Old Airport Extreme vs. new Express to extend network

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Old Airport Extreme vs. new Express to extend network

I have a newish Time Capsule that I bought in 2014. Lately, I've had some issues streaming to my Apple TV, which is located in my basement. (The Time Capsule is on the second floor.) I thought extending my network might help with the streaming issues. I extended the network with a 2nd generation Airport Extreme that I retired when I purchased the Time Capsule. I haven't noticed an improvement, and possibly the issue has gotten worse. So, would a new Express provide better coverage than the old Extreme? FYI, I'm extending wirelessly for now because I don't think I can easily run ethernet through my house. Thanks for any input.

Airport Time Capsule 802.11ac, iOS 8.4

Posted on Jul 30, 2015 1:03 PM

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Answer 1

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Bob Timmons

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Jul 30, 2015 1:20 PM in response to Daze22

So, would a new Express provide better coverage than the old Extreme?

No, assuming that the Extreme is functioning correctly, since all versions of the AirPort Extreme have much better antennas than the AirPort Express.

However, the 2nd Gen Extreme is probably 6-8 years old....depending when you bought it....so that may have something to do with things. On average, a router designed for home use will have a useful life of about 5 years.

If you have a Mac laptop running a recent operating system, you may need to do some troubleshooting to find out why the extender is not providing a noticeable improvement. Post back if you have some time to work on this.

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Answer 2

Daze22 Author

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Jul 30, 2015 7:55 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Thanks for your response, Bob. I moved the Extreme to another room on the first floor of my house. The Airport Utility now says that the connection is excellent. I'm going to rent some movies this weekend to see if they stream properly (and the way they used to) now that I've relocated the Extreme. I'm also wondering whether adding the Extreme as an extender has improved my wi-fi network or if I would have been better off sticking exclusively with the Time Capsule. Hopefully, a few experiments will help me figure it out. Thank you again for the input.

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