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Airport Network Speed Issues?

M

marker227

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 29, 2004
349
5
Hey all, I'm having some weird speed issues....

I uploaded a photo to show you all how my network is setup.

Just so the picture is clear, the "Kitchen Wifi" is NOT connected via an Ethernet cable. It is "Extending" the network via the Airport Express.

The other Airport's are plugged in via a Ethernet cable. They are also set to "Create a wireless network".

ALL of the Airports have the same Wifi network name. I originally had each one with a different Wifi name, but it became a pain for everyone in the house because some signals were stronger, etc.

I don't know if there's a better way to setup the network, but I'm having some serious speed issues. I do a speed test and sometimes I'm getting 9mbps download and 30mbps upload... if I restart the router from the Airport Utility, the speed will go back up to about 30mbps download about about 15 upload.. Sometimes at different times of the day the download speed will be around 60-80 download on Wifi!

I can't quite figure out why the speed has been erratic lately. I'm not sure how to improve my network.

Does anyone have some suggestions? My internet provider is Optimum Online and no, the network in my area is stable and there are no outages.
 

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marker227 said:
Hey all, I'm having some weird speed issues....



I uploaded a photo to show you all how my network is setup.



Just so the picture is clear, the "Kitchen Wifi" is NOT connected via an Ethernet cable. It is "Extending" the network via the Airport Express.



The other Airport's are plugged in via a Ethernet cable. They are also set to "Create a wireless network".



ALL of the Airports have the same Wifi network name. I originally had each one with a different Wifi name, but it became a pain for everyone in the house because some signals were stronger, etc.



I don't know if there's a better way to setup the network, but I'm having some serious speed issues. I do a speed test and sometimes I'm getting 9mbps download and 30mbps upload... if I restart the router from the Airport Utility, the speed will go back up to about 30mbps download about about 15 upload.. Sometimes at different times of the day the download speed will be around 60-80 download on Wifi!



I can't quite figure out why the speed has been erratic lately. I'm not sure how to improve my network.



Does anyone have some suggestions? My internet provider is Optimum Online and no, the network in my area is stable and there are no outages.
Click to expand...


Are the speeds consistent always out of the modem?
 
I had an annoying issue where my mac would only connect to the furthest router and so got the lowest speed. No idea why. I tried many things including blocking its MAC address from the router to try and force it to use a closer one but that just stopped it working altogether.

Are you sure youre always connecting to the closest and fastest router or are you jumping from one to another for some strange reason?


Also why are you creating 3 networks and not just expanding the one? Is it for privacy reasons? Work and home etc.
 
Altemose said:
Are the speeds consistent always out of the modem?
Click to expand...

Yes, usually they are in the high 80's or 90's. MBPS that is.

dazed said:
I had an annoying issue where my mac would only connect to the furthest router and so got the lowest speed. No idea why. I tried many things including blocking its MAC address from the router to try and force it to use a closer one but that just stopped it working altogether.

Are you sure youre always connecting to the closest and fastest router or are you jumping from one to another for some strange reason?

I don't know. I only have 1 network that shows up in the Wifi Menu.


Also why are you creating 3 networks and not just expanding the one? Is it for privacy reasons? Work and home etc.
Click to expand...


I don't really have an answer to that. I think that's just what the setup guide prompted me to do when I created the network from Airport Utility. I want to extend my network's range using ethernet and the different Express Hubs. I thought "Create a Wireless Network" was the appropriate option for that.

I do NOT want to bridge all my networks.. That only uses WiFi to extend the signal and not Ethernet.
 
marker227 said:
Yes, usually they are in the high 80's or 90's. MBPS that is.









I don't really have an answer to that. I think that's just what the setup guide prompted me to do when I created the network from Airport Utility. I want to extend my network's range using ethernet and the different Express Hubs. I thought "Create a Wireless Network" was the appropriate option for that.



I do NOT want to bridge all my networks.. That only uses WiFi to extend the signal and not Ethernet.
Click to expand...


Did you ever touch the transmit power?
 
marker227 said:
No. I setup each Airport per the guidelines of Apple.
Click to expand...

I do see a topology problem here. The kitchen and 2nd floor Expresses should be swapped. You would want the older Express to be doing the wireless extending in your situation. What happens if you unplug all of the Expresses and run just the Extreme? Is the result the same?

If so then reset the Extreme then test again. What generation Extreme is it? Then reset the base stations and configure them using AirPort Utility 6. When Ethernet is connected you will see extend as the option. Click next and it will say "Extend 'SmithWireless' over Ethernet".
 
Not sure if it matters, but the diagram changed on its own today. It does that from time to time.

I believe the Extreme is around 2011 or 2012. I have done plenty of hard resets on it.

*UPDATE* I have swapped the older Express with the newer Express as you suggested.

  1. Airport Extreme - Create a Network
  2. 2nd Floor Wifi - Extend a Wireless Network
  3. Kitchen Wifi - Extend a Wireless Network
  4. Studio Wifi - Extend a Wireless Network
 

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marker227 said:
Not sure if it matters, but the diagram changed on its own today. It does that from time to time.



I believe the Extreme is around 2011 or 2012. I have done plenty of hard resets on it.



*UPDATE* I have swapped the older Express with the newer Express as you suggested.



  1. Airport Extreme - Create a Network
  2. 2nd Floor Wifi - Extend a Wireless Network
  3. Kitchen Wifi - Extend a Wireless Network
  4. Studio Wifi - Extend a Wireless Network
Click to expand...


Did the speeds increase? Is everything by Ethernet now?
 
Altemose said:
Did the speeds increase? Is everything by Ethernet now?
Click to expand...

Nothing is working now. I can barely get any of the Express's to setup properly.


I really don't know what to do. I did a factory reset and Airport Utility said "Extending Network Via Ethernet." I go inside and check the settings. Yep. it's on "Create a Network."

So, is that correct, or what?
 
marker227 said:
Nothing is working now. I can barely get any of the Express's to setup properly.





I really don't know what to do. I did a factory reset and Airport Utility said "Extending Network Via Ethernet." I go inside and check the settings. Yep. it's on "Create a Network."



So, is that correct, or what?
Click to expand...


Yes. That is correct.
 
Well, I can't get one of Airport Expresses to setup properly. I reset it twice using a paperclip. It just won't appear under the utility.

I'm still very confused.

Additionally,

I setup the 1st Express (2nd Floor Airport) in my house and it automatically sets it to "Create a wireless network".
 
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marker227 said:
Well, I can't get one of Airport Expresses to setup properly. I reset it twice using a paperclip. It just won't appear under the utility.

I'm still very confused.

Additionally,

I setup the 1st Express (2nd Floor Airport) in my house and it automatically sets it to "Create a wireless network".
Click to expand...

Does it show in the Wi-Fi Menu on your Mac or iOS device? Are the configured base stations working?
 
I got it all to work. I set it up per the prompts of the Apple Airport Utility. I named all the networks the same. as well. Here is the new picture.

It is all setup 100% how it should be according to Apple's guide.

Thanks everyone :).
 

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Download speed on WiFi via iPod is 55 mbps, upload is 33 mbps.

That IS normal. I hope it stays this way!
 
marker227 said:
Download speed on WiFi via iPod is 55 mbps, upload is 33 mbps.

That IS normal. I hope it stays this way!
Click to expand...
Test with a computer because an iPod does not have the necessary support to fully use the full speed. Report back in a day or so if it has been consistent or not.
 
marker227 said:
I got it all to work. I set it up per the prompts of the Apple Airport Utility. I named all the networks the same. as well. Here is the new picture.
Click to expand...

Any idea what you did differently? I've been having similar issues to you with my setup of one time capsule and two expresses.
 
To be honest, I think I set it up the same way I originally did before (even though I said otherwise in my 1st post). I let the Airport Utility detect my current network setup and I just followed the prompts. The utility immediately said "Extending your network via Ethernet" and then each device came up as "Create a Wireless Network".

There might have been a chance one of the Airport Expresses's was setup improperly, but I don't recall.

Now I know my network is setup 100% per the guidelines of Apple's instructions.

I'll just have to see if the speed stays consistent. On the previous setup, my download speed would occasionally drop to really slow speeds, or the upload would be significantly faster than my download. I would simply do a "Restart" through the Airport Utility and the speeds would level out. I never understood why that would happen.

For the most part, my settings are all on default. I never touched the transmission power or the type of signal it outputs. Currently, all my Airports are on a WPA2 Password protected network. They are all the same name.
 
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marker227 said:
To be honest, I think I set it up the same way I originally did before (even though I said otherwise in my 1st post). I let the Airport Utility detect my current network setup and I just followed the prompts. The utility immediately said "Extending your network via Ethernet" and then each device came up as "Create a Wireless Network".

There might have been a chance one of the Airport Expresses's was setup improperly, but I don't recall.

Now I know my network is setup 100% per the guidelines of Apple's instructions.

I'll just have to see if the speed stays consistent. On the previous setup, my download speed would occasionally drop to really slow speeds, or the upload would be significantly faster than my download. I would simply do a "Restart" through the Airport Utility and the speeds would level out. I never understood why that would happen.

For the most part, my settings are all on default. I never touched the transmission power or the type of signal it outputs. Currently, all my Airports are on a WPA2 Password protected network. They are all the same name.
Click to expand...
WPA 2 Personal is what you should be using on the network! I have heard of problems when WPA Mixed is used.
 
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