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Can you extend a wifi network using a 2nd wired Airport Extreme ?

Hi

my cable broadbank service enters one corner of my house via a router/modem that I have running in modem mode.

I then have a ethernet cable to a new Airport Extreme (my primary router) next to it that I am using to create a Wifi network (with the same name for 2.4GHz and 5GHz)


I need to get a strong a signal as possible to opposite corners of the house.


At the moment I have a 2nd Airport Extreme (my secondary router) in the opposite corner of the house which Extends the network from the first router.

This AE also has some devices in the same room connected to it by ethernet.


Thise devices are getting very patchy internet service.

I have speeds over 100Mbps available close to my primary router, and around 7 Mbps next to the secondary.


I also have an unused ethernet cable running from the room with the primary router to a room near to the secondary router.


My question:

If I plugged my secondary router into that ethernet cable (into it's input socket) and the other end to the output of the primary router: would I be able to use the secondary router to extend the same Wifi network that the primary was broadcasting ? Or would I end up having to create a completely new network (and then worry about mobile devices switching between them when you move around the house).


Followup question:

If the idea above doesn't pan out - would I typically be better off stationing the secondary router in the middle of the house to extend the network range - or in a far corner as it currently is ?


thanks in advance.

Christian.

Airport Extreme 802.11ac-OTHER

Posted on Apr 23, 2015 1:35 AM

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Posted on Apr 23, 2015 2:36 AM

If I plugged my secondary router into that ethernet cable (into it's input socket) and the other end to the output of the primary router: would I be able to use the secondary router to extend the same Wifi network that the primary was broadcasting ?

Yes. Apple's set up wizard calls this "extend using Ethernet". Since there is virtually no signal loss through the Ethernet cable, the second AirPort Extreme will receive a much faster signal to extend.


If the idea above doesn't pan out - would I typically be better off stationing the secondary router in the middle of the house to extend the network range

Yes. As it stands, the wireless signal has really slowed down a great deal by the time that it reaches the far end of the house. And, the Extreme can only wirelessly extend the speed of signal that it receives from the "main" Extreme. It can make the signal that it receives stronger, but it cannot make the signal go faster.


So, locating the second Extreme about half way between the "main" Extreme and far end of the house would be the best compromise. The network speed will still slow by at least half when you do it this way, and any obstructions in the signal path will slow the signal even more.


It is easy to see why extending using Ethernet.....if possible.....provides much better performance for the network.

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Apr 23, 2015 2:36 AM in response to cjmarshall

If I plugged my secondary router into that ethernet cable (into it's input socket) and the other end to the output of the primary router: would I be able to use the secondary router to extend the same Wifi network that the primary was broadcasting ?

Yes. Apple's set up wizard calls this "extend using Ethernet". Since there is virtually no signal loss through the Ethernet cable, the second AirPort Extreme will receive a much faster signal to extend.


If the idea above doesn't pan out - would I typically be better off stationing the secondary router in the middle of the house to extend the network range

Yes. As it stands, the wireless signal has really slowed down a great deal by the time that it reaches the far end of the house. And, the Extreme can only wirelessly extend the speed of signal that it receives from the "main" Extreme. It can make the signal that it receives stronger, but it cannot make the signal go faster.


So, locating the second Extreme about half way between the "main" Extreme and far end of the house would be the best compromise. The network speed will still slow by at least half when you do it this way, and any obstructions in the signal path will slow the signal even more.


It is easy to see why extending using Ethernet.....if possible.....provides much better performance for the network.

Apr 23, 2015 6:23 AM in response to cjmarshall

One follow up note here regarding mobile devices switching from one access point to another as the move about the house.


Mac laptops will usually do a very good job of automatically switching from one access point to another as they move the house, but mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad will not.


The mobile devices have a strong tendency to stay connected to the original AirPort with which they connect, even if you move them close to another AirPort. If you want the mobile devices to pick up the best signal as they move about, you will need to get in the habit of temporarily turning off the WiFi on the iPhone or iPad when they are moving, and then turning the WiFi back on when they are near another access point.


Sometimes, the iPhone and iPad with switch to the new access point on their own, but this will usually take a few minutes to occur.

Apr 27, 2015 12:06 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Hi

this all worked pretty well. I extended via ethernet and am now getting >120Mbps where previously I was getting 7Mbps.


Small point of note for others, to switch the secondary router to extend from ethernet you need to reset the router via the little recessed button at the back.

I plugged in the ethernet lead whilst it was restarting and then it seemed to correctly guess what I wanted to do, so the "wizard" just really defaulted to what I wanted for me.


I'm seeing some minor niggles. Opening a new web page often seems to take a couple of seconds to get then connect, then once made you can stream video very well. Not sure what that is.


Anyway, thanks for the help.

Chris

Apr 27, 2015 11:20 AM in response to cjmarshall

this all worked pretty well. I extended via ethernet and am now getting >120Mbps where previously I was getting 7Mbps.

17 times faster speed is pretty good, I would say. 😉 Easy to see why extending using Ethernet runs circles around extending using wireless.


Opening a new web page often seems to take a couple of seconds to get then connect, then once made you can stream video very well. Not sure what that is.

Could be any of a number of things. Web browsing and web access speed is largely controlled by the DNS server(s) that your modem/router is set up to use.


Are you using the normal DNS servers that your Internet Service Provider supplies, or are you using different DNS servers to access the Internet?


Are you seeing this delay on all devices.....or just on mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad?

Apr 28, 2015 3:59 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Could be any of a number of things. Web browsing and web access speed is largely controlled by the DNS server(s) that your modem/router is set up to use. Are you using the normal DNS servers that your Internet Service Provider supplies, or are you using different DNS servers to access the Internet?


Just the normal DNS provided by my ISP (Virgin Media).


Are you seeing this delay on all devices.....or just on mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad?

I only notice it on an iMac where you expect the performance to be pretty instant. You get that second or two after entering a URL where you think 'oh no, is my connection down' before suddenly it connects and the connection is great.

If the delay is there on mobile devices, then it is not really noticeable compared normal and expected performance on them.

Apr 28, 2015 7:55 AM in response to cjmarshall

Just to bring it to your attention - only in the worst situation I will ever extend a wireless network again


I am as well running two airport extreme stations - having setup one device to extend the network range.

  1. While connected directly to the data source over a desktop cheap switch, I can get a throughput of 65 MByte/s
  2. If connected to the base airport extreme station running on 2.4 GHz (217 Mbps) the throughput drops to 19 Mbyte/s
  3. If connected to the base airport extreme station running on 5 GHz (450 Mbps) the throughput is still 37 Mbyte/s
  4. While it becomes really bad (either 2.4 or 5 GHz) when connected to the repeater: 6-7 MByte/s


Tests have been done with a 18 month old pair of airport extreme and Macbook Pro 8,2 using jPerf. As iPerf server I simply used my settop box to get a realistic maximum HD streaming throughput.

Can you extend a wifi network using a 2nd wired Airport Extreme ?

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