Can use my old airport exterem 802.11g to extend an airport extreme 802.11n network? The 802.11n is using WPA2 pers.
will the network speed be slow if I can do so?
Thanks
MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7.3)
I believe that you can but, if I'm correct, it WILL force the 802.11n system down to "g" operation. Network extenders ALWAYS reduce network data rate because of overhead.
In addition to Philly_Phan's comments that this type of setup will force the "n" Extreme down to "g" levels, I'm afraid that the news gets worse.....
The bandwidth will be cut in half on the entire network, so you will have a "g" wireless network running at half speed.....about 27 Mpbs tops.
If your Internet connection service is about the same speed, you won't notice a drop in performance while using the Internet, but any file copies, backups, etc over the local network are going to run at extremely slow speeds...about 4-5 times slower on average compared to normal "n" level performance.
But before you decide that you might want to accept that kind of handicap, you should also understand that the required WDS setup is quite difficult for most users. It's easy to make a mistake during the process and hard to recover without simply starting all over again.
To get an idea of what this type of configuration might entail, you can take a a look at Apple's step by step instructions for a WDS configuration here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4262
IF.....you could connect the older Airport to the newer Airport using an Ethernet connection....always the best choice, performance wise....both AirPort routers will operate at their respective maximum speed levels.
The setup for this type of configuraton...called a "roaming network"....would track with Apple's instructions here:
Sadly, I've seen many people buy a bunch of CHEAP older G airports thinking they were going to save money, only to find out later they just ended up having to throw even more away.
can I use an airport extreme 802.11g to extend and airport extreme 802.11n network.
