Airport Express bridging with WRT54Gs!

[Buddhaboy]

I found this on the Ars Technica website:

Bridging and the Linksys WRT54G


Sure, Apple says the Express will only do bridging with AirPort Base Stations. Being the inquisitive types that we are here at Ars, we knew we had to see for ourselves. Was the limitation a case of Apple stubbornness, technical limitations, or some proprietary technology used by Apple to enable bridging between two Apple wireless products?


We can report that it will work with the Linksys WRT54G 802.11g router. The procedure for getting it working involves using the open source firmware and is fairly straightforward. But it's not for the faint of heart: keep in mind that if you do update using the open source firmware, you will find your router outside the tender embrace of Linksys customer support.


First off, you may need to update the firmware in your WRT54G. You can find version 4.0 here. After that you'll need to provide the MAC address for the Express, turn lazy WDS and the WDS subnet off. Then set the channel to one, turn off loopback and the firewall, and set "ignore anonymous requests" to off. Then use the Airport Admin Utility to configure your Express. Set it to join the existing Linksys network. Add the Express' MAC address to the network and change the network name and password on the Express to match the Linksys. If you're using a 128-bit hex passphrase, be sure to preface it with a $.


After following the above procedure we were all set.

Read the full and very thorough review here.

I've been dying to get an airport express ever since Apple announced it.

This bit of news that it will work with my existing WRT54G only makes me want it more!