I own the new timecapsule and belive the router part is the same as extreme. I also own a huawei 4g wifi router (e5172). The huawei does not do ac but in N mode the huawei does about 33% better than timecapsule. The timecapsule is gadget i regret most buying.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Is The Airport Extreme/Express Worth it
- Thread starter Bengalhawks
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I ended up getting 2 refurbished Extreme routers at Microcenter for $100 each. They are both in the attic with about a 40 foot cable between them. Wifi coverage in the house is great and the handoff between the two routers is seemless.
This is Texas and they have survived a Texas summer in the attic so far where it gets up to about 120*F in my attic.
I never looked at seriously before. But as I moved more and more into the Apple ecosystem I realized there stuff works very well together.
In my setup the ISP router is strictly used for DHCP and the Apple Extremes only provide wifi access. All traffic within the network goes through a central gigabit switch. The routers are all extensions from the main switch.
----------
Ya they really stick it to you for the time machine aspect.
This is Texas and they have survived a Texas summer in the attic so far where it gets up to about 120*F in my attic.
I never looked at seriously before. But as I moved more and more into the Apple ecosystem I realized there stuff works very well together.
In my setup the ISP router is strictly used for DHCP and the Apple Extremes only provide wifi access. All traffic within the network goes through a central gigabit switch. The routers are all extensions from the main switch.
----------
Ya they really stick it to you for the time machine aspect.
I can't speak to Asus routers, but after having to (try to) RMA a couple of their motherboards, I won't be buying any of their stuff. Their support is the worst.
BGBUXA
macrumors member
Router
Netgear Nighthawk
This router give me a decent connection based on my ISP. I have 12 devices hooked up to my network similtaniously and I have not noticed any lag in connection speed. I do stream ofter with my apple TV and the connection to the apple tv works great. Either way the airport and nighthawk are my personal top 2 routers to choose from in the market right now asus is up there also. But at least you can narrow down your search for your own personal needs.
Cheers!
Netgear Nighthawk
This router give me a decent connection based on my ISP. I have 12 devices hooked up to my network similtaniously and I have not noticed any lag in connection speed. I do stream ofter with my apple TV and the connection to the apple tv works great. Either way the airport and nighthawk are my personal top 2 routers to choose from in the market right now asus is up there also. But at least you can narrow down your search for your own personal needs.
Cheers!
Last edited:
Altemose
macrumors G3
That proves nothing but your ISP speed. Mine says 115 Mbps down and 15 up. Enough said because it is the wrong way to measure internal network speed. Most any current high end router will not be the bottleneck in Internet speed.
I think it'd worth it. I had other routers and they always needed to be reset, but never once have I had to reset my Airport. I have a 2nd generation and it's still going strong.
Last edited:
I had a very similar experience. I finally caved and bought an Airport Express as my primary access point at our last house, which was smaller. When we moved to this house, I upgraded and bought an Airport Extreme. In both cases, my video streaming issues disappeared. I'll just say that no matter what your router is, the PS3's wireless card is downright terrible and will pretty much always lag/buffer, so you're better off going wired one way or another with it if you want to stream to it. Its fine for gaming etc though. Aside from that, you really can't go wrong with an Apple router.
b3av3r
macrumors regular
I've always had low to mid range routers from Linksys or net gear and since we are slowly becoming an Apple family I decided to get the new AC Extreme.
As said before the set up was super easy but the performance is about as good as other routers. I think for the money I could have purchased a router that gives better performance at the expense of a few extra minutes of setup and configuring. I would search for some router reviews and see what other options are out there unless you just want to have an Apple router or are intimidated by configuring a router.
As said before the set up was super easy but the performance is about as good as other routers. I think for the money I could have purchased a router that gives better performance at the expense of a few extra minutes of setup and configuring. I would search for some router reviews and see what other options are out there unless you just want to have an Apple router or are intimidated by configuring a router.
GreatDrok
macrumors 6502a
I've got two Asus Wifi ADSL routers (one simply being used as an access point after I was told to replace it after it wouldn't connect to the net reliably) and I've now replaced them both with Airport Express boxes because I was having so much trouble with the Asus ones. One of the Asus boxes is still used for the ADSL and DHCP.
Frequent disconnects, slow to connect and quite often all my devices would just get bumped off with the Asus boxes. The other day my wife's iPad mini simply wouldn't connect regardless of what I did. I just got so sick of it that I bought two Airport Express boxes, plugged them in, configured them and boom, all good. They're faster than the N12 and N11 I was using and way more reliable. More to the point, I've got 5Ghz support too now so I'm happy with them. With both access points running on the same SSID I can roam around the house and always have a strong signal.
Frequent disconnects, slow to connect and quite often all my devices would just get bumped off with the Asus boxes. The other day my wife's iPad mini simply wouldn't connect regardless of what I did. I just got so sick of it that I bought two Airport Express boxes, plugged them in, configured them and boom, all good. They're faster than the N12 and N11 I was using and way more reliable. More to the point, I've got 5Ghz support too now so I'm happy with them. With both access points running on the same SSID I can roam around the house and always have a strong signal.
rsocal
macrumors 6502a
Routers/Modems
I've had Verizon Fios for few years now and use a Apple AirPort Extreme that I'm going to update to the newest one. I've been using my APE for 4yrs plus and still going strong. We run 2 Apple TV's, 1 XBox, 2 MBPS and at any given time up to 5 iPhones & 2 iPads. Never a problem!
Verizon uses ActionTech Modem/Router combination. However I don't use it for WiFi, they're OK but not as good as AE. Fios came out with a new ActionTech Modem/Router that has the new AC protocol and is faster, Verizon states that it's faster with wired connections as well a WiFi. I did get this new router and it was faster so I didn't get my new AE yet and I'm using the ActionTech for WiFi as well, no AE hooked up yet.
The new ActionTech already failed so I hooked the older ActionTech back up. Now My big Question, if I get the newest Airport Extreme will I get the faster speeds that the new ActionTech gave me, or does the modem still need to be updated with the newest ActionTech Modem/Router? Verizon has not sent me my new replacement yet and I questioned being told the wired speeds would increase with the newest ActionTech Modem/Router?
I understand the new WiFi routers will increase speeds and accept the new AC protocol but does the Modem effect this? Doesn't the modem just convert the signal for the internet just like a TV set top box converts it for TV?
I've had Verizon Fios for few years now and use a Apple AirPort Extreme that I'm going to update to the newest one. I've been using my APE for 4yrs plus and still going strong. We run 2 Apple TV's, 1 XBox, 2 MBPS and at any given time up to 5 iPhones & 2 iPads. Never a problem!
Verizon uses ActionTech Modem/Router combination. However I don't use it for WiFi, they're OK but not as good as AE. Fios came out with a new ActionTech Modem/Router that has the new AC protocol and is faster, Verizon states that it's faster with wired connections as well a WiFi. I did get this new router and it was faster so I didn't get my new AE yet and I'm using the ActionTech for WiFi as well, no AE hooked up yet.
The new ActionTech already failed so I hooked the older ActionTech back up. Now My big Question, if I get the newest Airport Extreme will I get the faster speeds that the new ActionTech gave me, or does the modem still need to be updated with the newest ActionTech Modem/Router? Verizon has not sent me my new replacement yet and I questioned being told the wired speeds would increase with the newest ActionTech Modem/Router?
I understand the new WiFi routers will increase speeds and accept the new AC protocol but does the Modem effect this? Doesn't the modem just convert the signal for the internet just like a TV set top box converts it for TV?
The bottom line for me is with the new timecapsule and with all my devices that support wifi ac i always get the full provider band thanks to the beamforming i guess
Dirtyharry50
macrumors 68000
I don't know about you but I like stuff that just works and works well, stuff that is reliable too. I have used Linksys and Netgear routers in the past and while setting them up and making adjustments as desired for gaming isn't rocket science, the interface to do so is ugly to put it mildly, as in MS-DOS kinda ugly. Anyway, looks aren't everything but considering what you pay for them I would think by now that reliable (not needing frequent reboots) and with an attractive, easy to use UI would not be so hard to provide.
I've been using an Apple Airport Extreme for over two years now and it works flawlessly with all my devices including AppleTV. I have zero issues with streaming. I have zero issues period. I have never needed to reboot the thing and setup is simple as can be.
As far as I am concerned based on my own personal experience Apple makes an excellent router that performs well, is reliable and easy to use. I'd recommend one without hesitation. It's worth the money versus a cheaper one.