Hey Everyone Travis Here! This product is missing from Apple's current lineup and honestly I think it would make more since now than ever to bring it back with a bang and that's the AirPort Extreme Router, well in this case I'm referring to it as the AirPort Ultra :) These things were rock solid and I do think that a new version of this would be well received now that Apple is so invested into HomeKit as well as a main focus on privacy. The user experience of most routers is very rudimentary and cumbersome which could be solved with an AirPods like pairing process to setup and manage the network which would make the whole experience easy. One can dream this would be a real product some day...
Affiliate Links
AirPort Extreme 6th Gen: amzn.to/46PWXjp
Amplifi Alien: amzn.to/41e9GuY
#Apple #Mac
Dude I just recently pulled my airport out wishing that it would work yesterday…now you guys drop this video…crazy lol
Got mine and it still works!
I just pulled out my old time capsule - turned off everything but using it’s drive for Time Machine
I too today!!!!!! I wonder why it can’t be added to my network. It appears in grey!!!! Is that a software STUPID protection by AAPL?
@@rockitMiC yeah mine does the same thing. I can’t seem to get it to accept my internet.
Funny, because I unplugged mine last week for the last time 😢
One of my favorite Apple products of all time! I hate every router that I have used since Apple stopped selling routers 😢
I did too, until I went UniFi. UniFi isn’t for everyone, though.
Eero is also good but just like UniFi its not for everyone
Yes I wish Apple would market a WiFi 7 AirPort Extreme mesh product lineup.
That’ll be $999 please.
@@bren.r Yes LOL!
It would be cool to see Apple re-imagine it with a last gen arm chip and Type-C external SSD support in a small box
Oooh. Yeah! I like the sound of that.
Knowing Apple they’d slap an M3 chip inside for no apparent reason
I'd rather have a large box if it means better antennae, but I agree with the rest.
I feel like the Unifi Express is a spiritual sucessor to the AirPort, especially with the design, which makes sense as the company was founded by ex-Apple engineers (the same company that made the AmpliFi Alien router you mentioned). Even if they are maybe going for the corporate market slightly more.
Does Time Machine « just works » if you plug in a drive ? (Sorry don’t know anything about networking)
I just can’t get into their UI. Been very finicky for me
@@LUKAS-bb4jc No, they don't offer a NAS product as of current. I use a raspberry pi, but that is very much not a just works solution 😅
Facts
Surprisingly I still use them today. Very sturdy, the AC is still good enough for a gigabit connection for my small home. Love em.
Me too.
Sadly the drive in mine failed, which kinda defeated the purpose.
Me three
You can replace the drive without huge issues or plug one in the usb port.
I’ve got 200 down & 40 up. Three Airports provide a wonderful, reliable mesh network in a thick stone wall house. They ended up being the fastest most reliable solution after years of problems. And they look stunning doing their job. I wouldn’t change them for anything.
Still have an AirPort Extreme, I haven’t been using it but I do miss the versatility of it and how nicely it’s was integrated with my Mac mini and my MacBook
I love my last gen Time Capsule. And no joke. a few days ago I replaced the HDD inside with a 4TB SSD and I have it connected thru ethernet to my WiFi 6 ORBI. The backups now fly and I have it for 3 computers. I love it. It needs to be a tri-band The only reason I switched from The Time Capsule with an AirPort Extreme as an extender was the limitation of dual band. That 3rd band just for communication between the main router and satellites is a game changer. But I agree a new Time Capsule would be awesome
I still have my AirPort Extreme ac and its range is insane. I use it for portable gigs when doing live-streaming , allowing me to setup a quick and large coverage area of WiFi for a short period of time with one piece of gear.
Strongly agree. I still have my AirPort Extreme, though it's sitting in a closet now. I loved that thing! True ease of use, plus total reliability.
Me too, I haven’t the heart to get rid of it. It sits in a box in a garage. I even have a new unopened one thatI was going to place them in opposite corners of our large home to hopefully get better coverage. But I installed a three set of Orbi set up, that greatly improve our wifi coverage.
I STILL use a flat time capsule to backup my Mac 😁. Of course I use cloud storage for my files but if I need to restore the Mac as a while I have Time Machine. Writing this at 5:38 I was just going to say that the Apple of networking now is UniFi! But not the amplifi series but rather the UDR or UDMP series that I’m using together with U6 Lite at home. UniFi just released the UniFi express router at around $140 with wifi6 access point built in and 2 2,5 gb ports set up and controlled with a mobile app or the web. I think this kinda is what Apple would make. But it’s no Time Machine target unfortunately
Could not agree more and thanks for the history as well!
I’d buy one tomorrow if they made that! Fantastic set of ideas of what they can include. especially the private relay and mesh features
Still using mine since 2014. Still works great. Still does my backup, I just upgraded once the HDD from 2TB to 10TB
I completely forgot this came out. Thanks for bringing it up. Very interesting.
Stil using my 2016 AirPort Extreme and it’s holding up just fine. Would love one updated with current WiFi standards, though.
I’m in the market for a new WiFi solution and I dearly miss Apple’s routers! They were simple with decent access to advance settings but it also held its connection super well.
Man I agree. I had two of them and loved them so much.
I’m still running two of these at home, they are great and I haven’t had a reason to change
Add "Time Machine" technology to iCloud+ storage for all computers. :)
That’s honestly the one Apple product I miss the most. Mine broke a couple years ago and you can’t find anything like it now. Something that would support gig Internet. It was so easy to use as a Time Machine.
Honestly, i have been using the Ubiquiti Unifi wifi products and their UI and hardware reminds me of Apples, but of course newer.
My take would be like a HomeKit hub with Apple TV ie. your main router at home that connects to your ISP, broadcasts your Wifi, connects your HomeKit appliances/devices and has built in Apple TV. Then, you get the existing Apple TV console to use for additional Wifi node and HomeKit node but also HDMI output for additional TVs in other rooms. I would imagine Apple could have the chance to perfect the Airplay protocol because it is currently very messy and unreliable when you have wireless speakers thrown into the mix. Fun fact, HDMI does carries data via HDMI Ethernet Channel introduced in HDMI ver 1.4
I still have seven of these running right now in a building. They are so reliable and as you say, I set them and forget them. I even purchased a few more on the used market in the event one fails and in 10+ years, I only had one fail. Prior to these, I used the same typical routers from competitors and they were always unreliable and unstable. I wish Apple would revive the Airport product lines. I would upgrade all mine in a heartbeat.
I so much need this! and an easy setup
Nice video mate; I still have my Extreme router, and the Express extender. Cheers pal
Preach brother preach. I totally agree, I was about to pitch out ,my old Airport and Time Machines sitting in my shed I’ll now keep them in solidarity
I’m still using an AirPort Extreme (AC) that I bought in 2013. It exceeds my ISP speeds and home network needs. Range easy covers my entire property. I keep it plugged into a UPS so its uptime is over a year without a reset/power cycle so it’s reliable as hell. Plus it’s simple to use.
I loved it, I had the time capsule but unsure if I’d buy it today because I find that the routers from the ISP here In the uk are a lot better these days
Exactly! I hang on with my AirPorts until last year. I really love them, super reliable.
I still use the lastest gen AirPort Time Capsule and 2 airport extremes as wifi extenders. LOVE THEM
Also a little glimpse into Apple's attention to detail. If you look at the AirPort Time Capsule or Extreme with the Apple logo correctly oriented towards you and then you flip it to look at the bottom the Apple shows in the correct orientation also even though it is looking in the exact opposite direction compared to the one on top. The level of attention to detail on something that will never be seen unless you are goin to either clean it or open it like I did is what takes Apple products to another level
I have mine and still use it today - works perfectly
I’m all Unifi equipment for my network with a 10Gb backbone now. If Apple could step back in and rival that I’d welcome it.
damn travis you’ve been killin it since you took over the channel. keep it up the great work. hoping jonathan is in good health.
I loved the apple routers! I still use one today as a wifi bridge to my PC! Its fantastic!
You dropped the mic with the Mesh network idea 🔥🔥🔥
You made a video explaining my dreams coming true 😂
The last Time Machine / AirPort Extreme was great
Although I have a modern mesh router system, I am still using my Time Capsule for wireless Time Machine backups.
have a ton of these from their unfortunate discontinuation, and they still are my primary temporary/loaner network and AP solution they can pull full gigabit, unlike some newer, more expensive routers ive tried - consumer AND commercial, and i can pull 600mbits on their wifi5, in a corner, through a wall. they also work as travel routers if you set a completely unique dhcp range i use a lot of UI hardware now, but for these temporary uses, the airports take the stress of not having a permanent internet home far better I want the airport lineup back, imagine the potential with 2.5 and 10g networking, multi stream wifi7 and apples current engineering, with what they pulled off in 2013 also the airport expresses are still extremely useful because of their airplay audio support, have some paired with 1970s amps
I’ve been wanting it for a long time.. easy seamless backups
I couldn’t agree more - with Apple’s focus on privacy and the prevalence of HomeKit, an easy to use, privacy focused, HomeKit optimized airport router would be great.
All good points you make and I totally agree. Sadly missed and Long overdue to make a return!! I am still using a few versions to this day. The user interface is second to none and I would immediately jump on a new version. As you suggested, integration with home hub, music streams, HomeKit and so on...C'mon Tim bring it back!
I have been using my airport extreme for the last 10 years and aside from having to replace the hard drive it has been rocksolid. I still continue to use it today even did a restore from Time Machine when I bought my new MacBook Air
I am still using mine as it is easy to setup and ok fast. I would not mind a new faster version as I am one a 1TB fiberconnection
Yep, I have two in my house and I love them. I have fiber optic internet provider, so I get 1 gb download and upload connected to my AirPort Extreme and about 400 MBS wifi, good enough for me.
I still use two 2013 AirPort Express units in a mesh to this day, the setup software is still built into iOS. There were so far in front back then, I have no idea why they killed it. I’d love all the things you said but maybe build them into an Apple TV instead and call it Apple Hub. They did remove the TV bit from the Apple TV name on the top of the box a few years ago, so that had me excited for AirPort coming back in some way. Maybe we have to wait till Tim is no longer CEO, I’m not sure. Here’s hoping they bring it back in some way.
I think it was killed to force people to back up to Apples iCloud for a fee. The Extreme was nice as all you had to do was plug in a HD and you had your own cloud backup and you could scroll back in time to find the old file you accidentally deleted.
I’ve got 6 of these in a mesh network, works perfectly - can still get max mbps as my connection is 250mb and these still support 802.11ac/n Old skool 😊
Yes. I use it for my live concert event for my digital mixer.
Incredible watch, thanks for catering to the niche of us tech nostalgia enthusiasts!
Great video! I agree with you.
one of the best routers i ever used. still have it, but can't bring myself to use it anymore. they need to release a new one.
I’ve been using the amplify alien router and it really is the closest thing to an Apple router that I could possibly own super reliable and the app is actually very well designed. I’m not sure why you said it wasn’t as good but great points here.
I just bought one yesterday it works great
Totally agree!
Figured this out a while ago and it works great for music
My family still uses our Extreme for our home.
I had a bunch of those AirPort Express outlets. Were gr😂at for printers, AirTunes, etc. Loved those.
Still use 2 of them for my house, solid, no issues and speedy enough for me.
Still using mine 👍
Totally forgot that I had one of these for years.
I still use the final generation AirPort Extreme and have AirPort Expresses in every room of my house for music streaming. They work just fine for my needs. I do hope Apple gets back into network products again.
I still use mine I have 3 my time capsule 2TB and my express's to extend the network
I have two AirPort Express and one AirPort Extreme over my property, to support four Macs, iOS devices and other devices. They all work very well and have done so for years. Only issue I get sometimes is that the wired network to these are 100Mb, rather than 1Gb. All the Macs backup fine, although iOS backup can be awkward. Having an updated Airport system to support current and future devices is well overdue. Especially ensuring that iOS devices are properly data resilient. It can be done, but currently it’s awkward and not as easy as it should be
I have to agree. I've used a few apple Airport devices in the past and they've always been the most consistently reliable wireless routers or access points that you could hope for. I mean, they did basically create the market standard for wifi, so it stands to reason that their devices should be good.
I have three, using them and they are doing great. Now I’m trying to turn them into a server.
I just bought a 4th gen Time Capsule with 2TB for 50€ and it’s working just fine.
Great idea
Still use it and love it
Still using my AirPort Extreme AC!
With verizon and Tmobile having widely available home routers I would love an apple router with cell service built in as well. Apple is great with antennae design so this could be a higher performance device than what we get from the carriers.
still have mine but the time capsule version.
The Unifi Express is basically the new airport.
I REALLY miss it. I have the last Time Capsule Airport. It's just not as fast now. But I would love an updated one.
There is a “spiritual successor” to Apple AirPort Express that was just recently released, Ubiquiti Express, just no NAS or Airplay.
Well said!
Agree. The airport routers were high quality, offered good performance and were a cinch to setup. Dump decision to discontinue this product range.
I had more issues with the AirPort Extreme than I have with the current netgear mesh network I have now. It’s not the same anymore. Plenty of great routers out now.
I still have mine and it works. However, I'm too afraid of using it because of no firmware/ security updates. (I only let visitors use it. 😅)
Yessssss. I’m still using the AirPort Extreme because I haven’t found a good enough replacement for the price. I will consistently get 600mbps over WiFi with gigabit internet. If they simply made a WiFi 7 or WiFi 6e version I would buy 2 or 3
I still have my time capsule and still back up my MacBook when needed I don’t keep it plugged in all the time because I don’t want to ware it out hopefully it will last longer this way
Still use the Airport Pro. For my small apartment it works fine. It's probably time to change it out though. WLAN transfers aren't great.
Really like your idea of the AirPort Ultra - you should send the pitch to Apple - I would definitely buy it!
it just looks so cool
I still use my AirPort Time Capsule. It would be great if I could connect through iOS files app to it.
The AirPort Time Capsule felt like magic
….i think even my parents would by that in a heartbeat. Much more streamlined and with the storage option perfect for family documents, pictures, etc.
HomePod as wifi mesh network my dreammm
I completely agree. Do it now Apple.
I still have my AirPort Extreme and use it as a file server attached to my Verizon 5G Home Wifi 6 router.
Thunderbolt lol 🤣
WiFi 7 4 10gbe ports with POE 1 SFP+ for Fiber connections Thunderbolt 5 port (Optional built in NVME storage) Everything else you said about secure video, relay, etc. Maybe some integrations with Screen Time so you can set parental controls They could bake it into the Apple One subscription bundle for some of the premium features I’d like to see AirPort Express join this as well with 3 10gbe POE supportand a usb c port
I completely agree, Apple should introduce a "Airport Ultra" I have missed such a product during a long time, not least for security reasons. Please Apple make such a product! And thank you Jonathan for bringing up tis topic.
I bought the Extreme and a couple Expresses used a few years ago for $100. Works fine for my needs. The Expresses are for a printer in a different room and the other for a dumb soundbar. I agree Apple needs to bring back the Extreme but their focus these days are just for the fluff.
I would buy immediately for the ATV and HomePod connectivity
I would buy that. If it could use my HomePod Minis to make a mesh network, that would be a killer feature. Not if I had to buy new ones, though. I use an Eero mesh system now, but don't like that Amazon bought it.
I have four AirPort Extremes that are still running perfectly!
Thanks