Can I extend my AirTies network by using CAT5 jumper/cable between the base gateway & 2nd AirTies

Hey @AirTies,

Let us help with that!

The Ethernet ports located behind the AT&T Airties Wi-Fi extenders are used to connect wired devices to the local network. It would essentially work as if the device was connected to the ethernet port behind the main gateway, more or less. Feel free to visit the Airties Air 4920 product page for more information on its features.

Let us know if you have any other questions!

Rury, AT&T Community Specialist

Yes you can connect a cat 5 cable from the gateway to the Airties and use it to extend the network. That is recommended way to do it and is called ethernet backhaul. It takes much of the wireless traffic off wifi and uses the cat 5. The ATT documentation says you can use up to three Airties devices connected that way to your gateway. I have my network setup using ethernet backhaul and it works well. And you can still use the second ethernet port on the Airties to connect wired ethernet connections.

For backhaul to work does the Airties have to be plugged in directly to the modem port or can I plug it into a router that feeds back to another switch and then plugs into the modem or do I have to run one cable all the way back? Also how do you know the backhaul is working and it isn’t nice just Wi-Fi, would it say it on the smart home app. Appreciate the help.  Thanks! 

Yes you can plug the Airties into a switch that is connected to your gateway. That is the way I do it and it works very well. I don't think there is a display anywhere to tell if it's connected via wifi or wired. You might check the Smart Home app to see if it shows wired or wifi there.

Yes, the smart home app does indeed show your extender as a wired device instead of a wifi connection. Just be sure you refresh the device list in the app after you plug in the Ethernet cable. Also note that you’ll see all the devices that the switch sees after you refresh it, not just what may be connected to the extender itself via WiFi. It would be nice if they allowed you to filter to just what’s connected to the extender itself.