Extending Apple Time Capsule network with Apple Extreme

The AirPort Utility setup "wizard" will configure things correctly if it sees an Ethernet connection between the AirPort Time Capsule and another AirPort router, so the setting on the AirPort Extreme is indeed correct at "Create a wireless network".

"Extend a wireless network" is a setting that would be used only if the AirPort Extreme were connecting using wireless, but you are connecting using Ethernet.

As far as potential speed on the network is concerned, there are some things to consider........

1) Time Capsule is about 3 times faster than an older 802.11n AirPort Extreme.

2) You may have been connected to the 2.4 GHz band on the AirPort Extreme, which is much slower in terms of speed than the 5 GHz band

3) A defective Ethernet cable will still allow the AirPort Extreme to connect to the network, but the potential speed will be reduced from 1,000 Mpbs to 100 Mbps for Ethernet and wireless will never be any faster than a wired Ethernet connection.

If you want to check a few things, post back to let us know what version of the AirPort Extreme that you have, so we will know more about the device's capabilities. The model number is on the bottom.......starts with an "A" followed by 4 numbers.

Hopefully, you have a Mac with an Ethernet port that can be used to run some tests on the system. If your Mac does not have an Ethernet port, a Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter is a mighty handy item to keep in your desk drawer for times like this when you need to check things, or you need to copy a lot of data to/from your Mac 3-5 times faster than wireless will allow.

Thanks. An A1143 is at least 10 years old and likely older depending on when it was first placed into service, so that is one thought to keep in mind. Five years is about it as far as average useful life of an AirPort.

Earlier versions of the A1143 were limited to 100 Mbps Ethernet ports, so that is another possible factor to consider.

Not what you want to hear, but Apple has officially classified the A1143 as "obsolete". This means that they will not help you with the product, even if you are willing to pay them.

I haven't used my old AirPort Extreme for years, so while it is an 8 year old model, it probably only has a few years of use on the product.

I'm getting almost the exact same speed wired to the Extreme as I get wired to the TC, if that tells us anything.

First, please temporarily disconnect the Ethernet cable at the AirPort Extreme that connects to the Time Capsule and connect it to your Mac again to run a few speed checks that way.

What is the average Internet speed that you see if you run a few checks that way?

Then, connect the Ethernet cable to the AirPort Extreme and connect your Mac to one of the three LAN <--> ports on the AirPort Extreme using another short spare Ethernet cable to run a few checks that way on speed and report on your results.

Next, we will run some wireless checks. Given the age of the AirPort Extreme, it would be doing great if it could muster about 50 Mbps. But, we will see.

Thanks.

Move the Mac to the same room as the Time Capsule and run a few WiFi speed checks that way to get an average reading.

Then, hold down the option key on your Mac while you click on the WiFi menu at the top of the Macs screen and post back with the info that you see for......

BSSID......(.just post the last 3-4 digits)

Channel

Tx Rate

PHY Mode

Then, move the Mac to the same room as the AirPort Extreme and run the exact same checks again that you ran close to the Time Capsule

Sorry, I am confused. You said that the AirPort Extreme was already set up to "Create a wireless network". Are you trying to start over again?

Power everything off on the network, wait a minute then start up devices one at a time about a minute apart starting with the modem.

If you could answer the questions that we asked above, that would really help.

We need to run some checks. If you could answer the questions that we asked, that would really help.

As far as speed, I have a 200 Mbps Internet connection. I'm using a current 802.11ac version of the Time Capsule and an older Gen 3 AirPort Extreme that is about 8 years old. The AirPort Extreme connects so the Time Capsule using Ethernet.

If I run a few speeds checks over WiFi, I get about 192 Mbps on the Time Capsule and 188 on the AirPort Extreme.

But, first things first. We need to check Ethernet speed connections on your network.......before......we can troubleshoot WiFi. As we noted above, WiFi will never be any faster than the wired Ethernet connection, so if Ethernet is not working correctly for you, WiFi never will.

What speeds are you asking about? Internet connection speed or the connection between a device and the AirPort? For example, my Mac can connect to the Time Capsule at a speed of up to 1,300 Mbps, but since I only have a 200 Mbps Internet connection, my speed checks of the Internet connection will never be much more than 200 Mbps.

Please see my very first response to your original post above. I have copied and pasted the relevant information that I asked about in my first response to you again below. We then noted twice more that if you could provide this information, it would really help.

If you want to check a few things, post back to let us know what version of the AirPort Extreme that you have, so we will know more about the device's capabilities. The model number is on the bottom.......starts with an "A" followed by 4 numbers.

Hopefully, you have a Mac with an Ethernet port that can be used to run some tests on the system. If your Mac does not have an Ethernet port, a Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter is a mighty handy item to keep in your desk drawer for times like this when you need to check things, or you need to copy a lot of data to/from your Mac 3-5 times faster than wireless will allow.

I would not consider a "mesh" system unless the product can handle Ethernet connections between the various access points. Some can, some cannot.

But, those that can are then not really "mesh" systems any more, they are Ethernet extended networks......just like your Time Capsule / AirPort setup.

If you are happy with the performance of the Time Capsule 802.11ac and expect to keep it going another 3+ years, then it would make sense to add an 802.11ac AirPort Extreme either new or used to provide a "matched" system. An AirPort Extreme 802.11ac is the same product as a Time Capsule, router wise, so you could expect the same performance that you are now seeing from the Time Capsule if you add an AirPort Extreme.

Frankly, it is remarkable that your A1143 AirPort Extreme will even power up at all. Most of these models died years ago, so you have had exceptionally good luck with your A1143 AirPort.

I'm sorry, but you are either not understanding or not paying attention to the questions that I have asked.

It's possible that another user will be able to read your mind better than I can, so you might want to wait for someone with a much better crystal ball to answer. Mine is not that good.

If you want to continue, please answer the questions that we asked. We are not asking for any personal information or serial numbers.......just the model number of the AirPort Extreme and whether you can connect an Ethernet cable directly to your MacBook Pro to run some speed checks on the Ethernet cable to make sure that the cable is working correctly......before.....we move to checking WiFi.

We are willing to help......if you are willing to help by following instructions.. If the Ethernet cable is working correctly and your AirPort Extreme is working correctly, you will have about the same WiFi speed from both the Time Capsule and the AirPort Extreme.

But, we first need to test that Ethernet cable. We cannot assume that the Ethernet cable is working correctly until we verify that it is. A "new" cable is no guarantee of a "good" cable.