Beamforming: Does it make a different for 802.11n?

Discussion in 'Mac Accessories' started by gnomeisland, Jun 11, 2013.

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  1. gnomeisland, Jun 11, 2013

    gnomeisland macrumors 6502

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    #1
    So despite their ugly design, I'm excited but what I see as the first real update to the AES/Time Capsule since the adoption of wireless-N. The new "ac" standard sounds cool but I have no devices that support it and probably won't for at least another year (or two). However, beam forming could make huge difference for network congestion if it will work with wireless-N. Anyone know if that's the case here? I know that beamforming has actually been around for years before Apple adopted it but I'm not aware of another commercial router that offers it.
     
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  2. MCAsan, Jun 11, 2013

    MCAsan macrumors 601

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    #2
    Beam forming is used in cellular network basestations extensively. It is a basic function in LTE base stations/antenna arrays. Well known and proven technology.
     
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  3. Giuly, Jun 11, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 11, 2013

    Giuly macrumors 68040

    Giuly

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    #3
    If 802.11ac uses the same antennae as 802.11n and beamforming is a technology that turns uni-directional antennae in a hexagonal array on and off to divide the transmission power in the most efficient way or whatever in relation to the signal strength, then it should work with older devices as well.
     
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  4. colodane, Jun 12, 2013

    colodane macrumors 6502a

    colodane

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    #4
    My hope was that the beam forming would also work with 802.11n devices, but quoting from the description in the Apple Airport Extreme website:

    "But the beamforming antenna array is smarter — it knows where an 802.11ac device is on the network. Then AirPort Extreme targets its signal to that device."

    That statement implies that it only may work for ac. Will be interesting to find the answer to this.
     
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  5. Mr. Retrofire, Jun 12, 2013

    Mr. Retrofire macrumors 601

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    #5
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  6. jenzjen, Jun 12, 2013

    jenzjen macrumors 68000

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    #6
    My experience is similar to MrC.

    Previously, I had 2 new/5th gen Extremes covering my home and could only get full throughput at all corners by using 2 routers.

    Today, I replaced both with a single 2013 Extreme (same location as my old main Extreme) and all corners get full throughput.
     
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  7. michial, Jun 13, 2013

    michial macrumors 6502

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    #7
    I don't have an ac ready device just a 2012 cmbp. Would this AE give better range and throughput than the Asus rtn66u?
     
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  8. CosmoPilot, Jun 18, 2013

    CosmoPilot macrumors 65816

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    #8
    Output power has been increased. This is going to help by itself.
     
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