Time Capsule and Airport Extreme WiFi coverage vs competition in 2016

[InfoTime]

How does the current generation Time Capsule / Airport Extreme compare to the competition when it comes to WiFi coverage these days?

There are a lot of highly regarded WiFi routers from Netgear and Asus out there. And there are anecdotal reports that they cover better than the Apple gear.

I ask because I have a customer. They have an older Time Capsule and an AirPort Express that tries to extend the signal wirelessly, but it still doesn't get the job done. (Yes, I know it would be best to run Ethernet between the two, but trust me, there is no cost-effective way to do that where they live). They live in a 20 story condo building. OK, without getting too deep into their situation...

Does the competition do a better job at WiFi than Apple?

 

[LiveM]

Powerline adaptors allow LAN over mains power wiring - no need for new ethernet runs. That would be my suggestion and would surely make the extended coverage much stronger.

It would also allow a new Airport Extreme or Time Capsule base station to run at ac WiFi speed and to provide faster WiFi even to n devices through the base station or a new Express.

 

[Weaselboy]

Does the competition do a better job at WiFi than Apple?

Yes... now whether it is enough improvement to fix your issue is another question I suppose.

Check reviews on the site Smallnetbuilder. They do wifi range and speed tests for all their reviews and they have a review of the newest Airport Extreme as well as about any other router you could think of. I would concentrate on the AC1900 class routers listed here as those are about the best bang for the buck now.

 

[InfoTime]

Powerline adaptors allow LAN over mains power wiring - no need for new ethernet runs. That would be my suggestion and would surely make the extended coverage much stronger.

It would also allow a new Airport Extreme or Time Capsule base station to run at ac WiFi speed and to provide faster WiFi even to n devices through the base station or a new Express.

I was thinking about extending it with MoCA. But thought it would be best to upgrade to the latest Time Capsule or Airport Extreme and see if that solves the problem. Then look to extending.

But before doing that was wondering if the upgrade should be to a non-Apple WiFi access point.
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Yes... now whether it is enough improvement to fix your issue is another question I suppose.

Check reviews on the site Smallnetbuilder. They do wifi range and speed tests for all their reviews and they have a review of the newest Airport Extreme as well as about any other router you could think of. I would concentrate on the AC1900 class routers listed here as those are about the best bang for the buck now.

Thanks for the recommendation to concentrate on the AC1900. I'd been to that site but there are many choices, so narrowing it down helps.

 

[Weaselboy]

Thanks for the recommendation to concentrate on the AC1900. I'd been to that site but there are many choices, so narrowing it down helps.

Yeah... it is a bit overwhelming. Then for about any router you pick there are always a handful of reviews that say it is horrible, so you start to doubt yourself.

This might help you also.

 

[maflynn]

Powerline adaptors allow LAN over mains power wiring - no need for new ethernet runs. That would be my suggestion and would surely make the extended coverage much stronger.

My recent experience with powerline adapters is such that it may not be worth the money for the OP. I'm pulling in about 25 Mb/s on a pair. I'm quite underwhelmed.

 

[LiveM]

25MBps is DSL+ speed so it could be faster than the Internet connectin even if it does work that slow for the OP's customer. However it would also allow faster WiFi.

Even if other routers can be more powerful, it is only theoretical. I would be hesitant to recommend moving away from the familiarilty, reliability, compatibility and simplicity of sticking with AirPorts. It seems an unnecessary risk.

 

[Altemose]

If OP's clients are in a condo building, depending on the electrical setup, power line adapters may not even work at all. This is due to the fact that some condo and apartment buildings (especially those which have power included in rent) may not dedicate a specific circuit panel to one apartment. Therefore, the living room in an apartment may be on one circuit and the bedroom be on a completely different panel.

 

[maflynn]

25MBps is DSL+ speed so it could be faster than the Internet connectin even if it does work that slow for the OP's customer. However it would also allow faster WiFi.

Even if other routers can be more powerful, it is only theoretical. I would be hesitant to recommend moving away from the familiarilty, reliability, compatibility and simplicity of sticking with AirPorts. It seems an unnecessary risk.

Its not faster then my wifi extender and there was a reason why I opted to drop DSL