Need airport networking advice...

[Lexical]

Hello all,

Would really appreciate some advice as I'm a bit new to all this networking stuff and not sure how best to set it all up.

I moved into a new flat where my Airport Extreme (2013 model) was based where my router is, at one end of one end of the flat. As my mrs only has an iPhone 5, the other end of the flat resulted in her getting no wifi signal.

Now what i did was used my airport express to extend the wifi network. So i plugged that in at the other end and set it to extend the network over wifi.

It works ok, but i am getting half speeds at that end which i understand. Im never sure what my devices are connecting to, the express or the extreme as its all under one network. I wouldn't want the PS4 or my Macbook to be crippled by the speeds of the express.

Whats the best thing to do? Power line the express? Set them to join/create networks? Extend? I really don't know or understand.

I have an iPhone 6 so would love to use the benefits of AC on my new extreme router but I'm not sure it is. I haven't separated the 2.4 and 5Ghz networks its all just on automatic. Was this a bad move? Am i crippling all my other devices?

Any advice on how to set this all up would be much appreciated!!

 

[Altemose]

Hello all,

Would really appreciate some advice as I'm a bit new to all this networking stuff and not sure how best to set it all up.

I moved into a new flat where my Airport Extreme (2013 model) was based where my router is, at one end of one end of the flat. As my mrs only has an iPhone 5, the other end of the flat resulted in her getting no wifi signal.

Now what i did was used my airport express to extend the wifi network. So i plugged that in at the other end and set it to extend the network over wifi.

It works ok, but i am getting half speeds at that end which i understand. Im never sure what my devices are connecting to, the express or the extreme as its all under one network. I wouldn't want the PS4 or my Macbook to be crippled by the speeds of the express.

Whats the best thing to do? Power line the express? Set them to join/create networks? Extend? I really don't know or understand.

I have an iPhone 6 so would love to use the benefits of AC on my new extreme router but I'm not sure it is. I haven't separated the 2.4 and 5Ghz networks its all just on automatic. Was this a bad move? Am i crippling all my other devices?

Any advice on how to set this all up would be much appreciated!!

There are three tips I can give you. First of all, if possible, put the Extreme in the dead center of your new home. Wi-Fi beams in a 360 degree area and as a result, the center is best. Second of all, the Express should not be where it is gasping for signal. You should place the Express right before the signal degrades below 50 %. iStumbler or Wi-Fi Explorer on a Mac can help you with determining this.


Finally, you would run an Ethernet cable under the house to connect to the Express. This would create a roaming network and not result in such a speed decrease. The Express only has a 10/100 Ethernet WAN and LAN port so you will never see more than 100 Mbps on the back end.

 

[waw74]

if you want to hardwire, and can't ... people seem to have good luck with power line networking.