ac + n?

[sergiobaschi]

I have a 2012 Airport Extreme to provide the household's computers, iPads and phones. My iMac is located in the other end of the appartment, and it gets a download speed of about 45 Mb/s (located in the kitchen, where the AE is located, it gets 95-98 Mb/s). (We have a 100/10 Mb connection.)

I'm thinking of getting the new ac capable AE, and use my old one as a signal strengthener half way to the iMac room. Assuming I'll buy some ac capable device (ie a new MBA), what effect will this have on the ac performance?

 

[brentsg]

Unless your second unit is wired, it will half your bandwidth to boost signal strength.

The ac is on a different radio than the n, so it won't have any effect.

 

[iLukeJoseph]

Unless your second unit is wired, it will half your bandwidth to boost signal strength.

The ac is on a different radio than the n, so it won't have any effect.

Do you have the new AE? Cause saying it won't have "any" affect could very well be incorrect.

OP this is based on MY experience. I had a mid-2011 TC and just purchased the new TC about a week ago. While I thoroughly enjoyed my old one. The new one does give me better range on both the 2.4 and 5ghz band.

You may want to pick up a new AE and see if that does it for you without extending. Just make sure you buy it from a place with a solid return policy.

 

[brentsg]

Do you have the new AE? Cause saying it won't have "any" affect could very well be incorrect.

OP this is based on MY experience. I had a mid-2011 TC and just purchased the new TC about a week ago. While I thoroughly enjoyed my old one. The new one does give me better range on both the 2.4 and 5ghz band.

You may want to pick up a new AE and see if that does it for you without extending. Just make sure you buy it from a place with a solid return policy.

I suppose I'm unclear what you're inferring.

If the OP has one radio broadcasting ac and one radio broadcasting n, and he uses his old device as wireless repeater for the n network, how do you believe the n network will affect the ac network?

 

[Gav2k]

Op save your money and buy 2 home plugs.

 

[sergiobaschi]

Thank you all for your input. I have been thinking about getting home plugs, but a major advantage of using a repeater is that also other devices in the apartment would benefit from the higher signal strength.

(It's actually pretty fun that I get pretty good signal strength when I'm in bed, but my girlfriend who's on the other side of the bed - like 0.7 meters further away from the router, gets rather bad signal strength... )

I suppose the easiest way to find the best solution actually is to buy the new Extreme and test various setups at home, and see how the n and ac interact. I can borrow a friend's new MBA with ac capability to check speeds, as I will wait for another few months before I'll upgrade my current MBA to a new one.

Once again thank you for suggestions and guidance.