I'm having difficulty with throughput from my Airport Extreme. I upgraded my service to Comcast Blast 150, but am getting close to that hardwired from the router and only half that or less, usually around 40Mbps, wirelessly. I had a Motorola Surfboard SB6121, and then someone on the Apple discussion forum said that it was the Surfboard not playing well with the Airport, and recommended the Zoom 5341J. So I got the Zoom, installed it, and no change. What gives?
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2015 Airport Extreme, Comcast Blast 150, and slow throughput
- Thread starter dberkowitz
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ARRIS SURFboard SB6183 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem Is what i use. Make sure your network cables from the modem to the router are Cat 6 at 550mhz.
The SB6121 handles the Blast 150 package just fine! We have the SB6121 and an AirPort Extreme and we easily pull 140 Mbps. The Motorola SB6141 has issues with the AirPorts, but the SB6121 works fine. I would start by doing a factory reset on the AirPort and also verifying that the Ethernet cable connecting the modem to the AirPort is good. Sometimes when a cable goes bad, it will dramatically knock speeds down.
The thing is that I tested the cable I use to the Airport by plugging it directly into my laptop and got ~140 at the time, so I'm not sure the cable is the problem unless theres something else you could add about that.
Since I have data on the Airport, are you talking about a full reset?
Just to go over the settings, here are the page by page settings in the utility:
Internet:
Connect Using DHCP
It lists addresses for IPv4, Subnet Mask, router, and IPv6 WAN.
DNS and DNS IPv4 servers are listed, but greyed out.
Wireless:
Network mode: Create Wireless Network
Wireless Security WPA2 Personal
Wireless Options
5Ghz Network is checked
2.4 and 5Ghz channels set to Automatic
Network:
Router Mode DHCP and NAT
It lists a range for the DHCP
DHCP Reservations -- none
Port Settings -- none
Network Options:
DHCP Lease - 1 day
IPv4 DHCP Range 10.0.1.2 to 200
Enable NAT Port Mapping Protocol
Block incoming IPv6 connections
Allow incoming IPSec authentication
I should add that I've tried using both the standard and 5Ghz named networks and surprisingly, the 5Ghz is slower still.
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Have to say, when I saw the words Airport, extreme, blast and 150 in the thread title, I thought the worst. I'm getting paranoid about terrorist attacks.
I can't recommend more than the other posters for your problem, I'm afraid.
I can't recommend more than the other posters for your problem, I'm afraid.
If the cable gives you those good benchmarks, then there is no issues with it. Oftentimes, a bad crimp would cause a Gigabit capable cable to only do 100 Mbps at best. Doing a full reset on the AirPort will not affect any data on attached storage drives, but if my next tip does not work then that would be my next action.
I saw one thing potentially causing your issue, and that is the IPv6 settings. Is your IPv6 set to Link Local Only or to "Automatically"?
IPv6: Configure Automatically; Mode: Native; IPv6 Connection Sharing enabled.
Since I'm using an Airport Extreme, a hard reset would require backing up all the data thereon before a hard reset.
You are getting good speed via wired connection through router but not wireless, right?
Look at what other neighbors if yours are using same channel / see if there is one less used.
Any other than your traffic on your chann - interference for you.
Look at what other neighbors if yours are using same channel / see if there is one less used.
Any other than your traffic on your chann - interference for you.
IPv6: Configure Automatically; Mode: Native; IPv6 Connection Sharing enabled.
Since I'm using an Airport Extreme, a hard reset would require backing up all the data thereon before a hard reset.
Can you test what you get via Ethernet from a LAN port on the Extreme?
The last time I ran it, I got ~140 directly from the modem. I have no other devices on the network, other than a Roku. But I live alone, so I'm usually not using both.
OP, I'll refer you to a post that includes links to two of my other posts - each Comcast/AE-related:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...for-great-connectivity.1971093/#post-22869645
And, ask the question: did you set up your new configuration as a new modem/router configuration? Put differently, did you power down your new modem and AE, wait several minutes, power up your new modem, wait until the modem is up and running, then power up the AE?
And, did you call Comcast support to offer that you're using a different modem - they may need to push a new config FW file to the modem, and they may not have your new modem associated with your account (if you haven't notified them of the new modem, stop reading this now and give them a call).
Given that you're getting decent speeds via Ethernet, I'll offer that I suspect you need to properly pair your new modem with the AE. I have 7 offices and two residences using Comcast - a proper reboot/reset protocol to get the modem and AE talking properly has not failed me once - it's outlined on Apple's Support portal. Good luck...
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...for-great-connectivity.1971093/#post-22869645
And, ask the question: did you set up your new configuration as a new modem/router configuration? Put differently, did you power down your new modem and AE, wait several minutes, power up your new modem, wait until the modem is up and running, then power up the AE?
And, did you call Comcast support to offer that you're using a different modem - they may need to push a new config FW file to the modem, and they may not have your new modem associated with your account (if you haven't notified them of the new modem, stop reading this now and give them a call).
Given that you're getting decent speeds via Ethernet, I'll offer that I suspect you need to properly pair your new modem with the AE. I have 7 offices and two residences using Comcast - a proper reboot/reset protocol to get the modem and AE talking properly has not failed me once - it's outlined on Apple's Support portal. Good luck...
Is there a way to copy the data/backups from the AE to another drive to preserve them?
Under the File Menu and in Edit mode for an Airport, I use the "Export Configuration File…" option - and the Import Configuration File… option to restore a saved/desired state. Works every time...
Try connecting an Ethernet cable to the back of the AirPort and running the test and report back with the results. This way we can determine whether the issue is with the AirPort itself or the wireless equipment in it.
Data on an attached USB drive will not be affected by resetting the AirPort. That being said, once an AirPort is reset you would need to recreate the Disks sharing settings like the disk password or the accounts depending on what option you use. If all you need is the settings, then follow the steps provided by @campyguy.
Ok, folks. I'm verging on exasperation. I have done the following:
At your suggestion, I've reinstalled the Motorola Surfboard SB6121. I've had Comcast reset the mac address followed by a full reboot including removing the cable from the modem. Once it was up, I reset the Airport Extreme. I reestablished the network, including a 5G network, which I manually assigned to my laptop. NOTHING HAS CHANGED. I'm still getting ~50Mbps
At your suggestion, I've reinstalled the Motorola Surfboard SB6121. I've had Comcast reset the mac address followed by a full reboot including removing the cable from the modem. Once it was up, I reset the Airport Extreme. I reestablished the network, including a 5G network, which I manually assigned to my laptop. NOTHING HAS CHANGED. I'm still getting ~50Mbps
Mid2010 MacBook Pro 2.66 i7, 15". Here's the thing. It's old and the logic board is misbehaving (slow, spontaneous reboots, etc), but when I run a hard line into it, I get the 140-150Mbps.
Use your keyboard and hold your 'Option' key while clicking the Wi-Fi Finder icon and post it. This way we could see what you connection speed truly is showing!
I'd be willing to bet that the computer might be the issue. They only have N rated airport cards in the older laptops. Do you have another wireless device you could test the speed on the 5ghz band?