Slow Fios Home Internet connection using AirPort Extreme

A few questions.......

Have you disconnected the AirPort Extreme and connected a computer directly to the Ethernet cable that is coming from the Fios "modem" to check your Internet connection speed that way?

If not, what speed to you record if you run a few checks this way?

The reason that we ask is that the AirPort Extreme will not provide any faster signal than it receives from the Fios "modem", so if the Fios connection is slow, so too will the AirPort Extreme signal be slow and the AirPort Expresses will be slow as well.

So the very first thing that you need to do is connect a computer directly to the FIos "modem using an Ethernet cable and run a few checks that way.

Next question......Have you reset the AirPort Extreme back to factory default settings and set it up again......as well as the AirPort Express devices?

If not, the settings that you used on the AirPort Extreme were optimized to work with the "modem" or "router" at your old home and may not be the correct settings to use on a Fios connection. So, the AirPort Extreme needs to be reset and then set up again so that it can pick up the correct settings that it needs from the "new" modem.

Bottom line, to troubleshoot a speed issue, you need to follow a sequence as follows:

Connect a computer directly to the "modem" using and Ethernet connection and run a few speed checks that way.

If things are working OK that way, then connect the AirPort Extreme to the modem connection and run a few speed checks by connecting your computer directly to the AirPort Extreme using an Ethernet connection.

Leave the AirPort Express devices turned off for now

If things are working OK with a computer connected directly to the Airport Extreme with an Ethernet connection, then run a few speed checks using the WiFi. Locate your Mac in the same room to run a few checks on the WiFi

If things are OK with WiFi with the AirPort Extreme on WiFi, then power up one of the AirPort Express devices and run a few speed checks that way with a computer close to the Airport Express

If things are OK, power up the other Express and run a few checks with the computer close to the AirPort Express

You get the idea. It's a tedious process to troubleshoot connection speed with multiple devices, and you need to do things in the correct order to avoid going in circles during the process. There are unfortunately no shortcuts here.

You need to plug a computer by ethernet to the connection box in the basement.. directly.

Measure the speed. Wireless off.

Then plug the link to upstairs back in and go to the cupboard and plug your computer in there. Do the test again.

This check that both the incoming broadband connection is working and the ethernet cable is working. You should be able to get your full 200Mbps download when connected directly.. If you have cable you do need to power cycle the modem.. if it is fibre then you might need to wait 15min to swap over..

The third test is the easiest and so you can do first and that is ethernet to LAN port of the main Airport Extreme.. if this is super slow as per your other tests.. tell us what kind of internet service you have.

Did you reset the AE to factory and reconfigure it since moving to the new place..? Power cycle does not fix wrong configuration. And you always should reconfigure in a new setup.

I would also make sure you use different short names, no spaces and pure alphanumerics. Passwords the same rules but can be longer.

That starts down the process of fixing Q1

As far as Q2 is concerned you do not need the Verizon router.. but you might need a different main router if certain issues cannot be sorted.

Note the express will slow your network dramatically when you use them. They are designed with 100Mbit ethernet ports and slow N wireless.. so poor speed is expected. The extreme is a much better box.

If the Mac is connecting to the AirPort Extreme in the same room, it should be connecting using a PHY Mode of 802.11ac and on a much higher channel, something like 36, 40, 44, 48 or 149, 153, 157, 161.

As it stands, by looking at the Tx Rate of 78, this tells us that your Mac can connect to the AirPort Extreme at a maximum speed of 78 Mbps, no higher. That number should be much much higher, something in the 270+ range.

Currently, my Mac laptop is in the next room around the corner from the AirPort Extreme, and the Tx Rate reads 527, meaning that my Mac can connect to the AirPort Extreme at up to 527 Mbps at its current location. My Internet speed plan is 300, so Internet speeds over WiFi will come in around 270-290 on average at the laptop's current location.

Is it possible that you are trying to use a very old AirPort Extreme? The WiFi speeds are the first thing to go south on an older router while wired connections will usually not be affected by the speed loss. If your AirPort Express is flat or square shaped, like a small white pizza box, look on the bottom of the device for the model number. It is usually embedded in the foam pad base. The model number starts with an "A" followed by 4 numbers.

Unfortunately, this is not the same as having the Mac in the same room, which I was requesting for the checks.

A ceiling is a significant obstruction, which can really kill the speed of a connection. A lot of recent construction practices call for using insulation that has one or two foil metal layers on either side of the insulating material in ceilings and walls. Not much of a WiFi signal is going to get through the metal foil.

I have an addition at the house here that uses the newer type of insulation and very little of the WiFi signal will pass through the wall. I have to run an Ethernet cable from the main AirPort to another AirPort back in the new addition to get any decent speeds at all.

If you have a relatively new iPhone or iPad, can you locate it in the same room with line of sight to the AirPort Extreme and run a few speed checks using the www.speedtest.net application?

We need to get a good read on the WiFi speeds in the same room as the AirPort Extreme with line of sight between the WiFi device and AirPort Extreme before we can go much further with troubleshooting.

Your connection should look more like this:

I'm not sure why your Mac would be connecting at only 802.11n levels when it should be connecting using 802.11ac levels. 802.11n is going to be really limited in terms of speed.

How close is the Mac laptop to the AirPort Extreme?

Have you turned off the WiFi on the Mac and then turned it back on again?

Is the Mac running a current or recent version of the Mac operating system?

A Mac laptop is preferable to an iPhone or iPad because it will reveal more information about the connection, but the iPhone / iPad can give us a peek at simple speeds.

Typo, meant to say your AirPort Extreme.......not AirPort Express......toward the end of the last paragraph above.

Thanks for running the various checks.

Leave the AirPort Express devices off for now, connect your Mac to the AirPort Extreme using WiFi with the Mac in the same room as the AirPort Extreme

Hold down the option key while you click on the WiFi menu at the top of the screen

Post back on the values that see for:

Security

Channel

RSSI

Noise

Tx Rate

PHY Mode