mattoca
Level 1 (4 points)
Mac App Store

Q: Devices constantly connecting to Airport Extreme further away

I'm having a problem that's driving me crazy. I have a new Airport Time Capsule that sits on my desk. I also have an Airport Extreme on the other side of the house, on a different floor, hooked up by powerline/ethernet — to extend the network.

 

The trouble I'm having is that the majority of my devices keep choosing to connect to the Airport Extreme instead of the Time Capsule. I have a Disney Circle, Epson Printer, and Ooma Phone that are sitting on the desk, RIGHT NEXT TO THE TIME CAPSULE, and yet all three always end up connecting to the Extreme instead. Same SSID, all on the 2.4Ghz channel. If I turn off the Extreme, they eventually connect to the Time Capsule. But as soon as I fire the Extreme again, they switch. I wouldn't care, but the Disney Circle keeps telling me that the wifi signal isn't strong enough. So I have to turn off the Extreme, restart the Disney Circle so it grabs the Time Capsule, and then restart the Extreme. This normally works for about 24 hours, and then I have to start all over again.

 

My wife's iPhone 7 is also a problem. My 7 Plus is almost always connected to the Time Capsule, even if I'm closer to the Extreme. But her phone always chooses the Extreme, even if the signal goes down to 1 bar. If she turns off WIFI and then turns it back on, it will connect to the Time Capsule and get great speed for awhile (we have 350Mbps), but eventually drops the Time Capsule and gets stuck on the Extreme.

 

Right now, I'm on the floor with the Extreme, and closer to it than the Time Capsule. My MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, 7 Plus, Apple TV, and Dish Hopper are all connected to the Time Capsule and blazing fast. But the Disney Circle, Epson Printer and 9 other devices THAT ARE RIGHT NEXT to the Time Capsule are all connecting to the Extreme — and suffering with much slower speeds.

 

Any suggestions? I've been a Mac guy since the 80s, and am really familiar with the hardware and software, but this one has me completely stumped.

Posted on Oct 19, 2016 12:05 PM

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mattoca

Q: Devices constantly connecting to Airport Extreme further away

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  • by Tesserax,

    Tesserax Tesserax Oct 19, 2016 12:39 PM in response to mattoca
    Level 9 (54,906 points)
    Wireless
    Oct 19, 2016 12:39 PM in response to mattoca

    I can't address your non-Apple devices, but typically Apple products perform as follows when it comes to connecting to a Wi-Fi networks:

    • Mac desktops - They will attempt to connect to the wireless access point with the strongest or best quality signal and "stick" with it.
    • Mac laptops - Like desktops, they will attempt to connect to the wireless access point with the strongest signal, BUT will roam to another access point that presents itself with an even stronger signal. This, as you can imagine, would be desirable when taking the laptop from one room to another or to a different floor where the network is extended by multiple access points.
    • iOS devices - Like desktops/laptops, they will attempt to connect to the wireless access point with the strongest signal, BUT unlike laptops they will not automatically roam to another access point even if the signal is stronger. Typically, you will have to disable/re-enable Wi-Fi on an iOS device to get it to switch.

    Ok, with all that said, it is not always possible to say the reasons why your devices are behaving the way they do. You may get a "clearer" picture of what is going on by taking a wireless site survey to understand where the strong/weak Wi-Fi signals are in your current network. There a number of way to do this and we will be happy to offer some suggestions if you wish to pursue this path.

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Oct 19, 2016 1:02 PM in response to mattoca
    Level 10 (105,448 points)
    Wireless
    Oct 19, 2016 1:02 PM in response to mattoca

    I have a new Airport Time Capsule that sits on my desk. I also have an Airport Extreme on the other side of the house, on a different floor, hooked up by powerline/ethernet — to extend the network.

    Please check the settings on the AirPort Extreme to make sure that the wireless mode is NOT set to "extend a wireless network". That setting would be used only if the AirPort Extreme were connecting to the Time Capsule using wireless.....not Ethernet.

     

    In other words, since the AirPort Extreme is connecting to the network using a wired Ethernet connection, the correct wireless mode setting for the AirPort Extreme would be "create a wireless network" that is using the exact same wireless network name, same wireless security, and same password as the Time Capsule network.

     

    In addition, the AirPort Extreme must be configured in Bridge Mode to operate correctly on your network.

     

    If you find that the AirPort Extreme is set up correctly, then the information offered by Tesserax may provide some clues for you.

     

    In my case, if I power on the iPhone at my office desk......next to an AirPort Extreme.....the iPhone will always connect to the office desk AirPort Extreme.

     

    But......if I move the iPhone a few rooms away to the den, so that it is now close to another AirPort Extreme that is set up to "extend" the network using Ethernet.....the iPhone will stay connected to the AirPort Extreme at my desk.....even if I move it very close to the den AirPort Extreme.  Nature of the beast with iOS devices.

     

    After 5-10 minutes or so, the iPhone might switch over to the den AirPort Extreme....and it might not. The only way that I can get the iPhone to reliably switch over to the den AirPort Extreme is temporarily turn off the WiFi on the iPhone and then turn it back on, or place the iPhone in Airplane Mode for a few seconds, then switch back to WiFi.

     

    The same applies to almost every PC laptop that I've checked here at the house.

     

    Then, the iPhone (or other device like a PC or iPad) will usually.....but not always.....connect to the closer den AirPort Extreme.  iPads, which use the same basic iOS operating system as the iPhone.....behave the same way.

     

    My Mac laptop will almost always automatically switch quickly to the closest AirPort if I am walking it around the house. Your Mac laptop should do the same.