AirPort Extreme and AT&T Uverse Setup and Settings

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AirPort Extreme and AT&T Uverse Setup and Settings

I live in an old loft with thick walls and long hallways. We use AT&T Uverse but the signal strength drops significantly the further you get from the wireless router. We decided to try the AirPort Extreme to see if this would help. My configuration is the AE plugged in via ethernet to the Uverse modem (Arris NVG859). There is the separate Uverse wireless router also plugged in and I left that alone. I used the default settings in airport utility (bridge mode, configure IPv6 automatically etc). I created my network and can connect but connection speeds start at 20-22mbps but then in 5-10 minutes they drop to the normal speeds of 5-7 mbps. Why does this happen? Is there something I need to change in my setup? A setting I should adjust? Or is this the best it gets with AE? I tried plugging in the AE to the Uverse receiver in the bedroom (located in the middle of the loft) and got the same results. I also switched the setting to DHCP and NAT, and then tried the Link-Local Only setting (same results). Calling ATT is always my last option as I never have much success with them. Thanks for any help!

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013), OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Jan 24, 2016 2:10 PM

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Answer 1

Tesserax

Level 10

157,896 points

Jan 24, 2016 2:43 PM in response to hhead314

My configuration is the AE plugged in via ethernet to the Uverse modem (Arris NVG859). There is the separate Uverse wireless router also plugged in and I left that alone.

Your Arris "modem" is actually a combination modem & wireless router. Also known as a gateway device. Since you have two additional wireless routers plugged into it, all of these devices should be configured for a roaming network. This type of network allows for wireless clients to literally roam between routers and still be on the "same" wireless network.

The important keys for this type of network to be successful are:

All or the routers must be interconnected by Ethernet.
All routers, except for the "main" one, must be reconfigured as bridges.
All router must broadcast a wireless network with the same network name (aka SSID) and use the same wireless security type & password.

I also switched the setting to DHCP and NAT, and then tried the Link-Local Only setting (same results).

You do NOT want to use the "DHCP and NAT" setting as this would keep the AirPort performing as a router. You want it in bridge mode. As far as the second setting, this would be appropriate, especially if your ISP does not currently offer IPv6 service.

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Answer 2

hhead314 Author

Level 1

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Jan 24, 2016 2:59 PM in response to Tesserax

Wow! Thanks for the quick response and answers to my questions. So the Uverse router also needs to be reconfigured to bridges? I'll need to look up how to do that. So if the original gateway and wireless router have a network name, security, and password....do I change my settings for the AE to match those of the gateway (name, password)? Again, thank you!

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Answer 3

Jan 24, 2016 3:02 PM in response to hhead314

It has been resolved?

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Answer 4

Tesserax

Level 10

157,896 points

Jan 24, 2016 3:08 PM in response to hhead314

So the Uverse router also needs to be reconfigured to bridges?

No, at least not the Arris NVG859 gateway. This is your "main" router and should be left in its default configuration ... which is to perform as a router. The other Uverse wireless router and the AirPort base station should be reconfigured as bridges.

Sorry, if I made this more confusing.

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