Airport Express reduces download speed almost to 0 mb/s!

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Level 1

13 points

Airport Express reduces download speed almost to 0 mb/s!

Hello,

I recently added an Airport Express to my Airport Extreme network. Both units are new (802.11n) as I recently upgraded to new Macs (27" iMac and 17" Macbook Pro). I wanted to extend my wireless network for when I use my MacBook Pro in the living room (which is across the house from the Extreme). I set up the Express to extend network. Everything seemed fine. I got the green light and Airport Utility continues to recognize both units.

I've been using the MacBook Pro wirelessly for a few weeks with no issues in terms of being able to connect to and use the Internet (mostly for browsing). However, I tried to watch a Netflix film on the Macbook and the connection couldn't keep up (I have FIOS). Constant buffering. Freezing. Reloading. etc. Same problem when I tried to watch some TV shows on Hulu. I thought that was odd. This is a brand-new MacBook Pro.

So I tried a speedtest. Here are the strange results:

MacBook Pro in my office right next to Airport Extreme:
Download: 9.72 mb/s
Upload: 1.885 mb/s

MacBook Pro in the living room right next to Airport Express:
Download: .51 mb/s
Upload: 1.76 mb/s

So then I unplugged the Express and got this in the living room:
Download: 9.63 mb/s
Upload: 1.906 mb/s

How is that possible? Why is the Airport Express slowing down my connection so dramatically? From 9.63 to .51!!! It's not set up as a WDS (which I've heard can slow things down). It was set to "extend network."

I guess I'll just leave it uplugged for now. But I'm hoping someone can explain why that slow down would occur. Should I expect that kind of drop off using an Express with an Extreme?

I'm hoping someone may have had a similar problem and may be able to offer some advice.

Thanks so much.

Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Jan 23, 2010 2:35 PM

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Answer 1

Jan 23, 2010 2:53 PM in response to RedFran

Welcome to the discussions!

Check some settings on both the AirPort Extreme (AEBS) and your AirPort Express (AX) to see if they agree with the following:

You will use AirPort Utility - Manual Setup to check settings.

_On the AEBS_
Click the Wireless tab below the icons
Wireless Mode should be set to Create a wireless network
Make sure you have a check mark next to "Allow this network to be extended"

_On the AX_
Click the Wireless tab
Wireless Mode should be set to Extend a wireless network
Wireless Network Name should be the exact name as the AEBS network
Wireless Network Security " " " setting " "
Wireless Network Password " " " name " "

Not sure what to suggest if the settings are as shown. Possibly a defective AX or the device needs to be reset to defaults and then reconfigured.

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Answer 2

RedFran Author

Level 1

13 points

Jan 23, 2010 5:23 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Thanks for your speedy reply, Bob.

I double-checked all the settings and they are set to what you suggested above. I tried unplugging my AEBS and AX to see if that might help. Unfortunately, no luck. My speed when the Express is plugged in is still below 1 mb/s. When I unplug it, it goes up to almost 10.

I guess I'll try a hard reset on the AX and reconfigure.

It's just so odd that the AX is steady green yet it's not doing anything except slowing my speed down. It's not even extending the network, because when I unplug it, I still have full bars (depending on where I am). I would've thought that if it was set up incorrectly, I'd get the blinking amber. Instead it lulled me into a phony complacency with the steady green!

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Answer 3

Jan 23, 2010 9:19 PM in response to RedFran

It sounds like you got a defective AirPort Express. The "extend" feature normally works very well. Not sure what else to suggest.

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Answer 4

RedFran Author

Level 1

13 points

Jan 24, 2010 9:22 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Well, I tried a factory reset. Then I went through the whole process of setting up the AE to extend my wireless network. I got the steady green light.

So I tried the speedtest again. Same result! I'm getting less than 1 mb/s download. I unplug the AE, run a speedtest, and get 9.73 mb/s. So irritating.

Maybe the unit is defective. I guess no one else out there has this same issue. I'm stumped.

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Answer 5

aramweb

Level 1

0 points

Feb 3, 2010 8:34 PM in response to RedFran

We are having the same problem. We have a brand new airport extreme, which has a fast download speed, but our airport express units (3 of them) seem to slow down the connection when we are farther away from the base station. The units are 1-3 years old between them.

I believe they are all updated with the latest firmware.

Anyone else have this problem?

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Answer 6

Feb 3, 2010 9:46 PM in response to RedFran

Can you try turning off the "Guest" network if you have it enabled? This has apparently helped some users and not others.

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Answer 7

Mar 1, 2010 8:04 PM in response to aramweb

i have the same problem with Airport Express extending a wireless network. It's slow.

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Answer 8

Mar 6, 2010 2:48 AM in response to landlessness

after quite a few trials I ended up turning on Interference Robustness and that seemed to fix my issue. In Airport Utilities on the Airport Extreme > Airport > Wireless > Wireless Options... > Use Interference Robustness

Checking with http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/ my numbers went from around 0.3 Mbps to around 19.0 Mbps using WiFi from a MacBook.

Two other things I tried, but am not sure if they contributed to the solution were:

1. doing factory resets on both devices (unplug, hold the reset button in with a pencil, plug in, wait for fast blinking)

2. picked all new names for the base stations and the wireless network that none of my wireless clients had ever seen before. (i had an issue with a TiVo wireless adapter a few years ago & the naming was the issue for some reason)

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