Airport Express connection speed

Question

Airport Express connection speed

I have 40 mbps internet speed down. I have a new Century Link modem (recently moved in to the house - new internet service) feeding my airport express. Up until a couple days ago I was getting all 40 mbps through my airport express wirelessly. Now it is capped at 10 for some reason. The only thing that changed is that I had to power cycle my modem to reroute a couple power cords in my basement. When I plug my computer in to the same ethernet cable that feeds the airport express I get the full 40. I tried restarting everything. I tried every manual 2.4 ghz channel on the express (I have not configured 5ghz because I really don't need it right now). I am not sure why its running at 10 rather than 40 as it was a few days ago.

Posted on Sep 14, 2016 8:35 PM

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Answer 1

Tesserax

Level 10

158,280 points

Sep 15, 2016 8:38 AM in response to kristhesoundguy

What is the make & model of your Century Link-provided modem? What exact model is your AirPort Express base station? Is the Express directly connected to this modem by Ethernet?

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Answer 2

Sep 15, 2016 8:53 AM in response to Tesserax

The CenturyLink modem is the Zxyel C1100Z Direct ethernet connection to the Airport Express which is the 2nd gen A1392. When I unplug the airport express and plug the cable directly into my laptop using the same ethernet cable I get the 40 mbps. The Airport Express is throttling at 10 for some reason. I thought it might be interference so I tried multiple different radio channels but no change. The last time I ran into this problem channel 10 worked for the speed I needed. Let me know your thoughts

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Answer 3

Tesserax

Level 10

158,280 points

Sep 15, 2016 9:34 AM in response to kristhesoundguy

Although Century Link calls the Zxyel C1100Z a modem, it is not. Instead it is a combination modem and wireless router or gateway device. Is your Express configured as a bridge?

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Answer 4

Sep 15, 2016 10:23 AM in response to kristhesoundguy

I have the same modem and Internet provider. It was a head ache trying to get this solved. Like Tesserax said its a combination modem. Follow this link bellow and it should solve your issue.

https://support.metageek.com/hc/en-us/articles/215467728-How-do-I-use-a-differen t-router-with-my-DSL-service-

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Answer 5

Sep 15, 2016 12:53 PM in response to joshflosh

I set up the modem and router as the instructions detailed and I still have less than 10 mbps wirelessly connected.

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Answer 6

Sep 15, 2016 12:56 PM in response to joshflosh

I also can't access my modem wirelessly any more do access the settings

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Answer 7

Tesserax

Level 10

158,280 points

Sep 15, 2016 3:39 PM in response to kristhesoundguy

The set of instructions that joshflosh has provided you is an alternative potential solution to reconfigure the Zyxel gateway into a modem. It would not be one I would suggest as the Zyxel is better at providing overall routing functions that your AirPort Express. It is also better at handling PPPoE connections for DSL Internet service.

Instead, I would recommend that you leave the Zyxel as a gateway and reconfigure the Express as a bridge. By default, the Express will perform as NAT router ... so does the Zyxel. That you mean you would have two NAT routers in series and the most likely reason that you are seeing the data throughput drop at the Express. In this configuration you would have what is known as a Double NAT condition.

To reconfigure the Express as a bridge, just use the AirPort Utility as follows:

Run the AirPort Utility.
Select the Express, and then, select Edit.
Click on the Network tab to select it.
Change Router Mode to: Off (Bridge Mode)
Click on Update and allow the base station to restart.

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Answer 8

Sep 15, 2016 4:11 PM in response to Tesserax

I changed the configuration. The modem ISP protocol is set to Auto. The Airport express is set to bridge mode. Everything is working but you can see in the screenshot port 1 is connecting at 10M that is going to my Airport express. Port for is a direct connection to my laptop. If I plug my laptop into port 1 (or any port for that matter) it jumps to a 1G connection. Based on the service we pay for its capped at 40m. When I run a speed test the results confirm the connection speed that my modem is showing. I had my wireless speed up to 40m at one point. I'm not sure why its not working now.

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Answer 9

Tesserax

Level 10

158,280 points

Sep 15, 2016 7:51 PM in response to kristhesoundguy

FWIW, the AirPort Express base station's Ethernet ports are 10/100 Mbps. When it bridge mode all Ethernet ports on the base station, are just that, Ethernet ports. No routing functions (DHCP or NAT) are enabled.

In theory, with the Express connected to your gateway, any other Ethernet device connected to the Express should be getting at least a100 Mbps connection.

What I would suspect is that the Ethernet auto-negotiation between the gateway and the Express is not happening such that the gateway "sees" the Express has a 100 Mbps connection. Looks like Port 2 on your gateway is having the same issue.

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Answer 10

Sep 15, 2016 4:22 PM in response to Tesserax

So is the issue on the modem side or the router? Port 2 is just a wifi device that allows remote control of my garage door openers.

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Answer 11

Sep 15, 2016 7:54 PM in response to kristhesoundguy

One last final step I tried. I verified the the settings then restarted the airport express then rebooted the modem. Then my speed was where it should be. Thanks for the help!

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