Best Buy Offering Refurbished Airport Extreme Base Station for $89.99

[Weerez935]

This was a good chance for me to move up to n.
I will be the guinea pig here lol

[Mr. Retrofire]

Originally Posted by shurcooL

11ac sucks, it's barely twice as fast.

No, and you know that.

Originally Posted by shurcooL

802.11ad is where it's at. 14 times faster.

This standard is designed for synchronization and backup applications, and similar applications. It has only a very limited range. However, it is true that future WLANs (with a sufficient range) need new frequencies and better modulation. 5 GHz 802.11ac is probably the answer.

802.11ac supports up to ≈ 7 GBit/s:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_80...configurations

[theBB]

Originally Posted by shurcooL

11ac sucks, it's barely twice as fast.

802.11ad is where it's at. 14 times faster.

At 60GHz, your signal can barely reach the other end of a room. It is not designed to distribute internet access around a house from one central location.

[Thrilledge]

How good are the Apple Store refurbs for the base station. Is it worth the extra 40 to buy new?

[jav6454]

Originally Posted by Peace

hmmmm..I think Apple's getting rid of all it's 802.11n Peripherals.

Pointless since the vast majority of Macs, iPods, iPads and iPhones don't even support 802.11ac. Not to mention, Airport Stations support 802.11a/b/g/n and soon draft ac.

[theBB]

Originally Posted by Thrilledge

How good are the Apple refurbs for the base station. Is it worth the extra 40 to buy new?

Refurbished products from Apple's online store comes with the same warranty and they are fully tested to make sure they work well. The difference in price is usually not worth paying to get a brand new version, especially if you are not buying a product that includes a battery that wears out with use.

Best Buy does not seem to be giving you a similar deal though. They don't offer any warranty. Who knows where they are getting them...

[avanpelt]

Originally Posted by orangebluedevil

I "get" between 3-4 Mbps when downloading actual videos etc from iTunes. Speedtest will show about 7-8 Mbps usually. I am paying for 12 Mbps, because that is the fastest possible connection that Uverse can provide to me.

So I'm questioning, since my ceiling is 12 Mbps, if 802.11n is worth $89.

The theoretical max speed of 802.11n (450 Mbps) won't be realized on the average person's broadband connection -- which, in your case tops out around 12 Mbps. Where it has a noticeable difference over 802.11a/b/g is wireless throughput over the LAN.

Also, in my experience, the Airport Extremes do a great job providing a strong signal. I have two of them wirelessly bridged together and my home is blanketed in 802.11n Wi-Fi.

If you have Macs or iOS devices, the Airport routers plus the Airport Utility for Mac and iOS make router administration a breeze.

[macs4nw]

Originally Posted by Rocketman

11ac here we come.

Pretty please, my Time Capsule is on it's last leg.

Originally Posted by Rocketman

Doesn't Peace's avatar make you want to find a tab of acid for someone? Dedicate it to Steve.

Who needs acid; that thing is hypnotic all by itself.

Originally Posted by shurcooL

11ac sucks, it's barely twice as fast.

802.11ad is where it's at. 14 times faster.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthre...1#post16596896

[large farva]

Originally Posted by avanpelt

The theoretical max speed of 802.11n (450 Mbps) won't be realized on the average person's broadband connection -- which, in your case tops out around 12 Mbps. Where it has a noticeable difference over 802.11a/b/g is wireless throughput over the LAN.

Also, in my experience, the Airport Extremes do a great job providing a strong signal. I have two of them wirelessly bridged together and my home is blanketed in 802.11n Wi-Fi.

If you have Macs or iOS devices, the Airport routers plus the Airport Utility for Mac and iOS make router administration a breeze.

I have Brighthouse Lightning. My internet connection runs a constant 41 Mbps Download and 5 Mbps (sometimes 6 Mbps) Upload. Pretty freaking snappy on a decent computer. In other words. NOT on what I'm using now, which is a very old P.O.S. that I had to get a Netgear WiFi Adapter for, and the Netgear software is causing the adapter to constrict the max speed, which in turn brings me down to about 10-14 Mbps on average. But on my new Late-2012 27" iMac, that SHOULD be coming here shortly, I'll be getting the full 41-42 Mbps DL/5-6 Mbps UL. I'm also thinking of upgrading to the 60 Mbps service that Brighthouse offers, though I haven't read up on what the rated upload speeds are. Yeah, I know, you can always go faster and faster and faster, and keep paying an extra $5/month for the upgrade, so I think I'll stop at the 60 Mbps.

[kot]

Airport Extreme 5th gen is the worst thing I have ever had from Apple.

When downloading something over wireless it emits a loud buzzing noise, something can be heard constantly crackling inside it when you put your ear close to the case even when idling, it drops PPPoE connection every 24 hours (debugging PPP shows it stops sending LCP Echo-requests all of a sudden and after an hour it sends an explicit LCP terminate request to its peer). And these problems are so widespread, just google it. Also almost nothing can be tuned in its operation, it has almost no settings at all. The Airport Utility 6 was dumbed down to the extreme. This is a very bad product and I suggest you stay away from it.

I replaced my old TP-Link 1043 with an APE and after a month I switched back. At least my TP-Link 1043 with OpenWRT is stable, customizable and completely silent in operation.

I'm now willing to sell my APE and never look back, at least until Apple resolves the massive hardware problems with the APE and lets you set up the unit to your liking.

[tdtran1025]

Not $139 as reported. A quick check on Apple.com shows the same item for $99.

[acorntoy]

Originally Posted by tdtran1025

Not $139 as reported. A quick check on Apple.com shows the same item for $99.

I think your confusing the Airport Express [ which is sold new for $99 ] with the AirPort Extreme. if you follow the Link on the first post it'll actually take you to the page where the refurbished version is selling for $139

[M-O]

Originally Posted by Peace

hmmmm..I think Apple's getting rid of all it's 802.11n Peripherals.

interesting.

----------

Originally Posted by jav6454

Pointless since the vast majority of Macs, iPods, iPads and iPhones don't even support 802.11ac. Not to mention, Airport Stations support 802.11a/b/g/n and soon draft ac.

you're not thinking 4th dimensionally.

[grizfan]

Originally Posted by kot

Airport Extreme 5th gen is the worst thing I have ever had from Apple.

When downloading something over wireless it emits a loud buzzing noise, something can be heard constantly crackling inside it when you put your ear close to the case even when idling, it drops PPPoE connection every 24 hours (debugging PPP shows it stops sending LCP Echo-requests all of a sudden and after an hour it sends an explicit LCP terminate request to its peer). And these problems are so widespread, just google it. Also almost nothing can be tuned in its operation, it has almost no settings at all. The Airport Utility 6 was dumbed down to the extreme. This is a very bad product and I suggest you stay away from it.

I replaced my old TP-Link 1043 with an APE and after a month I switched back. At least my TP-Link 1043 with OpenWRT is stable, customizable and completely silent in operation.

I'm now willing to sell my APE and never look back, at least until Apple resolves the massive hardware problems with the APE and lets you set up the unit to your liking.

Please - you would think by now that people would understand happy customers don't tend to post to forums, etc... Only those with problems. My APE is rock-solid, in over a year, I've never had a single problem. You do have one valid point about the lack of configuration options, but that's not the point of this product. If you don't want to mess around much with your wireless network, this is the router to get. If you have a problem, that means you have a defective unit. Get an RMA.

Despite what the inevitable links to forums sites you will soon provide, there is NOT a massive hardware problem. Like all products, there will be a percentage that are defective. Quit complaining and get it replaced. And, if you are disappointed in the lack of configuration options; you bought the wrong thing.

Of the 321 reviews for your router on Amazon, the TP-Link 1043 received 56 one-star reviews. One out of six hated that router. The 5th gen API only received 24 one-star reviews out of 402, or one out of sixteen who hate their APE.

This is a very *good* product and I suggest you give it serious consideration.

[dsim87]

Originally Posted by tdtran1025

Not $139 as reported. A quick check on Apple.com shows the same item for $99.

link?

I hate I missed this deal

[Brian Y]

The extreme is a very powerful wireless device, but IMO, a crap router.

It can push wireless faster than anything else out there at that price range, but it's routing features are terrible - and I'm not just talking about the lack of configuration options - I mean silly stuff, like it really struggling with >50 open connections, blocking GRE (which means PPTP wont work through it), etc.

I've resorted to using mine as a wireless access point, with something a bit more capable doing the actual routing.

[walterwhite]

The Airport Extreme works great but is missing things as said before in an earlier post... I STILL hold onto the previous version (v5.x) to have at least a few of the better features missing from v6.x ... although you have to use v6 for some things... they really dumbed it down.

[Rizzn]

Too bad it only has 3 Ethernet ports unlike almost all other routers. I need 4 and I don't want another switch cluttering the space.

[peb123]

Originally Posted by orangebluedevil

Is this worth it?

I currently have the standard 2WIRE router supplied by ATT Uverse that is 802.11 b/g. I pay for the 12 Mbps internet speed, because that's the max that they can provide to my apartment complex. When I'm on WiFi I usually get 3-4 Mbps. We have about 6 Apple devices and an xbox if that matters.

Do you think this router will really make a $100 difference going to 802.11n? Thanks gents.

I have the same 2wire router. For a wireless g its actually a good performing router. I originally replaced it with an ASUS wireless N router which was WORSE than the 2wire router! Then I upgraded to the apple router and the performance was noticeably quicker. If you are just browsing you will not notice the difference. You will notice the difference if you use airplay to mirror your ipad game to your apple tv! The 2wire cannot hack it. The apple router has no problems.

[tbrinkma]

Originally Posted by haincha

I try to explain to people, if you're paying extra money for faster internet but have a crappy router. Their wifi is still going to be slow. Some people don't understand the concept of a bottleneck.

My sister has an HDTV and a Blu-ray player. Connection is composite cable... Thinks she is getting HD.

There are some places you can skimp out on quality. If you actually care about internet speeds, your router is not something to skimp out on.

Out of curiosity, did you mean Component? I'm pretty sure I've never seen a Blu-Ray player with Composite video connections. Component, on the other hand can manage up to 720p.

[dsc888]

I picked up the latest 2TB Apple Airport Extreme Time Capsule from Bestbuy for less than half MSRP of $299 after using a Rewards Certificate.

The fine print states that you can ONLY return it to BB should something go wrong with it. Apple won't touch it with a 10 foot pole. So you better test it thoroughly after you get it.

Mine arrived in about a week after I ordered it. It looked new with only the power cable and nothing else. Upon plugging it in, I found someone else's Time Machine backup. A quick press of the RESET button fixed it and I was in business. It's been over a month and it's working like a charm.

I have Verizon FIOS and get better signal in distant rooms in the house more so than my old D-Link 655. Plus the wireless printing was a nice bonus.

So it's luck of the draw when it comes to BB Apple Refurbs. For what I paid, I was willing to take a chance since I could have gotten all my money back if it broke in the first 45 days, as I am a Silver Rewards Member. Good luck.

[ToomeyND]

I'm only posting this because this entire thread is about getting an apple router on the cheap.

I bought this medialink router on amazon ($50!) because of the good reviews and the ridiculous price. It doesn't offer a usb port, so that is a knock on it, but other than that, it has been going strong for a few months now. I was skeptical with the price, but I thought $50 was worth the gamble. Strong signal in my entire house. The only hiccups I have are charter internet modem-related.

http://www.amazon.com/Medialink-Wireless-Broadband-802-11n-Internal/dp/B0044YU60M/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1359571702&sr=1-1&keywords=wireless+router

[hardwickj]

I want to know what kind of crack you guys are smoking because I'm pretty sure that link has it listed for $129.99, a mere $10 off Apple's refurb price.

[balamw]

Originally Posted by hardwickj

I want to know what kind of crack you guys are smoking because I'm pretty sure that link has it listed for $129.99, a mere $10 off Apple's refurb price.

Check the date of the OP. It was the deal of the day on 1/29. Today is 1/31.



B

[hardwickj]

Well played sir...well played...

Originally Posted by balamw

Check the date of the OP. It was the deal of the day on 1/29. Today is 1/31.



B