AirPort Extreme (4th gen) limited to 100 Mb/s in bridge mode)

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AirPort Extreme (4th gen) limited to 100 Mb/s in bridge mode)

Hello,

I have 2 Airport Extremes (both 4th gen). One is in a closet and is the main router with DHCP/NAT enabled. The other AE is in the bedroom on other end of house hardwired with Ethernet to closet, with bridge mode enabled and create wireless network (same SSID and password). The internet speed for the bedroom AE in bridge mode is about half of what the one in the closet AE gets. In the airport utility I noticed the date rate of the bedroom is “Good” and data rate is only 100 Mb/s. I’ve eliminated faulty Ethernet cord as I did a test to plug the bedroom AE directly into my modem and the data rate was back up to gigabit (1000 Mb/s).

Is there some setting I need to change in order to get the bedroom bridge AE back up to where it should be? Could there be some device connected to closet AE that does not have gigabit Ethernet that is causing slowdown (100 Mb/s) for all other LAN ports on closet AE?

I’ve done a hard reset of the bedroom AE which didn’t improve anything. I’ve just done soft reset (power cycle) of the closet AE. Should I hard reset the closet AE next?

Attaching photo of the airport utility of the bedroom AE

Posted on Aug 14, 2020 2:12 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 15, 2020 11:12 AM in response to Wilk1234

Open Airport Utility on my iPhone (FYI I get same screen/steps on my iPad as well) > Bedroom Airport Extreme > tap "Connection - Good".

When I do this, the screen that appears has no listing for "Connection". Must be different firmware and different versions of the AirPort.

"TC" is actually a "tower" version of the Time Capsule, which is an AirPort Extreme with a built in hard drive. The "main" DHCP and NAT router in the office is a "tower" version of the AirPort Extreme. The den AirPort connects back to the office AirPort using a permanent wired Ethernet cable connection.

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Answer 2

Aug 14, 2020 2:51 PM in response to Wilk1234

Usual cause is an Ethernet cable that is not rated for gigabit, or a switch port that is not gigabit, or not configured for gigabit if this is a managed switch.

Some low-spec Ethernet cables will have only two pairs wired, and that limits the connections to Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps) and not gigabit.

AirPort Extreme 4th generation is also ~ten years old, and failures are not unheard of.

Bent pins in sockets can also arise.

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Answer 3

Wilk1234 Author

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8 points

Aug 14, 2020 3:06 PM in response to MrHoffman

Yes faulty cable was what I originally thought but as I mentioned in my original post I believe I’ve ruled that out by hooking the bedroom AE up directly to the modem (bypassing the closet AE), and the bedroom AE was able to output 1000 Mb/s that way. So the current wiring allows for gigabit Ethernet. I’m using that same Ethernet cable in that test to connect the closet AE to bedroom AE. I’ve also tried different LAN ports too which doesn’t seem to help.

My next test is to try hard reset on everything and swap the AE’s (move bedroom one to closet and vice versa)?

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Answer 4

Aug 14, 2020 3:35 PM in response to Wilk1234

Sorry, I'm confused.

You are looking at Wireless Clients in AirPort Utility for iOS, but the bedroom AirPort is not a wireless client of the closet AirPort if it is connected to the closet AirPort using an Ethernet connection. It won't show up as a wireless client at all because it's not connecting to the closet AirPort using WiFi.......unless you have misconfigured the bedroom AirPort.

My setup is very similar to yours. The office AirPort handles DHCP and NAT and the den AirPort is connected using Ethernet and configured in Bridge Mode. The den AirPort does not show up as wireless client in AirPort Utility.....because it's not.

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Answer 5

Wilk1234 Author

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Aug 14, 2020 3:45 PM in response to Bob Timmons

I understand your confusion. That first screenshot should be ignored - the 2nd screenshot shows the data rate for the bedroom AE. Both of the AE’s are indeed connected via Ethernet. I’ve also tried to hardwire into the bedroom AE using my MacBook Pro and tried to manually set the Ethernet port on my MacBook to use Gigabit 1000 Mb/s and the Ethernet was unable to find an IP address/connect. When I switched it to 100 Mb/s it connected fine. Interestingly when I hardwired the bedroom AE directly to my modem (bypassing the closet AE), the same MacBook Pro was able to connect using 1000 Mb/s.

Ultimately the speeds I’m getting on the bedroom AE in bridge mode are about half of the closet AE (on both WiFi and Ethernet), but when it’s not in bridge and directly connected to modem, I get normal speeds again. It’s so strange you would think of something is faulty with the AE direct connecting to modem would give same issue but it only seems to be giving slow speeds when in bridge mode.

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Answer 6

Aug 14, 2020 3:57 PM in response to Wilk1234

the 2nd screenshot shows the data rate for the bedroom AE.

Your bedroom AirPort = my den AirPort......except I'm using two of the "tower" versions of the AirPort Extreme.

I can't get any info about the den AirPort using AirPort Utility for iOS other than info for devices that are wireless clients connecting to the den AirPort.

I cannot find any info that would compare to your second screenshot. How are you getting to that screen on the iOS device? Maybe things are different with a 4th Gen AirPort. I can't remember.

The bedroom AirPort is configured to "create" a network and not "extend" a network, correct?

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Answer 7

Wilk1234 Author

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Aug 14, 2020 4:53 PM in response to Bob Timmons

On the first screenshot I tapped on where it says “Connection : Good” and then it takes me to that 2nd screenshot showing the data rate as 100 Mb/s. My iPhone isn’t currently connected to the bedroom AE which is why I know it’s referring to the Ethernet connection (not the wireless signal strength of a particular device).

Yes I am using create wireless network in bedroom (NOT extend).

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Answer 8

Aug 14, 2020 5:11 PM in response to Wilk1234

On the first screenshot I tapped on where it says “Connection : Good”

That is what does not appear when I check things with an iOS device here. Is this a "hidden" menu or something like that? How can an iPhone check an Ethernet connection, when it can only connect using WiFi?

I'll play around with things a bit more, but suspect that the 4th Gen may behave differently than the 802.11ac version of the AirPort Extreme that I'm using here.

If you decide to swap around the AirPorts, let us know how that works out if you can.

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Answer 9

Wilk1234 Author

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Aug 14, 2020 5:38 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Hmm yeah I guess it could be due to the old AE version I have.

The airport utility app lets you manage all airports on your network so it seems like it should be able to Tell how the bedroom AE is connected to the closet AE and the speed of that connection right?

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Answer 10

Aug 14, 2020 5:50 PM in response to Wilk1234

The iPhone is connecting over WiFi, not Ethernet. If you want to check connection speed on an Ethernet connection, you need to connect to the AirPort using an Ethernet connection from a computer.

The recent version of the AirPort uses firmware 7.91. Older AirPorts use 7.8.1. Might be something there, I don't know.

Please list step by step how you are getting to the "Connection" page using the iOS version of AirPort Utility.

Example........AirPort Utility > Edit > Advanced > etc.

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Answer 11

Wilk1234 Author

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8 points

Aug 15, 2020 10:54 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Here are the steps I take:

Open Airport Utility on my iPhone (FYI I get same screen/steps on my iPad as well) > Bedroom Airport Extreme > tap "Connection - Good". That's how I get to that connection screen. And again I can get to that same screen regardless if my iPhone or iPad is currently connecting to the bedroom AE or closet AE. Interestingly Airport Utility does not give me the same screen when I try tapping on the closet AE, so it appears to only be an option for the AE that is in bridge mode. And maybe it is only available 4th gen AE's?

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Answer 12

Wilk1234 Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 17, 2020 6:35 PM in response to Bob Timmons

One other thing I forgot to mention is when I tap on the Bedroom AE the first time that “Connection : Good” row does NOT show up, but when I back out and tap on the Bedroom AE a 2nd time that “Connection : Good” part appears. Just wanted to mention that in case you’re able to see it that way.

Regardless I still cannot figure out why it says that and I believe that’s the reason the Bedroom AE WiFi speed is about half of the main router in the closet.

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Answer 13

Aug 17, 2020 7:05 PM in response to Wilk1234

We're going to have to ask another user if they can duplicate the "Connection" information in iOS AirPort Utility, because I cannot get a "Connection" setting to display no matter how many times I go in and out of AirPort Utility.

I have an old 3rd Gen AirPort Extreme in the closet somewhere, so if I can find it, I will set it up as a remote AirPort with an Ethernet connection to see that makes any difference. Might be a day or two before I can report back.

For what its worth the two AirPorts that are currently set up here are about as close performance wise as you could ever want. Internet connection speed tests are literally identical from one AirPort to the other.

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AirPort Extreme (4th gen) limited to 100 Mb/s in bridge mode)

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