- About configuration profiles
- Creating profiles in Windows
- Creating profiles on the Macintosh
- Editing profiles
- Switching profiles
- Erasing all profiles with a factory default reset
- Determining which profile is active
- Restoring a profile after a hard reset
AirPort Express can store up to five different configurations, known as profiles. A profile contains all the settings made in AirPort Admin Utility, such as passwords, network information, and the the iTunes speaker name. The portability of AirPort Express makes this a very convenient feature, since you can save settings for the places you take it most often. Unlike old-style configuration files, profiles reside on AirPort Express itself, not on your computer.
In the Windows operating system, the Profiles pop-up menu is available at any time you are viewing a configuration, regardless of which tab you have selected.
On the Macintosh, you can click the Profiles button in the tool bar any time that you're viewing a configuration.
Note: Configuration profiles are available only on the AirPort Express base station.
- Open the Profiles pop-up menu in the lower left corner of the configuration window.
- Choose Create Profile. This opens the Create Profile window.
- Give the profile a name. In this example the name is "Terlingua 2 Remote."
- Click OK.
- Now you can set options within your profile, such as network name, remote speaker name, passwords, and the Internet connection method. When you are finished setting the options, click Update. The base station will update its settings, which are stored in the Terlingua 2 Remote profile.
If you wish to add another profile, repeat the above steps using a different profile name. You can store 5 separate profiles counting the active profile.
Creating profiles on the Macintosh
To create a new configuration profile:
- Click Profiles in the toolbar, which will open the configuration profile window.
- Click Add to create a new profile, and give the profile a name. In this example the name is "Home Configuration."
- Click OK.
- Now you can set options within your profile, such as network name, remote speaker name, passwords, and the Internet connection method. When you are finished setting the options, click Update. The base station will update its settings and those are incorporated into the Home Configuration profile.
If you wish to add a second profile, repeat the above steps using a different profile name. Once you have a second profile added, you should see something like this:
In Windows you can edit an existing profile by choosing Edit Profiles from the pop-up menu.
Here you can duplicate, rename, or delete and existing profile.
On the Macintosh, you simply click the Profile icon in the toolbar and then make the changes in the Profiles windows.
To switch between profiles in Windows, select the one you want to use from the pop-up menu.
On the Macintosh, go to the main Profiles window and select another profile from the list.
When the base station restarts, that profile will be active.
Erasing all profiles with a factory default reset
If you want to delete all the profiles at once, use the factory default reset.
Determining which profile is active
In Windows, the active profile is the one that appears in the Profile pop-up menu when you first open the configuration, such as Factory Fresh in this image.
On the Macintosh, the active profile appears here:
This helps you keep track of which profile you are using.
Restoring a profile after a hard reset
Profiles remain in the memory of AirPort Express after a hard reset. When reconfiguring using AirPort Admin Utility 4.0 for Windows, you get options for using or replacing any profiles stored in the base station.
Option 1: The default selection reloads the previously selected profile. Pay attention to the warning that goes with this option: When you choose to use the previously selected profile, any issues that existed with the previous configuration may continue, creating the need for an all-new profile.
Option 2: The second option replaces existing profiles with a factory fresh configuration (effectively the same as a factory default reset).
Option 3: This option is best if you had issues your existing profile. Remember that you can only store five profiles in AirPort Express. If you already have five profiles, this option will be dimmed:
On the Macintosh, the process has fewer choices. You get this dialog after a hard reset:
In this example notice that your only options are to select an available profile, since there are five profiles already stored in the base station.
Tip:If you save a base station configuration, it will contain your saved profiles.