Aiport Express slowing down wlan?

[Diam]

Hi guys,

I've got a problem with my wlan. I've got an airport express connected to a zyxel router on the first floor. Connected to the wlan is:
- 1 Mac mini
- 1 ibook
- 2 iphones
- 2 Windows 7 systems (wlan access through http://www.conrad.com/D-LINK-DWA-131-WLAN-STICK-N300-NANO.htm?websale7=conrad-int&pi=973943&ci=SHOP_AREA_37403_0415145

Now I'm getting really slow connection with my two Windows systems.
One of it is at the first floor and shows 5/5 wlan signal.
The other is at the basement and shows 4/5 wlan signal.
But the one at the basement has a very very slow connection (about 10-50kb/s). The one on the first floor is at least faster for an amount of time, before the speed also collapses.
Could the problem be solved by replacing the airport express with an airport extreme? Don't know but could it be possible that the slow speed occurs because the airport express doesn't support the "n" mode or the "dual band" mode? It's often the case that at least both windows systems, mac mini and an iphone are connected (Not using bandwidth all the time, but are connected)
Just a thought of a casual home user .
Don't want to buy an airport extreme to suffer the same problems.

Thanks a lot.

 

[r0k]

Hi guys,

I've got a problem with my wlan. I've got an airport express connected to a zyxel router on the first floor. Connected to the wlan are:
- 1 Mac mini
- 1 ibook
- 2 iphones
- 2 Windows 7 systems (wlan access through http://www.conrad.com/D-LINK-DWA-131-WLAN-STICK-N300-NANO.htm?websale7=conrad-int&pi=973943&ci=SHOP_AREA_37403_0415145

Now I'm getting really slow connection with my two Windows systems.
One of it is at the first floor and shows 5/5 wlan signal.
The other is at the basement and shows 4/5 wlan signal.
But the one at the basement has a very very slow connection (about 10-50kb/s). The one on the first floor is at least faster for an amount of time, before the speed also collapses.
Could the problem be solved by replacing the airport express with an airport extreme? Don't know but could it be possible that the slow speed occurs because the airport express doesn't support the "n" mode or the "dual band" mode? It's often the case that at least both windows systems, mac mini and an iphone are connected (Not using bandwidth all the time, but are connected)
Just a thought of a casual home user .
Don't want to buy an airport extreme to suffer the same problems.

Thanks a lot.

I have had a variety of routers over the years, starting with a Zyxel that I was never quite happy with. In fact, I was never quite happy with any router until I got an Airport Extreme (AEBS). At the time, the AEBS was the only router I knew of that offered simultaneous B/G/N where slower devices wouldn't slow everything down as well as the availability of a guest network. Nowadays those options are quite common. Our house is pretty much "all Apple" and our AEBS has performed better than any of our previous routers which include Zyxel, Linksys (the infamous wrt54g v5), Netgear, and others.

One issue I had is I kept having to go down to the basement and unplug the Comcast cable modem and the router to get back on the internet. Sometimes it was once a month and sometimes it was once a week. Once we started using an AEBS, I never had to reset the AEBS, only the cable modem. Every other router would get stupid right along with the cable modem and sometimes the wifi would even quit working. The AEBS has been solid and has provided good performance for our needs. I love having the guest network for all the kids' friends that come over and want to use the internet from their handheld gadgets and windows laptops. I don't want windows running inside my firewall.

I would expect an AEBS to work well for you. The good news is that you already own an Airport Express (AE). If you use an AEBS as your main router (or at least your main wifi), you can use the AE to extend the wireless network. Our AE is plugged in to an outlet in the upstairs hallway between the kids' rooms in the exact opposite corner of the house from the AEBS and everybody gets fast 'net all the time. I don't recommend a Time Capsule as a router. IMHO a Time Capsule is best left to function as network attached storage or even a wifi extender but not as your router.

 

[Diam]

Hey thanks for the infos.
I was lucky today to get an AEBS just to try it .
I'll give a short state how it worked