Can A1143 handle 100 Mbs down speed?

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Level 1

4 points

Can A1143 handle 100 Mbs down speed?

I have two of these Airport Extreme routers. I just got a Spectrum (formerly Brighthouse area) internet with 100 Mbs. A direct ethernet cable connection shows well over 100 Mbs down, but using either of the A1143 Airport Extremes gets between 40 to 75 Mbs down. Have done repeated tests. This is an "n" router, of course. I have tried different locations for the router, and even moved it close to the devices on which I am testing. All testing of download speed was done using speedtest.net. Should this router be capable of bringing down 100 Mbs from the modem? Can the router's capability decline with age? I have had both routers for quite a few years.

Thans for any help.

Posted on Jan 19, 2018 4:53 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Bob Timmons

Community+ 2024

Level 10

169,178 points

Jan 19, 2018 9:55 PM in response to Teddy boy

5 years, on average, is about it as far the useful life of a router that is designed for home use. After that, the performance tends to decline. If the AIrPort Extreme were 3-4 years old, it would handle 100 Mbps easily.

But.....an A1143 is at least 9+ years old.

Start the troubleshooting by finding out what wired speed the AirPort Extreme is delivering. Reason....if you can't get 100 Mpbs on Ethernet, you will never get 100 Mbps over wireless, since wireless is always slower than wired.

To do that, temporarily turn off the WiFi on your Mac and connect it directly to one of the LAN <--> Ethernet ports on the AirPort Extreme and run a few speed checks that way.

What are your results?

When it comes to checking wireless speeds, you will need a good computer.....not a mobile device like an iPhone or iPad.

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Answer 2

Teddy boy Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 19, 2018 9:55 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Thanks, Bob. Did that and got the approximately 114 Mbs download speed I was hoping for from the wireless. When the spectrum installer was here last week, I had him temporarily install his router, and wi fi speedtest showed about the same 114 Mbs or so. Then I replaced his router with the Airport extreme and got about 77. It looks like these routers are not as efficient as they once might have been when new.

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Answer 3

Jan 20, 2018 10:00 AM in response to Teddy boy

It looks like these routers are not as efficient as they once might have been when new.

Perfectly normal. Pat yourself on the back. Your AirPort Extreme is doing much better than I would expect for a 9+ year old product.

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