Apple AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi Wireless Base Station (Gigabit) MB053LL/A

Up to 5X the performance, up to 2X the range.

Product Information

Extremely fast.  Extremely powerful.  Extremely easy.  Create a secure, high-speed wireless network with AirPort Extreme.  Share an Internet connection, access hard disks, and print files - all wirelessly.  There are two things wireless network users demand, it’s faster speeds and greater range. The new AirPort Extreme Base Station delivers on both fronts and offers super fast wireless network access throughout just about any home, office, or classroom.

Imagine the possibilities with the AirPort Extreme Base Station.  Access the Web and email from just about anywhere in your office or house - even out in the backyard. Send large files to colleagues without being tied to a desk or worrying about slow connection speeds. Wirelessly share a printer with everyone in your family or on your office floor. Back up or store files to a hard drive wirelessly.

About 802.11n
Blazing performance - Based on an IEEE 802.11n draft specification, AirPort Extreme features three antennas and uses a technology called multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) to transmit multiple data streams simultaneously. The result? AirPort Extreme delivers data transfer speeds up to five times those of previous-generation 802.11g wireless networks - while achieving up to twice the range.¹ And with its support for both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless frequencies, AirPort Extreme reduces the possibility of interference from appliances and cordless phones that use the 2.4GHz frequency.

The Airport Extreme Base Station also works with 802.11a/b/g.  Most currently shipping Mac systems support the next-generation 802.11n technology in the new AirPort Extreme Base Station.² And AirPort Extreme is compatible with Macs and PCs using previous-generation 802.11a/b/g wireless technologies.

Product Highlights

Sharing Features

Networking is all about sharing, and AirPort Extreme lets as many as 50 users in your home, school, or office join the fun. They can all share the same Internet connection, exchange files with the file-sharing capability built into Mac OS X or Windows, access local and remote file servers, annihilate the competition in multiplayer games — anything a typical network user can do, plus a number of things that are decidedly not typical, such as wireless storage and printing.

Instant drive sharing.  New to AirPort Extreme, AirPort Disk turns almost any external USB hard drive into a shared drive. Simply connect the drive to the USB port on the back of your AirPort Extreme and - voila - all the documents, videos, photos, and other files on the drive instantly become available to anyone on the secure network, Mac and PC alike. It’s perfect for backups, collaborative projects, and more.  A simple-to-use AirPort Disk Utility gives you more setup options. You could set the disk to become available whenever you connect to the network. You could set up password-protected accounts for everybody on the network, or allow read-only access to certain files and folders. The choice is yours.

Print without wires.  The same USB port does double duty by letting you share a printer throughout the network. When it’s time to print those photos, proposals, or homework assignments, AirPort Extreme and the Mac- and PC-compatible Bonjour networking technology let everyone in the house, office, or classroom take advantage of one centrally available printer. Wirelessly, of course.  And here’s how simple it is to set up: Just plug the printer into the USB port on the AirPort Extreme Base Station, add it to the printer list on your Mac or PC, and you’re good to print.

Do everything.  What if you’d like to exchange files over your wireless network and still have access to a network printer? Easy. Just connect a USB hub to AirPort Extreme and attach your devices to the hub. Share both a printer and a hard drive, multiple printers, or multiple hard drives.

Effortless wireless

If you think setting up a wireless network is difficult, think again. The new AirPort Utility for Mac and Windows guides you through the process, and you’ll have your network up and running in minutes.  

Quick and easy setup.  Other wireless routers make you do all the work - from deciphering obscure instructions to figuring out where to enter your passwords. AirPort Utility for Mac and Windows does most of the work for you by stepping you through the setup process quickly and easily. In most cases, your wireless network can be up and running in less time than it takes to make a cup of coffee. 

Plug in, set up, enjoy.  For the most basic setup, all you have to do is plug the base station into an electrical outlet and connect your DSL or cable modem. Then open the AirPort Utility software and just follow the onscreen instructions. The software takes you through the simple process, asking for relevant information, setting up encryption and security, and configuring your computer to access your new network - all in plain English.

Whether you use a Mac or PC, the whole network can be ready to go in about five minutes. And if you want to do more such as add a shared USB printer or external hard drive or set up access control - it’s just as easy.

Home Security System

The AirPort Extreme Base Station takes strong measures to keep your online world as safe as possible - from securing your base station to preventing outside intruders to controlling when your kids surf the Web.

Worry-free networking.  It starts with the industry-standard encryption technologies built into AirPort Extreme, including WPA/WPA2 and 128-bit WEP. When you turn on encryption - easy to do using AirPort Utility - you’ll ensure that only people with the correct password can join your wireless network.

Parent easy, kid safe.  A useful new access control feature lets you decide not only who accesses your network but also when they can access it. If you’ve got kids with their own computers, for example, you can control the times they’re allowed to access the network. They can have accounts that are available only at certain hours of the day - for example, when you can be home to keep an eye on them.

Barring the network door.  AirPort Extreme includes a built-in firewall that creates a barrier between your network and the Internet, protecting your data from malicious Internet attacks. When you set up the base station, the firewall is automatically turned on to keep the bad guys out. For computers with a cable or DSL modem, using AirPort is actually safer than being directly connected to the modem.

Product Features

• 802.11n offers up to five times faster performance and twice the range of 802.11g
• Compatible with 802.11a/b/g-enabled computers and networks
• USB port for printing and sharing a hard disk wirelessly
• One Ethernet WAN port to connect to a DSL or cable modem; three Ethernet LAN ports
• AirPort Utility for simple setup and configuration
• WiFi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2), 128-bit WEP security, and built-in firewall protection
• Support for 2.4GHz and 5GHz operation for minimum interference with other devices

Product Specification

Size and weight

• Length: 6.5 inches (165 mm)
• Width: 6.5 inches (165 mm)
• Height: 1.3 inches (34 mm)
• Weight: 1.66 pounds (753 grams)

Wireless protocols

• 802.11a/b/g
• Draft 802.11n

Frequency bands

• 2.4GHz or 5GHz

Radio output power

• 20 dBm (nominal)

Compatibility

• Interoperable with Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g Mac computers and Windows-based PCs
• NAT, DHCP, PPPoE, VPN Passthrough (IPSec, PPTP, and L2TP), DNS Proxy, SNMP, IPv6 (6to4 and manual tunnels)

Security

• Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2)
• Wireless security (WEP) configurable for 40-bit and 128-bit encryption
• MAC address filtering
• NAT firewall
• Support for RADIUS authentication
• 802.1X, PEAP, LEAP, TTLS, TLS, FAST
• Time-based access control

Interfaces

• RJ-45 10/100BASE-T Ethernet WAN port for connecting a DSL or cable modem
• Three RJ-45 10/100BASE-T Ethernet LAN ports for connecting computers or network devices
• USB port for connecting a USB printer or USB external hard drive
• 802.11 wireless

Environmental requirements

• Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
• Storage temperature: -13° to 140° F ( -25° to 60° C)
• Relative humidity (operational): 20% to 80%
• Relative humidity (storage): 10% to 90%
• Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet
• Maximum storage altitude: 15,000 feet

• Apple MA073LL/A AirPort Extreme Base Station
• AirPort Utility for Mac and Windows
• AirPort Disk Utility for Mac and Windows
• 802.11n Enabler for Mac
• Bonjour for Windows
• Power Cord
• Printed and Electronic Documentation

Windows Requirements

• Windows XP with SP2 or later
• PC with Ethernet or wireless networking capability
• For Wireless Client Access:  PC with 802.11a, 80211b, or 802.11g card
• For Shared Printing with a USB Printer:  PC with Windows XP; Bonjour for Windows included on AirPort Extreme CD
• For AirPort Disk with a USB Hard Drive:  PC with Windows XP; Bonjour for Windows included on Airport Extreme CD

Macintosh Requirements

• Mac OS X v10.4.x or later
• Mac with Ethernet or wireless networking capability
• For Wireless Client Access:  Mac with AirPort Extreme wireless capability
• For Shared Printing with a USB Printer:  Mac with Mac OS X v10.2.7 or later
• For AirPort Disk with a USB Hard Drive:  Mac with Mac OS X v10.4.x or later

 

1  Based on a comparison with Apple's 802.11g products. Comparison assumes AirPort Extreme network with 802.11n-enabled computer. Speed and range will be less if an 802.11a/b/g product joins the network. Accessing the wireless network requires an AirPort- or AirPort Extreme-enabled computer or other Wi-Fi Certified 802.11a/b/g-enabled computer. Actual performance will vary based on range, connection rate, site conditions, size of network, and other factors. Range will vary with site conditions.

2  All Mac computers with Intel Core 2 Duo and Intel Xeon processors except the 17-inch iMac with 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor support the 802.11n technology in AirPort Extreme. These 802.11n-compatible Mac systems require enabler software that is included on the AirPort Extreme CD.