AirPort Extreme WiFi Problems with COX Gigablast Fiber

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Level 1

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AirPort Extreme WiFi Problems with COX Gigablast Fiber

I recently installed COX Gigablast fiber optic internet service and elected to stay with my (2) AirPort Extreme wireless routers, instead of using the Netgear router which they provided. I didn't think anything of it because the Tech that did my install said "we get the same speeds with the Airport Extreme's as we do the Netgear...", so I didn't think much of it. During the install I was getting 950Mbps both download and upload via hard wired connection, and 300-400Mbps via wireless connection. Over the next day or so, I noticed Netflix was serving a low-res picture on the TV, like it was on a limited wifi network. After doing some speed tests at Speedtest.net, the wired connection speed was very erratic and the wireless connection had plummeted to ~30Mbps. I reset the Airport Extreme Routers, but to no avail.

I had a COX tech come out and he said that the AirPort Extreme had to have IPV6 turned "OFF". This seems to have corrected the wired connection's instability.

The wireless connection, however, is still obismal! Has anyone else run into this issue? If so, I would really appreciate any resolution. The COX Tech told me that they have been telling Apple that they have a bug with the Airport Extreme when it's used with their Gigablast service, and that "after Apple's repeated denial of the problem, they had just proved to Apple that the issue was with the AirPort Extreme, and not with COX." He also told me that I was on my own because they only guarantee the hard line connection speed, "because there are too many variables when it comes to WiFi signal."

Any input would be much appreciated. Thank you!

AirPort Extreme-OTHER, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Feb 13, 2016 6:40 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 16, 2016 3:57 PM in response to brianfromcc

Thanks for this post! And for being the Guinea pig on this issue.

I, too, just had Gigablast installed and am using the supplied Netgear router. I just bought a new AirPort Extreme to handle the gig speed and wondered whether to run it directly off the fiber modem or hard wire it off the the Netgear router.

Hope someone knowledgeable at Apple can address this problem quickly.

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Answer 2

Feb 16, 2016 4:24 PM in response to AZ Volley Coach

Hope someone knowledgeable at Apple can address this problem quickly.

We are all users here on this user-to-user support forum, so you will not hear from Apple on this site.

The current AirPort routers were designed to work with standard DSL and cable connections. Fibre is whole new ballgame, and Apple is trying to learn the basic rules of the game before they can compete.

For that reason, it would likely be better in your case to connect the AirPort to the Netgear router......which is a standard type connection that the AirPort will probably understand. There's no harm in trying to connect the AirPort directly to the modem, but there are very limited settings on the AirPort in this regard. You'll have to experiment since different fibre suppliers use different connection protocols and "tricks" to set up the connections.

For example, one user posted to say that he needed to use PPPoE settings to connect the AirPort to the modem.....but instead of entering both a user name and password......he had to leave the password completely blank. Another user said that a standard DHCP connection worked for him while another using the same service could not get a connection using the same settings.

If you knew the exact connection requirements that the fibre modem is looking for, or could find them and post them here, that might provide a few clues. Generally, ISPs tend to want you to use the router that they provide, so they may not be willing to offer much in the way of detailed information about connecting to a router for which they are not familiar.

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Answer 3

f_monk

Level 1

4 points

Apr 10, 2016 2:29 PM in response to brianfromcc

I have had this problem too, though my Cox service is not fiber based. It took several frustrating calls with Cox before reaching a knowledgable rep. The fiber connection is not the issue. The issue is Cox switched to IPv6 in order to have more IP addresses than IPv4 allows. Apple's Airport routers has compatibility issues with this and is supposedly working on a firmware update to resolve the issue. Until then, you can go to your internet options setting and change it to "Link Local Only". There are also specific DNS servers you can input; you'll have to contact Cox to get those addresses. This solution is not perfect, your connection will still hang from time to time, but much less frequent.

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