Replacing Airport Express

[TitanJeff]

I put in an Airport Express years ago (I suspect around 8-10). I recently upgraded my cable modem to get the full 150 Mbps speeds but noticed my wifi speeds varying by quite a bit even standing next to the Express.

I expected a drop-off from Ethernet speeds but not the variance.

Just a few rooms over, that speed dropped even more (15 mbps-25 Mbps) even though the strength was still very good.

I updated to the latest firmware but still not getting the speeds. Any suggestion as to what I can try to maintain a more consistent speed?

If my old Express is just biting the dust, I see they are no longer being made.

Any recommendations to replace it?

 

[techwarrior]

Assuming this is first gen (looks like a Mac Power adapter) or maybe 2nd gen (looks like a small, white Apple TV).

First, if it connects to the router or modem via Ethernet, that maxes out at 100Mbps, so 50Mbps under your new internet speed.

Second, it supports 802.11b/g (1st gen) or N (2nd gen). b/g mode will max out around 56Mbps, N might get you los to the 100Mbps the ethernet link will give you.

If the APExpress is connecting wirelessly to your router, cut WiFi speeds in half, the one radio is shared between client and uplink tasks.

If you are trying to use this as your router, it is woefully underpowered for a 150Mbps connection.

There are a lot of decent routers in the market these days. Airport Extreme (if you can find one) is a good alternative. The latest model is 802.11ac to theoretically 1300Mbps on 5Ghz. But nearly any 802.11ac router will beat what AP Express can deliver.

 

[TitanJeff]

Thanks. I went with a Linksys Max-Stream AC2200 MU-MIMO Tri-band Wireless Router. So far, much better range and speed. I bet my data usage takes a big jump now.

 

[techwarrior]

Thanks. I went with a Linksys Max-Stream AC2200 MU-MIMO Tri-band Wireless Router. So far, much better range and speed. I bet my data usage takes a big jump now.

Data use, because your network is so much faster that you will use it more?

Most "surfing" uses minimal data. The big uses are large downloads (OS updates, etc) or HD\4K video streaming. Video streaming uses about 4-8Mbps (1080p), or 15-35Mbps (4K), if your network connection is too slow, many services will drop down to 720 or about 2-5Mbps.

Enjoy your new fast Internet!