clintonium
Level 1 (8 points)
Apple TV

Q: Airport Extreme Speed vs Express Speed

Hi folks,

 

I'm hoping somebody can help me figure this one out; I have a 5th generation Airport Extreme that I use as my "main" router. My Macbook is wired in and gets a download speed of about 180mbps consistently, when in good range of the Airport Extreme, my wireless devices (iPhones and iPads) regularly get speeds of 140mbps, which is great. However, I have a 2nd generation Airport Express on the other side of the house and wired in to the Airport Extreme and when my wireless devices connect to that Airport Express my download speeds top out at 35mbps if I'm lucky.

 

The Airport Express has the same network name and password and is extending both network bands (5ghz and 2.4ghz) and my devices all use the 5ghz. Both Airports are set to automatic channels, I have played with this with no difference in results. Can anybody explain or help me figure out why my Airport Express download speed would be so slow compared to the Airport Extreme when it is wired in and not wirelessly extending? I would expect it to be slower but not that slow, maybe around 100mbps.

 

Thanks!

Clinton

Posted on Sep 3, 2016 10:44 AM

by Bob Timmons,Apple recommended
Bob Timmons Bob Timmons
Level 10 (104,852 points)
Wireless
A:

Not sure how much time that you want to spend on this, but if you have not already done so, a good check to perform would be to temporarily disconnect the Ethernet cable from the Express and connect it directly to a laptop or desktop.

 

Run a few quick speed checks that way to find out exactly what quality of signal the Express is receiving. A miswired Ethernet cable will still "work", but it will limit the connection speed.

 

I tested an Express here at the far end of the house, and on a 100 Mbps Internet connection, the Express produced about 35-40 Mbps on wireless using either a 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz connection.  When I connected the AirPort Extreme back up it was running consistently at 90-95 Mbps on wireless, and a bit higher on an Ethernet connection.

Posted on Sep 3, 2016 4:10 PM

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clintonium

Q: Airport Extreme Speed vs Express Speed

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Tesserax,

    Tesserax Tesserax Sep 3, 2016 10:55 AM in response to clintonium
    Level 9 (53,877 points)
    Wireless
    Sep 3, 2016 10:55 AM in response to clintonium

    First, the AirPort Express only has 100 Mbps Ethernet ports. Even though you have connected to the Extreme (which has 1 Gbps ports), it can only handle 100 Mbps maximum via this connection.

     

    Second, the Express uses a simpler Wi-Fi antenna design compared to the Extreme.

     

    In theory, with the Express connected by Ethernet, and a computer connected to the Express by Ethernet, you should get a maximum bandwidth of 100 Mbps. However, actual data throughput, will always be lower.

     

    Finally, what you appear to be testing is the overall data throughput rate between the host device and a server on the Internet. What this can't tell you is where exactly is the bottleneck on your local network. For that you would need to use a testing application that uses a client/server methodology to actually test each of your local network connections.

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Sep 3, 2016 12:13 PM in response to clintonium
    Level 10 (104,852 points)
    Wireless
    Sep 3, 2016 12:13 PM in response to clintonium

    The AirPort Express is not known as a speedy performer at all, so assuming that everything checks out OK, and you need higher speeds on the other side of the house......you may need to move up to another AirPort Extreme, which has a much better wireless antenna setup.

     

    But, we can check a few things.

     

    On the other side of the house.....where the AirPort Express is located.....are you sure that devices are connecting to the AirPort Express, and not back to the AirPort Extreme?

     

    How are you checking to see which AirPort.....the AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express......that devices are connecting to?

     

    The Airport Express has the same network name and password and is extending both network bands (5ghz and 2.4ghz)

    When the AirPort Express connects to the network using an Ethernet connection, it must be configured to "Create a wireless network"......not "Extend a wireless network".

     

    Check to make sure that the Express is set up correctly.

  • by clintonium,

    clintonium clintonium Sep 3, 2016 12:37 PM in response to Tesserax
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Apple TV
    Sep 3, 2016 12:37 PM in response to Tesserax

    Thanks. Yes, I knew about the 100 on the Express but did not consider the loss on WiFi.

  • by clintonium,

    clintonium clintonium Sep 3, 2016 12:41 PM in response to Bob Timmons
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Apple TV
    Sep 3, 2016 12:41 PM in response to Bob Timmons

    THanks. Yes, I am sure the devices are connecting to the Express. I check with Airport Utility and also by unplugging the Extreme and using only the Express. You are also correct, I am "extending" but using "Create a wireless network" option. I do have an old Extreme that did not play well with the rest of the network when it was in use. I have since worked out many bugs/flaws with my network so it may be time to bust that out again and see what happens with that one. I just didn't expect such low performance from the Express but I suppose it makes sense.

  • by Bob Timmons,Apple recommended

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Sep 3, 2016 4:10 PM in response to clintonium
    Level 10 (104,852 points)
    Wireless
    Sep 3, 2016 4:10 PM in response to clintonium

    Not sure how much time that you want to spend on this, but if you have not already done so, a good check to perform would be to temporarily disconnect the Ethernet cable from the Express and connect it directly to a laptop or desktop.

     

    Run a few quick speed checks that way to find out exactly what quality of signal the Express is receiving. A miswired Ethernet cable will still "work", but it will limit the connection speed.

     

    I tested an Express here at the far end of the house, and on a 100 Mbps Internet connection, the Express produced about 35-40 Mbps on wireless using either a 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz connection.  When I connected the AirPort Extreme back up it was running consistently at 90-95 Mbps on wireless, and a bit higher on an Ethernet connection.

  • by clintonium,

    clintonium clintonium Sep 3, 2016 4:49 PM in response to Bob Timmons
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Apple TV
    Sep 3, 2016 4:49 PM in response to Bob Timmons

    Excellent suggestion! I went ahead and brought the MacBook down and connected directly to where the Express was hooked up and ran the speed test and it blasted away to 180. I was relieved that it wasn't my wiring. I went ahead and dug out my old Extreme and hooked that up and it is giving me about 100 on my wireless devices. That is better than the 35 the Express was giving me so I will go with that and probably unload the two Expresses I have and pick up another old Extreme for the garage.