General Router Broadband Question

[Hrothgar]

I've got an old Apple Airport Extreme -- probably more than 10 years. In the past few years, I notice that my signal drops when I'm in parts of my apartment that used to have fine coverage -- no more than 20 feet away, sometimes with a wall (drywall, not contract) in between.

Would this be a problem with the strength of the router? I.e., should I get a new router or an extender?
Or a problem with the broadband signal -- should I upgrade my service from 50 mbs to something higher.

When I'm near the router I have no problems streaming Netflix or other content.

 

[S.B.G]

Increasing your service bandwidth isn't going to solve that issue. You're probably right that the 10 year old AirPort Extreme is probably wearing out. Might be time to get a new wifi router. New ones will have wireless AC which will give you much better coverage than the wireless N AirPort you have now.

 

[Hrothgar]

Thank you.

 

[satcomer]

Thank you.

If you a good Airport like router take a look at Synology Router RT2600 to hang a Time machine drive behind it!

Look at this review:

 

[Fishrrman]

It's time to look for a replacement.

Have you considered one of the numerous "mesh" systems now on the market?
The best are the "tri-band" systems such as the Linksys Velop and Netgear Orbi.

I've been using a 2-node Velop system for a while now, nice upgrade from my old "flat" Airport Extreme (which I keep around as "a backup")...

 

[Hrothgar]

i looked into the mesh systems, but I'm in a 1,000 sq ft apartment. It seems like unnecessary expense.

 

[satcomer]

i looked into the mesh systems, but I'm in a 1,000 sq ft apartment. It seems like unnecessary expense.

Then get the Synology one if you want a replacement for Time Machine!