airport time capsule wi-fi speed

Hard wired to the Time Capsule I get close to 100Mbps

Is the 100 Mbps figure obtained when you connect your laptop directly to the modem.......or.......when you connect it to one of the LAN <--> ports on the Time Capsule?

If you have not yet checked the speed at one of the three LAN <--> ports on the Time Capsule, please check that way and report on your results.

For more checks, it would help us if you could tell us what operating system you are using on your Mac or PC.

Thanks for the info.

If you locate a Mac or PC about 10-15 feet from the Time Capsule with direct line of sight to the Time Capsule, it is reasonable to expect something in the 80-90 Mbps range over wireless.

I checked my Mac laptop on a 100 Mbps wired connection and got 92-94 Mbps. Not bad.

The iPhone and iPad usually will usually not connect at speeds much higher than 50-60 Mbps though, due to the processor in the operating system. I just checked my iPhone and got about 35-38 Mbps. Sometimes, I can get 45 Mbps on a good day.

The speed will slow down as you move further away from the Time Capsule........and.......any obstructions like a wall, ceiling, heavy furniture, etc in the signal path will cause a signal slow down. The signal will really slow down if it must pass through several walls, or a ceiling, which is much thicker than a wall.

Interference from other WiFi networks, or cordless phones can also slow down the wireless signal.

I just placed my laptop on the floor beneath my desk where the AirPort is located and the signal speed dropped by about half.....since wireless signals travel in a direct line from the router to the computer. If I walk the laptop into the next room...so the signal has to pass through one wall, the speed drops by a third. Two rooms away, the speed drops another 20% or so.

Things sound pretty normal to me. Would really make sense to connect the desktop using an Ethernet cable if you can.

If you can get the model number from the bottom of the Time Capsule, we can tell you a bit more about it. The model number starts with an "A" followed by four numbers. It might be embedded in the foam base of the Time Capsule.

If it too hard to get to the Time Capsule to get the model number.....try the following

Open Finder > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility

Hold down the option key on your Mac while you double click on the Time Capsule icon

A summary page will appear

The Model information is there

So to get a good signal to my Smart TV which is in the next room I guess I should hard wire it also.

Hard wired connections are always the better performance and reliability choice, if possible.

As far as a good location for the Time Capsule for wireless, think of it as if it were a water sprinkler and you want to get as much of the room as "wet" as possible.

There might be a worse spot to locate a Time Capsule than under a desk, but off hand, I can't think of one unless it is inside a cabinet. 😉

The A1355 version is known as a 3rd Generation Time Capsule. Depending on when you purchased the product, it is 4-5 years old at this point. Five years, on average, is about all that you can really expect from a router designed for home use, so you might want to start thinking about a replacement at some point. The top rated speed on the 3rd Generation is 540 Mbps, far greater than your ISP can hope to deliver.

Here is a comparison of the Time Capsule models:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AirPort_Time_Capsule

I'm going to jump in on this time capsule thing. I have Time Warner and my internet is so sporadic. It is on, then off. I have computers, iPhones, iPads, tv's, tiro's, the house thermostat, security cameras connected, and my internet is just so sporadic. Now TW is telling me that it's not them. It's some wireless device here that is causing the problem and they think it's my Time Capsule. After reading some of the posts here....do you think I need a new one? This is probably about 7-8 years old. It has lots of space on it, since we use it for back ups also...Do you think it's the age of this time capsule that is causing the problems? Please help.. Thanks so much.

Sandy

My time machine is version 7.6.4 Thanks, Sandy

Please post back when you can to let us know if the new Time Capsule has helped with the connection speed issues. Hopefully, the new TC will not be relegated to a location under the desk, since a good bit of the signal will be absorbed by the desk before it ever reaches the room.

I replaced my little bit older Airport Time Capsule with the latest one. It's also 2T. I'm using it for back up also. So, TimeWarner told me I should get a really long cable and set it up from my Airport to an upstairs computer to boost the signal. He confessed to not knowing a thing about Apple. So, when I called Apple, they told me to use the new/latest Airport and then set up the older one upstairs, WIRELESSLY. It has improved everything in the house that works from wi-fi. I couldn't be more pleased. I set it up in under five minutes. It now sits upstairs on a desk, and I can continue using it as an external, but the main thing, it really does extend the signal. I haven't had one problem with any upstairs Tivo's since it was installed on Monday. Upstairs thermostat is always online, along with any iPhones, iPads, Tivo's, etc. that are up there. I haven't gotten one message that says i'm not online. All cameras work, along with computers and everything else. I wish I had known I could use an Airport as an extender, before I paid a small fortune putting other extenders/ boosters in the house. This is great to know, even at this late date.