Extending wireless range question.

You won't lose an amount of bandwidth worthy of mention as long as it is set up properly. Just get an Extreme or Express (depending on the area you want to cover) and set it up upstairs in a similar area to your downstairs router and then experiment. If the extending router has a good, stable signal, you're in good order.

There are technical matters that can be explored depending on the age of your Time Capsule, but really, if you have no or poor coverage elsewhere, you can solve the problem, and your Time Capsule area will continue to work great.

I've got multiple extremes in my home and I've set up large networks of them for other people and businesses as well.

I thought bandwidth on the extended network dropped by 40-50%? I can test this Saturday if no one else confirms.

Similar issue for me, basement is like a bunker. Extending worked great at first, network slowed a little but not too bad. What I didn't like is that airfoil drops the connection to the express often and that is why I have the express to begin with. I now toggle the extend setting on and off as needed.

MosesOlsen said:

I don't mean to come across as annoying but does anyone else have any experience with this kind of situation?

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Well, what are your bandwidth fears? Obviously it's local network transfers you're worrying about. Maybe I can test something for you since I've got a running setup similar to what you have in mind (littered with other things like AirPort Expresses for AirPlay).

MosesOlsen said:

Well, if you could run different tests that would be great. What I'm worried about most is that I would like to play online games and I'm concerned about lag.

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Then run a cable through the vents or something.

MosesOlsen said:

Well, if you could run different tests that would be great. What I'm worried about most is that I would like to play online games and I'm concerned about lag. I'm also concerned about the basics like download and upload rates. Will I be able to back up my iMac on my time capsule if I'm going through another airport or does my computer have to be directly connected to the time capsule?

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I haven't had a chance to run any tests, but you definitely don't need to worry about anything so far as the internet is concerned. Your latency will be a little less than what you might enjoy with a wired connection, but unless there's a problem with your setup (e.g. significant interference between the primary router and the extending router) you won't lose any internet bandwidth, even if your connection supports 40 mbps. Diablo III should run like a beauty at least as far as your internet connection is concerned.

Also, backing up to your Time Capsule over your wireless network should work smoothly as well. I back up across my wireless network to a USB hard drive plugged into my AirPort Extreme, across the extended network, with no problem. My computer is actually doing so as I type this on a patio in my backyard. One fair note: if you've got an older machine TimeMachine does guzzle up a lot of processing power when running over a wireless network, but that might not be so bad with the Time Capsule. You should be able to run at faster speeds than I can enjoy with the USB bottleneck.

This really comes down to one consideration, though. Do you want a wired network or a wireless network? A wired network is superior in every way but convenience. The wireless network will get the job done unless there is an odd environmental circumstance you need to work around, and it will get the job done well. If you can't do a wired network for one reason or another, or you prefer the convenience of the wireless network, this is the best option available to you.

Note that you can also wire the extending router to the primary router to eliminate any environmental concerns that may crop up between them.

Xian Zhu Xuande said:

I back up across my wireless network to a USB hard drive plugged into my AirPort Extreme, across the extended network, with no problem.

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Did you get this to work with Time Machine?

murdoc158 said:

Did you get this to work with Time Machine?

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Late response. Yes, no problem.

I have a similar question so I thought i'd post here rather than start a new thread. I'm moving into a student house, we have a router and the internet all set up but its just a crappy ISP provided one. The house is quite big (floors) the router is on the second floor and my room is at the top. Would an airport express be able to extend the range of it so I can get a decent connection in my room? Can it extend the range of any router or only other apple ones?

I have 2 Airport Extremes and 1 Airport Express (old plug in version but still N spec) in my house. The main Airport Extreme is upstairs and the second is in the basement. The Express is plugged in the first floor. I can tell you that I experience no loss of bandwidth. I routinely run speakeasy speed tests on my machines and all of them get 25-30 Mbps Down/17-23 Mbps Up. This includes wireless testing on my Macbook Pro (Personal), Lenovo T420 (work), iPad2, iPhone 4S. If I plug a laptop directly into the FiOS router I get about the same results so I'm experiencing minimal bandwidth loss. I also backup to a Shared Disk on the main Airport Extreme with no issues. I don't game but I do stream a lot of movies and have not experienced any hiccups. I can walk about 50 feet from my house and still get a signal.

My suggestion is you go out and buy an airport express and put it in your basement. Apple has prior gen airport expresses in the refurb store for $69. That's a steal.