Apple Airport Extreme - getting 100MB Internet

[Benz63amg]

im moving in a week and the ISP (Optimum) offers a 100MB Plan so thats what im going to get, As far as my Airport Extreme is concerned, what are some settings is should go over and verify to make sure im getting optimal speed for the plan im getting? Also, how do i verify if my AirPort Extreme is configured IPV6 or IPV4 and would that affect the speed?

Thank you in advance

 

[satcomer]

I would get a more modern wireless router!

 

[lclev]

Yes the airport extreme is long in the tooth but it still is a great router and easy to setup. It is already configured for IPv4 and IPv6 (all routers are) plus 802.11ac - which is the fast speed currently offered by most vendors, although there is a faster protocol available 802.11ad. There are a few I know of that offers 802.11ad one is a TP-Link and I found one from Netgear.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M12RE4...8e9e-53019b499ef1&ie=UTF8&qid=1524573568&sr=1

Another nice one that is 802.11ac but much cheaper and a very nice router.

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Arch...sr=8-1-fkmr2&keywords=tp-link+router+802.11ad

I tend to like Cisco, TP-link and Linksys products but what ever you get read reviews from actual buyers first.

Lisa

 

[Benz63amg]

[doublepost=1524575667][/doublepost]

I would get a more modern wireless router!

What are you talking about? I love my AirPort Extreme (the latest upright standing version which was last refreshed about 3 years ago) has given me years of solid performance and I don’t see a reason to upgrade it whatsoever. I remember the days before the AirPort Extreme where I had dlink/linksys routers and they were all plagued with wireless issues and what not

My purpose for this thread was just to get some insight of any immediate settings I should go Over and check in the settings menu in AirPort utility to make sure I get the maximum performance. I’m getting a new 16 channel down arris modem as well, that should Link up and synchronize with my AirPort Extreme once I boot them up together auotmaitcally as usual right?
[doublepost=1524577289][/doublepost]

Yes the airport extreme is long in the tooth but it still is a great router and easy to setup. It is already configured for IPv4 and IPv6 (all routers are) plus 802.11ac - which is the fast speed currently offered by most vendors, although there is a faster protocol available 802.11ad. There are a few I know of that offers 802.11ad one is a TP-Link and I found one from Netgear.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M12RE4...8e9e-53019b499ef1&ie=UTF8&qid=1524573568&sr=1

Another nice one that is 802.11ac but much cheaper and a very nice router.

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Arch...sr=8-1-fkmr2&keywords=tp-link+router+802.11ad

I tend to like Cisco, TP-link and Linksys products but what ever you get read reviews from actual buyers first.

Lisa

How do I know if my AirPort Extreme is configured for IPv6 or IPv4 though? I remember there was a setting somewhere in AirPort utility to let the AirPort Extreme know to use IPV6 but I can’t seem to find it now.

 

[Juicy Box]

im moving in a week and the ISP (Optimum) offers a 100MB Plan so thats what im going to get, As far as my Airport Extreme is concerned, what are some settings is should go over and verify to make sure im getting optimal speed for the plan im getting?

Assuming you mean 100Mbps speeds, you will probably be fine. I am using an older AirPort Extreme with the "n" standard, and I max out around 75Mbps for a single-device connected via wifi. Many of my devices are slower than that, but I think that it is due to the device and not the router.

Also, how do i verify if my AirPort Extreme is configured IPV6 or IPV4

I think it is defaulted on, with a setting like "use IPv6 when available" or something like that. I can't remember where the setting is though.

would that affect the speed?

I don't know why it would. It is just how things are addressed. In my mind, it would be like going from a 7 digit phone number, to a 10 digit phone number. Or a 5 digit zip code, to a 9 digit zip code.

I guess there could be an argument that IPv6 would actually be a little slower, due to potentially less equipment supporting it, and packets having to take longer paths to reach a destination.

But still, I think any differences in speed between IPv4 and IPv6 would be so little, that it would be impossible to notice without tools.

Anyone else have a reason why one would be faster?

How do I know if my AirPort Extreme is configured for IPv6 or IPv4 though? I remember there was a setting somewhere in AirPort utility to let the AirPort Extreme know to use IPV6 but I can’t seem to find it now.

I wouldn't worry about this, unless you turned off your IPv6 setting. Having faster internet has nothing to do with the IPv6 standard.

It is just the new standard due to IPv4 addresses running out.

 

[Benz63amg]

Just for the record, my AirPort Extreme is the WiFi “AC” Model(Latest one)

 

[lclev]

I have 150Mbps internet at work. I also have two Airport Time capsules (like the Extreme but with a hard drive). I get up to 216Mbps from my Time capsule which exceeds my incoming internet speed. Eventually there will be gigabit speeds for the home and then routers will need to address that.

Your Airport Extreme has both IPv4 and IPv6 which are auto switching on all routers. It has been that way for several years. They are addressing systems and have nothing to do with speed.

If speed is a concern, some routers allow you to setup two different wireless networks. One for the 2.4GHz and one for 5Ghz. The 5Ghz is faster but the range is shorter. If you name both networks the same - in theory - your devices will switch between the two. The Time capsule does not have the ability to separate the two into separate networks.

Lisa

 

[Benz63amg]

I have 150Mbps internet at work. I also have two Airport Time capsules (like the Extreme but with a hard drive). I get up to 216Mbps from my Time capsule which exceeds my incoming internet speed. Eventually there will be gigabit speeds for the home and then routers will need to address that.

Your Airport Extreme has both IPv4 and IPv6 which are auto switching on all routers. It has been that way for several years. They are addressing systems and have nothing to do with speed.

If speed is a concern, some routers allow you to setup two different wireless networks. One for the 2.4GHz and one for 5Ghz. The 5Ghz is faster but the range is shorter. If you name both networks the same - in theory - your devices will switch between the two. The Time capsule does not have the ability to separate the two into separate networks.

Lisa

I see,

I’m getting a new 16 channel down Arris modem to go along with my AirPort Extreme at my new home, that should Link up and synchronize with my AirPort Extreme once I boot them up together auotmaitcally right? I don’t need to input IP addresses of any kind right?

 

[lclev]

I see,

I’m getting a new 16 channel down Arris modem to go along with my AirPort Extreme at my new home, that should Link up and synchronize with my AirPort Extreme once I boot them up together auotmaitcally right? I don’t need to input IP addresses of any kind right?

I have a 16 channel Arris modem at work but there is a router between my two Time Capsules and the Arris. If the Airport Extreme is connected directly to the Arris - if it is your router, or connected to your router it should work fine. You might have to do some configuring to it. If you have trouble post back and ask.

Lisa

 

[Juicy Box]

I see,

I’m getting a new 16 channel down Arris modem to go along with my AirPort Extreme at my new home, that should Link up and synchronize with my AirPort Extreme once I boot them up together auotmaitcally right? I don’t need to input IP addresses of any kind right?

It happens automatically. Some routers need to be restarted, but in my experience, you don't even need to do that with the AirPort.

Get your new modem, and just pug it into the WAN port on your AirPort.

As for typical speeds you will see. This all depends on many different factors, and will vary from one network to the next.

Example, if your device is really far away from the router, your speed might suffer. With the ac AirPort Extreme, as long as you not far away from the router, your wireless will probably be fine. Your router will probably be faster than the internet service you have.

 

[thisismyusername]

You don't have to do anything. 100Mb isn't that fast when it comes to routers. Once you start approaching a few hundred Mb to gigabit+ internet speeds you need to start thinking about whether or not your router can support that kind of throughput (and that's one area where the Airport Extreme starts falling behind when compared to better routers) but you're nowhere close to having to worry about that.

You also shouldn't have to worry about IPv6 unless you have a specific reason to use it.

 

[Boyd01]

I have 150Mbps internet at work. I also have two Airport Time capsules (like the Extreme but with a hard drive). I get up to 216Mbps from my Time capsule which exceeds my incoming internet speed.

I have an Airport Time Capsule at home and 150/150 FIOS internet. No problem at all getting full speed with wifi with my MacBook Air. I suffered with sub-megabit DSL in my rural location for over 10 years and was finally able to get FIOS last summer. Just unplugged the time capsule from my old DSL router and plugged it into the ethernet port of the FIOS router. Couldn't have been simpler. If I go to a fast site like Vimeo, I can upload a 1GB file in a little under one minute, so I am getting very close to the full advertised 150 mbs bandwidth.

I also use a network drive with wifi from the MacBook Air. The server is connected to the time capsule via gigabit ethernet. This is what I get (multiply these numbers x 8 to get speed in megabits). The time capsule and Airport extreme are not "state of the art" but they are more than adequate for what you (and I) need. It is certainly able to deliver much higher speed than 216 mbit/sec on your LAN.

 

[Juicy Box]

I have an Airport Time Capsule at home and 150/150 FIOS internet. No problem at all getting full speed with wifi with my MacBook Air. I suffered with sub-megabit DSL in my rural location for over 10 years and was finally able to get FIOS last summer. Just unplugged the time capsule from my old DSL router and plugged it into the ethernet port of the FIOS router. Couldn't have been simpler. If I go to a fast site like Vimeo, I can upload a 1GB file in a little under one minute, so I am getting very close to the full advertised 150 mbs bandwidth.

I also use a network drive with wifi from the MacBook Air. The server is connected to the time capsule via gigabit ethernet. This is what I get (multiply these numbers x 8 to get speed in megabits). The time capsule and Airport extreme are not "state of the art" but they are more than adequate for what you (and I) need. It is certainly able to deliver much higher speed than 216 mbit/sec on your LAN.

That was a good idea using a disk speed test to see in-network data transfer speeds. I have the black magic disk test on my Macs too, and I will probably use it when I get to test my wifi vs gigabit Ethernet differences.

 

[Boyd01]

I have the black magic disk test on my Macs too, and I will probably use it when I get to test my wifi vs gigabit Ethernet differences.

Here is the same test of the network drive on my LAN using a hardwired ethernet connection. So the wifi is definitely a lot slower, but "good enough" for most things, unless you are copying a lot of big files.

[doublepost=1524781505][/doublepost]This article just appeared on the front page, LOL. https://www.macrumors.com/2018/04/26/apple-officially-discontinues-airport-wireless-router-lineup/
__________

"We're discontinuing the Apple AirPort base station products. They will be available through Apple.com, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers while supplies last," an Apple spokesperson told iMore.

 

[medulla]

Funny thing, they just discontinued it as stated above ^

 

[Benz63amg]

Why would Apple discontinue the airport base station product line?!!! My AirPort Extreme (AC Model) is the best router I ever purchased. It’s flawless in its operation and has served me with excellent WiFi performance for several years unlike other routers such as from dlink and linksys that were plagued with disconnecting issues and other hiccups

 

[Boyd01]

They obviously aren't interested in that market anymore and it hasn't been updated for many years. Next: the Mac Mini

But I agree, mine has been great for the most part. The only issue I've had is moving my laptop to the other end of the house while connected to wifi. Sometimes it will show a full strength signal but there is actually no longer a connection. Turning wifi off and on always fixes it, but it can be annoying.