- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 73 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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13 out of 22 people found this review helpful
1.5 stars
"Crap for streaming music."
Pros: It does work for the internet
Cons: Crap for streaming music.
Summary: I was so excited to purchase this thing. My music library is stored on my laptop. I planned to use my laptop to run my stereo. The problem, it continuously loses signal and pauses mid-song. The apple website helpgroups are full of complaints from PC and Mac users who have the same problem. If you want to stream anything or play music do not waste money on this thing. It's fine for simple internet browsing.
- 6 replies to this review
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If you think it's crap, how about suggesting something better? Because there isn't anything else like the AE, especially for the same price. It does require tweaking to get rid of audio drops, but once it works, it's great for mac and pc.
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I have 2 -- one at home and one at our retail store. I bought my first airport express when it was first released and use it to control the music in my retail store. I've used it roughly 9 hours a day, 7 days a week for just over 1-1/2 years.
If you don't set it up as its own network, it can skip. Actually, it doesn't skip any music - it just pauses for a brief second. I've read practically everything on the Apple site and have tried almost every fix. Sometimes, it would go 2 months without skipping and then, for no reason, it would start skipping again (not constantly...maybe every few minutes over the course of an hour or so during the day). Super annoying when it's happening. The only thing that fixed the problem completely was when I set it up as its own network. And creating its own network fixed the skipping for good.
That said, it's super easy to setup. It does work well and it's flexible--I use it for my wireless network and printing at home. And I bought the one for my home after knowing about the skipping problem. -
I have, in rare occurances, had this problem, and have traced it to a problem each time. Most common is microwaves and 900mhz phones. They are on the same frequency as this (in all 802.11 wifi) and will cause it to drop, though I really only have this problem when the microwave is in use.
The other thing that will make it skip is bandwidth. If you are using the bandwidth intensly (large downloads, streams) and/or if you have several people on your network each using small parts of the bandwidth, the things simply runs out of the bandwidth to stream a lossless song to the speakers.
I would be lots of money one of those is your problem. Just a suggestion. Best way to get around the latter problem is to make the airport its own, second network, which keeps it for music only. -
I have, in rare occurances, had this problem, and have traced it to a problem each time. Most common is microwaves and 900mhz phones. They are on the same frequency as this (in all 802.11 wifi) and will cause it to drop, though I really only have this problem when the microwave is in use.
The other thing that will make it skip is bandwidth. If you are using the bandwidth intensly (large downloads, streams) and/or if you have several people on your network each using small parts of the bandwidth, the things simply runs out of the bandwidth to stream a lossless song to the speakers.
I would be lots of money one of those is your problem. Just a suggestion. Best way to get around the latter problem is to make the airport its own, second network, which keeps it for music only. -
I don't know how your setup is different from mine, but my Microsoft MN-700 wireless router and iTunes on my PC have never dropped a song when it was playing. The router is about 30-40 feet from the base station so maybe your's was farther away. I have recommended the AirPort Express to everyone I know.
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I own three of these, and I did have a problem with music dropping at first, but with a software upgrade no more. As stated, I own three, two for home use, and one for travel. Realize these are built for Mac users, though Windows users can use them. This is why Windows users have no interface. Since my firewall is built into my OS, I do not need one on the router. I have no worries about this product.
Where to buy
Apple AirPort Express Base Station:
$222.22
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$222.22 | Yes |
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