Weak Signal with newest Airport Extreme

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bbear91 Author

Level 1

2 points

Weak Signal with newest Airport Extreme

Here's the details:

I just purchased the newest AirPort Extreme.

I have an all mac home...2 iMacs, 2 AppleTVs, 2 iPads, 1 iTouch and 3 iPhones.

Using a Cisco modem (Cox Cable).

Today I set up AirPort easily using one of the iMacs (my work computer) which is located on the 3rd floor.

The wifi strength is great throughout except the one room it's needed most...our family room. It is weak and drops. Often.

The Family Room is also the farthest point away from the AP Extreme. Our home is 2,000sq feet, crawl space with 3 floors and our family room is located off the back of the house (picture the 3 floors, stacked on top of each other in the shape of a box, with the 3rd floor truly an attic space that was renovated to be an office/bedroom). We spend a lot of time in the family room and that is where 1 of the Apple TVs is located as well as a BlueRay DVD player. Also, it's an older home, so I realize there's probably some metal to contend with and possibly interefering with the wifi strength.

I REALLY hoped the AP Extreme would at least give us enough strength to use the Apple TV and allow us to use our apple products at will, but it's no better than the all-in-1 modem (cable, internet, phone, wifi) that we previously used.

Can anyone give me advice on amping up the wifi strength?

Since it's been set up, can I relocate it to another location w/o having a direct ethernet connection from the modem and simply plug it into the wall for power?

The other iMac is on the first floor, however, the cable box is on the third floor so if it must have a direct ethernet connection to/from the modem, it can't be moved.

I realize I may not grasp the unique and awesome abilities of the AP Extreme and I am really hoping someone can help me out.

Thanks in advance!!

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on Jul 17, 2013 6:29 AM

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Answer 1

bbear91 Author

Level 1

2 points

Jul 17, 2013 7:01 AM in response to bbear91

Okay....a bit more digging and I see that I do have to have a direct ethernet connection, so perhaps the answer is to purchase extra long cords and snake them down the stairs to the main hallway on the 2nd floor. Not ideal, but may have to go this route.

Other things to note:

1. I did not name the 5GHz channel...does this help/hurt?

2. I have both channels set to automatic scanning.

3. The wifi strength is so awesome throughout the house until you step down into the family room. The signal drops a bar with one step, then another bar with the 2nd step. And then it completely drops the signal, then picks it back up...over and over again.

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Answer 2

Tesserax

Level 10

148,453 points

Jul 17, 2013 10:11 AM in response to bbear91

Okay....a bit more digging and I see that I do have to have a direct ethernet connection, so perhaps the answer is to purchase extra long cords and snake them down the stairs to the main hallway on the 2nd floor. Not ideal, but may have to go this route.

Getting decent Wi-Fi performance in a three-story home would be difficult for any brand of wireless router due to Wi-Fi interference. As you mentioned, using Ethernet connections would eliminate this issue. The other option would be to get another AirPort. Connect the two AirPorts via an Ethernet connection, and then, configure them both for a "roaming" network. This would provide you with better Wi-Fi coverage between locations on the 1st & 3rd floors. Ideally, you would place an AirPort one on each floor for the best coverage.

1. I did not name the 5GHz channel...does this help/hurt?

Neither. The 5 GHz radio signal will have a much more difficult time penetrating through walls/floors. It is best used in a single (or adjouring) room(s). With a roaming network you can have the 5 GHz band throughput performance on each floor an AirPort is located.

2. I have both channels set to automatic scanning.

That's what you will want. However, you can experiment by setting the channels on each radio manually. Which channels you choose would be dependent on, whether or not, you have other Wi-Fis operating nearby. If you do, then you would want to look for those with the strongest signal and what channel(s) they are operating on. Then set yours to a different channel. For the 2.4 GHz band, you would want to set it to at least 3-5 channels away.

3. The wifi strength is so awesome throughout the house until you step down into the family room. The signal drops a bar with one step, then another bar with the 2nd step. And then it completely drops the signal, then picks it back up...over and over again.

Actually, that's not unusual. Think of the AirPort as a light bulb. The more distance or objects between the bulb and you the dimmer the light gets. That's pretty much the same with the Wi-Fi signal strength.

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Answer 3

bbear91 Author

Level 1

2 points

Jul 17, 2013 6:19 PM in response to Tesserax

Thanks so much for your quick and helpful reply.

I may toy with some channels, but I figured it's best set to automataic, so that's reassuring. I understand about the range and the 3 levels. Discouraging but I get it. Since the additional airport at this point is on a wish list, I will see about testing the strength on the 2nd floor using a few extra long ethernet cables.

Prior to ditching the cable company's all-in-1 box with wifi for one w/o wifi, I did attempt to extend the wifi using an extender, Linksys RE1000. Unfortunately that didn't help, even after a lengthy tech call. It actually made things more difficult to access the internet, kicking us off randomly and in places we typically had good wifi, and it definitely didn't improve the family room reception. BUT...I haven't returned it yet, and I am wondering if things might be different with an overall stronger wifi. Maybe it would pick up the stronger signal and help in the family room. Not sure it will play nice with the AP Extreme, but will test it out.

Really appreciate your suggestions and input...thank you!

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Answer 4

MikeDVB

Level 1

15 points

Oct 29, 2013 6:28 PM in response to bbear91

It's been a while since you posted this thread so I hope you got everything sorted out.

If not - you could always look at an Airport Express to use as an extender. Plugging it in in a room *near* the family room that gets good signal should allow it to extend that signal into your family room.

They're not as expensive as a second Extreme and should do the trick I would think.

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Answer 5

Jun 24, 2014 2:12 PM in response to bbear91

If you want to increase wireless range and coverage try mounting it on the ceiling or wall like with this product:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IRSDKX6

It optimizes the 11n/ac speed and throughput so that you can get great performance from your Apple Extreme throughout the entire house!

I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

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Answer 6

dvp22

Level 1

0 points

Jul 23, 2015 2:49 PM in response to bbear91

I called apple support saying i have week signal strength and he suggested it is causing by interference from neighbors wi-fi signal, does he mean i need to ask my neighbors to shut there wi-fi so i ll get good signal? can't apple design product better than its compitors?

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Answer 7

Tesserax

Level 10

148,453 points

Jul 23, 2015 7:34 PM in response to dvp22

I called apple support saying i have week signal strength and he suggested it is causing by interference from neighbors wi-fi signal, does he mean i need to ask my neighbors to shut there wi-fi so i ll get good signal?

That's one option, but not necessarily an easy one if your neighbors don't want to cooperate. Instead, you have at least three choices: 1) Configure your AirPort base station to use automatic channel settings. This is its default and generally the AirPort do a decent job of determining which channels to use, 2) Use a Wi-Fi scanner to determine which channels are currently being used nearby, especially those with the strongest Wi-Fi signal, and then, change yours. Note: If you live in a very congested Wi-Fi area, like in an apartment building or dorm, you may want to change to using the 5 GHz band as (currently) it is less "busy" than the 2.4 GHz band, or 3) Use wired connection instead of wireless ones.

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