it worked great. Even though I cannot take advantage of the highest speed because I need bacwards compatibility for my PC laptop, there is still a noticeable improvement in wireless range.

  As for the printer setup, I also needed some help from Apple tech support. I discovered that if you are using Bonjour on a PC, you need to download the sofware from Apple’s site because that download for some reason contains components that are not available in the software on the CD that comes with the unit. Once I downloaded from the Apple site, everything worked fine.

  Apple tech support is very helpful, so don’t hesitate to call them.

  The unit has a nice appearance, and unlike my previous router, has no antenna sticking up. In addition, it was a breeze to set up a secure wireless connection on my MacBook, and with only minor configuration I was able to do the same on both my laptop and Palm T/X.

  Once I got past the setup problems, which I don’t necessarily blame on the unit, it was a pleasure to use it and I am happy with my purchase.

  Update March 22, 2009: I recently switched from Comcast to Verizon Fios, which requires using their wireless G router, which works fine for my PCs. However, I wanted to use my Airport Extreme for my Macbook to get the benefit of the wireless N protocol. I just plugged my Airport Extreme into the Verizon router and created a second wireless network. It was not too difficult, though I did have to call Apple Tech support to figure something out.
• 

  G. Ware Cornell Jr.
  October 25th, 2010 on 3:41 pm

  Rating

  Apple can tell you a lot of good reasons to buy almost any of its products. I should know because I have bought an awful lot of them.

  But I did not “get” why I might want Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (Gigabit) MB053LL/A. It is true the base station was adopted for the new 802.11n draft standard, but my two Macs predate the introduction of either the standard (which is still in draft) and the base station. So I figured to take advantage of the extreme speed increase 802.11n offered over 802.11g, I would need at a minimum a new air card, adding significantly to the cost.

  I even stood around the Apple Store staring at the box for the Airport Extreme trying to figure out why I might want to spend a significant amount of money for a base station whose capabilities required even more money to be spent. So I didn’t get it.

  At home I continued to ask myself that question, and then in a MacWorld blog I found the answer. I wasn’t even sure I had the right information so I called Apple and the product specialist had to look it up to confirm it.

  OK so what should Apple have told us right off the bat? It is this:

  ALMOST ALL INTEL-BASED CORE DUO iMAC, MACBOOK, AND MACBOOK PRO MODELS ARE PRECONFIGURED FOR 802.11n.

  The software for the base station includes unlocking software for you Mac. Install the software after you have plugged in the base and you will fly. This base station allows for very high-speed wireless connections.

  So why is this product worth $179 when you have a perfectly good 802.11g router running your system? That is sort of like asking why you might want a Ferrari to replace your Ford Focus. Speed, speed, speed.
• 

  esanta
  October 26th, 2010 on 5:43 am

  Rating

  I have been using many wireless routers (Linksys, D-Link, SMC, Netgear, Siemens…) over the years, since the early days of 802.11b, but this is my first experience with an Apple router (second, really: I’ve just replaced my first generation Airport Extreme router with this one which has a Gigabit switch instead of the original 100BT, so this is an update of the review I posted for the original model)

  There is no need to comment on the manufacturing quality, design and packaging: in typical Apple fashion, they’re miles ahead of the competition. For instance, unlike all the other routers I ever used that came with a 110v only power supply, the Airport Extreme Base Station (AEBS for short) comes with a universal worldwide power supply equipped with a standard power cord.

  Performancewise, it is exceptional. I have been putting it through its paces over the past few days and it’s barely breaking a sweat in situations where my previous routers (Linksys WRT54G and Netgear WGN824) would progressively get slower, or just plain crash and require a reboot. Coverage is excellent, better than my WGN824′s which was already quite impressive.

  Apple has traditionally be doing things differently, and it shows here again: unlike most routers, which are managed by accessing a built-in web server, this router can only be configured using the “Airport Utility” configuration program. The bundled CD contains a Mac OS X and a Windows version of the utility (I can already hear groans from the Linux geeks). The utility is extremely simple to use, although I haven’t tried to use the more advanced features such as setting up another router like the Airport Express as a range extender.

  One problem you might run into is the lack of support for “legacy” devices: although the AEBS offers a compatibility mode with WEP devices called “WEP (Transitional)” which lets WEP and WPA coexist, this mode imposes restrictions on the keys that may not work for you (for instance you won’t be able to reuse an existing 40-bit WEP key). The problem is that WEP-40 and WEP-128 are not compatible with the 802.11n standard, so you have to choose between speed or full backwards compatibility. Also, you should know that WEP-40 and WEP-128 are not very secure: there are utilities out there that can crack these keys easily.

  Note that 802.11n gives a significant speed boost to the AppleTV and laptops equipped with compatible cards (such as Apple’s Core 2 Duo laptops with the 802.11n enabler installed — you can find the enabler on the AEBS CD). Unless you own one of these machines, there is no harm in switching to a non-802.11n radio mode. How? Just hold the command key (or control on Windows) while clicking on the “Radio Mode” popup in the Wireless tab of the AEBS configuration utility. Extra, non-n modes appear in the list, and once one is selected the WEP-40 and WEP-128 modes become available under Security. If you select WEP-40 or WEP-128 security, you can enter a hex key by prefixing it with a dollar sign.

  The AEBS also comes with a versatile USB port, which can be used to attach hard disks and/or a printer (USB hubs are supported). Unlike other base stations or NAS boxes, the AEBS does not require that you reformat the disk; all you have to do is plug it in and voilà! Instant NAS, all your files show up on the network. Some very basic access control features are provided. I plugged in the external USB drive I use to backup my MacBook, and now I can do automated backups without having to worry about remembering to plug in the drive: it just works wirelessly. The AEBS also lets you share a USB printer.

  Now that Apple has released the Time Capsule devices, they’ve also released a version of firmware (7.3.1) that supports Time Machine in similar fashion. Unfortunately some people complain that this feature does not work reliably for them. I’ve experienced a more annoying problem: the Nortel Contivity VPN software I use to connect to my office network no longer works reliably. I found out on Apple’s forums that this is a fairly common complaint and a known problem, so I assume it will be fixed in the next release; reverting firmware to version 7.2.1 fixed the problem (and disabled Time Machine support).

  In conclusion, this router is a fantastic performer. Although it’s one of the most expensive 802.11n routers out there, its feature set, build quality, performance and top-notch customer support more than make up for the price difference. Despite a couple of quirks, I recommend it highly — although if you need Time Machine support you’re better off buying Time Capsule at least until Apple addresses the problems in firmware 7.3.1.

  EDIT – Firmware 7.3.2 was released on 6/30/2008, and I have had no problems using the Nortel Contivity VPN since installing it.
• 

  S Myers
  October 26th, 2010 on 2:15 pm

  Rating

  I originally purchased a Netgear WNR854T (Wireless-N gigabit router). I had nothing but problems trying to get this to work. Internet connection kept dropping or connection to router from PC would go down.

  I eventually gave up and purchased the Apple Airport Extreme as a replacement.

  The Apple Airport was easy to setup. I was on the Internet literally within 10 minutes without any issues. My PC to the Airport is connecting at gigabit speed via one of the lan connectors on the back.

  I haven’t had any problems with it all. The utility to configure the Airport is easy for the novice or the more experienced who want to manually configure some of the Airport’s options.

  I used a Netgear wireless-N adapter to connect from a pc in another part of the house. Works fine with the Apple Airport.

  A Nintendo Wii connects and works perfectly with the wireless connection.
• 

  bigoil
  October 26th, 2010 on 6:08 pm

  Rating

  First off don’t be put off by the price, you can get this used from Apple for only $150 (full warranty) or even less on resale sites. The main advantages of this router are steady (but not super spectacular) speed, rock steady performance, and the incredible ability to mount MAC formatted HFS+ disks and FAT 32 disks with USB connections and any usb printer so that all your computers can read/write/print to them (I don’t run linux so can’t vouch for that OS.)

  I recently upgraded both the PC’s (two thinkpads with gigabit wired/ABG wireless and a WMC box I built myself) with our nest of Macs (three minis, G4, G5, ipod touch, ibook) and successively worked my way up from our old Linksys GS up to two new linksys N routers (110 and 310) and the Dlink DIR-655) Never though to look at the Airport since its 50% more expensive than the others. However I wanted gigabit ethernet and needed to access two specific DNS routers for our company VPN. The only one that would do this was the Dlink, (the VPN feature is flaky on the new Linksys models) but none of them had a network USB port so I tried the apple on a whim and am glad I did. Its not as easy to set-up with its arcane menus but it does have an utility that works fine with either PC’s or Macs that are hardwired to the router, and it easy to save the settings even if its difficult to find them, thank Heaven for the user groups!
  
  Anyway I have an old HP laser printer and two USB dirves hooked up to this, one was the dedicated backup for the G5, and much to my surprise I can see and print/access all of them from our thinkpads. That right there is more than worth the price difference. As for raw speed the D-Link seems faster on our mixed G/N network though the signal strength from the Airport is stronger a few rooms away than any of the others. Interesting in that the apple seems to have a setting that affects the speed it downloads video files so they don’t timeout on buffering. All the other routers would hiccup when I was looking at CNN, film trailers, or other internet news feeds, but not the airport – its sweet and stable and makes watching all those video clips way too easy.
  
  There are a few cons, being an apple product it integrates flawlessly with the Apple hardware, but since my laptops are company secured we can’t run bonjour so we had to hardwire access to the disk drives and printers (again thanks to Google and user groups) And it takes a while to handshake with one of our laptops running WPA2 security, but doesn’t drop it once it locks on.
  
  If you didn’t care for the port options and were only running PC’s I think the DLink would be the better choice, its under $100 now and work well in mixed mode like we have and kicks at pure N. The linksys 310 was and okay contender, but wouldn’t keep the VPN settings which I need to access our company servers, and it runs pretty hot.
• 

  Shannon R. Primeaux
  October 28th, 2010 on 1:49 pm

  Rating

  I had a Linksys router before I purchased this one that served me well. However, I began getting too many signal drops. I decided it was time to purchase a new router. I thought this was going to be easy, but it wasn’t. I purchased another Linksys router, but I kept getting a signal drop occasionally on my Macbook. It was driving me crazy. I returned it and purchased a D-Link router. I experienced the same problem – dropped signals. So, I bit my lip and bought the Apple Airport – the most money I ever spent on a router. I was at my wits end. Since this was my first Apple router, I wasn’t going to wing it in installing it on my computers (a Windows Vista desktop, Dell laptop running Windows XP SP2, and Macbook) – so I called Apple support. Awesome support, let me tell you. The guy walked me through everything I needed to do to set up the router and get all the computer’s connected to it. I also have my Canon printer connected through it through the USB port. It works fantastic as well! So far, and I had this router for about 4 months now, I received no dropped signal at all.

  Also, let me mention that I have a Nintendo DS that I also use with this router and I’ve had no problem setting it up either.

  Needless to say, I am EXTREMELY pleased with this purchase and definitely recommend this product.
• 

  J. Murphy
  October 28th, 2010 on 6:32 pm

  Rating

  I owned a trouble-free D-Link wireless router for years but was ready for faster 802.11n speeds. I connected the Airport, inserted the DVD, ran through the setup on a Windows XP notebook, and presto – everything worked. I was EXTREMELY impressed to find that I could even connect my Brother multifunction to the USB port on the back of the Airport and print wirelessly. I still can’t figure out how Apple pulled that off considering I never downloaded any drivers – it just seemed to happen magically.

  For fastest speeds, use Airport Utility software to switch the radio mode to the 802.11n 5 Ghz frequency. You will lose backwards compatibility with 802.11g devices but for me that didn’t matter (and I’m happpy to keep my connection invisible to neighbors!)

  I am using the Airport with a ThinkPad T60 and a MacBook Pro, both of which connect flawlessly at speeds at least 4x faster than my previous 802.11g router allowed.

  Overall, this is a 5-star product in a sleek and sim design. Highly recommended.