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I have just got a new ISP and the speeds upstairs on my exterme are great, around 60/30. I am using an express downstairs to extend the signal. When i run a speed test downstairs, i am lucky to get above 5 download or upload. I have tried to play around wiith some frequencies, but there wasn't that much improvement. Any suggetsions? Thanks.
Temporarily, power off the AirPort Express and take a few test speed measurements with your laptop located in the general area where the AirPort Express is located.
Select the location with the best test results, but remember that the Express can only extend the quality and speed of the signal that it receives. It cannot make the signal that it receives go faster.
So, you will likely need to locate the Express significantly closer to the AirPort Extreme, or vice versa to improve the speed between the devices.
Also look for ways to minimize obstructions in the signal path between the AirPorts. Ideally, you want line-of-sight between them.
Unfortunately, most ceilings will absorb half of more of the signal...and speed....so you may need to think about a wired connection between the AirPorts. Then, you can expect the same speeds downstairs as upstairs.
Temporarily, power off the AirPort Express and take a few test speed measurements with your laptop located in the general area where the AirPort Express is located.
Select the location with the best test results, but remember that the Express can only extend the quality and speed of the signal that it receives. It cannot make the signal that it receives go faster.
So, you will likely need to locate the Express significantly closer to the AirPort Extreme, or vice versa to improve the speed between the devices.
Also look for ways to minimize obstructions in the signal path between the AirPorts. Ideally, you want line-of-sight between them.
Unfortunately, most ceilings will absorb half of more of the signal...and speed....so you may need to think about a wired connection between the AirPorts. Then, you can expect the same speeds downstairs as upstairs.
unplug the express and turn wifi on/off on your client and re-run the test from that same spot, better or worse than 5?
if better, you don't need the express
if worse, reconnect the express possibly closer to the extreme? if not, plug it back in and wait for it to go green. then again turn wifi on/off on your client and open airport utility to make sure your client is connected to the express and re-run the test
report back
It still hovered around 5 after rebooting it...and when I moved t closer(by closer I mean the same room upstairs) it worked better
This gives you an idea of how quickly the signal strength and speed is lost when you try to extend using wireless to connect the AirPorts.
Even if you have line-of-sight between the AirPorts, you will still lose a significant amount of speed on the network.
That is why we always recommend a wired connection between AirPorts when you are extending the network. Unfortunately, if you want good performance, there are no shortcuts.
so it hovered around the same speeds with the express turned off? if so, the express isn't helping your situation
if you still have dead spots, you need to either find a way to run ethernet (no issues) or use ethernet/powerline adapters (various issues)
piglet299 wrote:
It still hovered around 5 after rebooting it...and when I moved t closer(by closer I mean the same room upstairs) it worked better
Today I got a plug in ethernet adapter thinking it would help. It improved by maybe 2mbps. I called my ISP frustrated and they couldn't do anything for me due to the fact that my wired connection worked fine,
Ethernet powerline adapters can sometimes perform well if they are all on the same electrical circuit, but chances are your upstairs areas and downstairs areas are not on the same circuit, so there is significant loss.
Significant loss occurs over distance as well.
As we already stated, you will need to run an Ethernet cable from the upstairs AirPort to the area downstairs if you want to maintain good speeds on the network.
How do i fix the awful speed on my airport express when using it to extend an airport extreme?
