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AirPort Extreme A1408 (5th Gen) low throughput over both WiFi and wired

Hello all,


I have an AirPort Extreme A1408 (5th Gen), that is connected to the internet via a UTP cable (wall plug, the internet provider has its routers in the basement of the apartment building). My plan is 1000 / 200 Mb (down / up - Romanian RCS & RDS, Fib), however, I'm getting averages of 90 / 80 Mb speeds on speedtest.net. The best I ever got were around 180 / 200 Mbps, but that only happened once.


The low speeds happen both on WiFi and wired (I have an iMac, a MBP, an iPhone 6s and an iPad Mini that connect via WiFi, on the 5Ghz network and a Mac Mini that is wired into the router), with my wireless devices getting full strength signal and connecting at 450 Mbps. Since the low speeds are consistent over wired / WiFi (I was expecting the Mac Mini to outperform the others, since its on gigabit ethernet), this will not be a discussion about how to select the best channel (tried auto or manual setup, with it on different channels) or change its placement (this is consistent even with the MBP right next to the router) to get better reception.


I tested the connection by directly sticking the cable into the MBP (via the thunderbolt ethernet adapter) and got 850 / 200 Mbps, so the connection from my provider does work as expected.


I've also changed all UTP cables to be CAT.5e, in order to support gigabit speeds.


My AirPort Extreme is on firmware 7.6.4, set up as follows:

  • PPPoE: always on
  • IPv6: link-local
  • Wireless:
    • WPA2 Personal (the fastest)
    • no guest network
    • radio mode set to 802.11a/n - 802.11b/g/n (auto)
    • country Romania
    • tried auto and manual 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz channels selection (by scanning the other networks around)
  • Router mode: DHCP and NAT (NAT Port Mapping Protocol enabled)


All the iDevices I'm using are updated to their latest OS version.


Is there something I'm missing? Any ideas?


Thank you in advance for your time!

Posted on Feb 20, 2016 12:49 PM

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Posted on Feb 20, 2016 2:02 PM

The problem you are seeing is, most likely, that Apple did not design the AirPort base stations to work with fiber Internet. Although, the 5th generation 802.11n AirPort Extreme can handle around, at best, 400-500 Mbps of throughput (in bridge mode) over its WAN-LAN interface, you will see roughly half of this when it is enabled as a router (as yours is.) Also, if your ISP's has their router enabled upstream of yours, you may also be getting a "Double NAT" error as well.

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Feb 20, 2016 2:02 PM in response to razvan.brates

The problem you are seeing is, most likely, that Apple did not design the AirPort base stations to work with fiber Internet. Although, the 5th generation 802.11n AirPort Extreme can handle around, at best, 400-500 Mbps of throughput (in bridge mode) over its WAN-LAN interface, you will see roughly half of this when it is enabled as a router (as yours is.) Also, if your ISP's has their router enabled upstream of yours, you may also be getting a "Double NAT" error as well.

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Feb 20, 2016 2:01 PM in response to razvan.brates

They are not over fast routers .. ie it will never handle your full speed. The WAN to LAN throughput of the processor is not up to gigabit.


I would expect 200-300Mbps but that could still be an issue. It sounds like your WAN port of the AE is not negotiating the speed correctly.


Use a computer with windows OS or older Mac or simply look up how to install the older 5.6 airport utility. It is still possible to install 5.6 on newer OS .. but Apple don't like us posting the details.


You need to set the WAN port to gigabit.


It sounds like it has dropped to 100mbit.


User uploaded file


Only the older utility included the ability to set the WAN speed.


No luck then the AE is old and simply unsuitable for your use.. you need a much faster router.


Look at the top of this list.


http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/tools/charts/router/bar/74-wan-to-lan


Even the latest Apple routers are a long way down on the list. Apple desperately needs to update its router product line.

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AirPort Extreme A1408 (5th Gen) low throughput over both WiFi and wired

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