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Upgrade from Airport Extreme?

S

Sluchbox

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 7, 2021
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I have an Airport Extreme that is working flawlessly like always. It has the newest firmware which I don’t think has been updated in many years.

Should I think about purchasing a new router? I worry about security issues if there’s no updates.

We are not hard-core users, mostly web surfing on laptops/tablets/phones and streaming video with Rokus
 
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You might benefit from a newer unit, there have been some decent advancements in wifi since those airports came out, beam forming, wider channels and the like. It wouldn’t need to cost a fortune either.
Or, if it ain’t broke, stick with it. Security could be an issue but a newer unit is no guarantee in that dept either, sadly!
 
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Since our house is wired up with ethernet, I just eventually bought a dedicated ethernet router (open box EdgeRouter 4), and use the Airport Extreme as a wifi bridge. Some day I'll replace the Airport access point, but it's still good for wireless in our case. Going this way meant that I got some small-business class hardware for the router for a decent price, which has been rock solid during the pandemic with a lot of working from home. Price wise, it was cheaper than some of the high end integrated routers like the Synology, and lets me punt on the wireless question until I have a real need.

If you are lucky enough to have access to 1Gbps internet, the Airport can't keep up with it and will cap out around 600-700Mbps rather than the 900+Mbps real throughput that should be possible. That's what prompted us to finally upgrade.
 
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Anyone else still using their airport express from 2007?
Mine is now streaming golf to the mini, running the ipad and getting a strong signal on the macbook air.
 
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My house is 3600 sq ft, two story. I'm running two 6th gen Apple Extreme routers (bridge mode) wifi/ac. Works beautifully for me. One downstairs and one upstairs. Both routers are hard wired via Netgear Powerline 1000 adapters. My local cable company internet is 150Mbps, so these routers still suit my application. They are as solid as any electronics I've ever owned (knock on wood). No plans to replace them.
 
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Mine is right in the middle of my 1000 square-foot condo, so it blankets the entire place well. We have 250 Mbps Internet which is way more than we need, so the router keeps up fine.

The Synology and AmpliFi ALIEN seem like they are extremely advanced for my needs. I literally plugged it in, spent two minutes making the initial settings, and haven’t touched it since.

I’ll just keep it since everyone seems to say there’s nothing wrong with it. Hopefully if there is a security issue Apple will put out a firmware update.
 
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Sluchbox said:
Mine is right in the middle of my 1000 square-foot condo, so it blankets the entire place well. We have 250 Mbps Internet which is way more than we need, so the router keeps up fine.

The Synology and AmpliFi ALIEN seem like they are extremely advanced for my needs. I literally plugged it in, spent two minutes making the initial settings, and haven’t touched it since.

I’ll just keep it since everyone seems to say there’s nothing wrong with it. Hopefully if there is a security issue Apple will put out a firmware update.
Click to expand...

Or at least tell us our devices are no longer safe. Either way, I have appreciated my Airport Extreme, it has had a good life!
 
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While I have such knowledgeable people here I have one further question. It would be nice if I could put this router inside of the closet on an upper shelf. It’ll be in the center of my 31x32 foot condo.

Would this be a problem?

Right now it’s on a table in the center hallway but I’d rather put it inside of the closet.
 
Sluchbox said:
While I have such knowledgeable people here I have one further question. It would be nice if I could put this router inside of the closet on an upper shelf. It’ll be in the center of my 31x32 foot condo.

Would this be a problem?

Right now it’s on a table in the center hallway but I’d rather put it inside of the closet.
Click to expand...
Inside the closet is not an environment conducive to good RF performance. Ask me how I know 🙄 but you can get away with it.
Putting it in the middle of your space is a good strategy though.
 
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I have an Asus RT-AX58U (great name) that has support for Time Machine backups. I think I only paid $100 for it last year. It's been rock solid and the range is much, much better than any of my AirPort Extremes or Time Capsules.

I remember plugging it in, plugging my modem in, downloading the app, configuring the Wifi name/password, and then that's it.
 
Currently it’s in the center of my home but it looks kind of ugly on a table so I was hoping to put it in the closet right behind the table. But if it’s going to be bad for the signal I will just leave it where it is.
 
I agree with Barbu above.
Put it in the closet if you wish.
But... if you want the best performance -- leave it "out on the table" where it is now.
 
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Sluchbox said:
Currently it’s in the center of my home but it looks kind of ugly on a table so I was hoping to put it in the closet right behind the table. But if it’s going to be bad for the signal I will just leave it where it is.
Click to expand...
Just get a prettier unit :) my Dream machine looks cool, too bad it’s in the closet 🤣
 
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iAssimilated said:
Or at least tell us our devices are no longer safe. Either way, I have appreciated my Airport Extreme, it has had a good life!
Click to expand...
I was going to post a question about the (latest) Airport Extreme basestation that I have and came upon this thread. I'm okay with signal strength and speed, just concerned with security as it doesn't appear Apple has issued an update in a long time, which is kind of surprising. So couple of questions:

1. Do you have to log into the basestation to determine if there's an update?

2. If Apple will "tell us," what form of communication will that take?

Thanks.
 
mac_in_tosh said:
I was going to post a question about the (latest) Airport Extreme basestation that I have and came upon this thread. I'm okay with signal strength and speed, just concerned with security as it doesn't appear Apple has issued an update in a long time, which is kind of surprising. So couple of questions:

1. Do you have to log into the basestation to determine if there's an update?

2. If Apple will "tell us," what form of communication will that take?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

You shouldn't have to login to the basestation to see if there is an update, the Airport Utility should inform you of any pending updates.

I assume Apple knows we know the Airport Extreme is end-of-life, so they don't need to tell us anything, but they did release a security update after it was discontinued (the Airport router line was discontinued in April 2018 and Apple released the last security update in June 2019). I was simply commenting on if they would release a firmware update if Apple was aware of a security issue and my hope would be if there was an issue, Apple would tell its users to stopping using the Airport Extreme if they were not going to release a fix. Hopefully that makes sense.
 
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iAssimilated said:
You shouldn't have to login to the basestation to see if there is an update, the Airport Utility should inform you of any pending updates.

I assume Apple knows we know the Airport Extreme is end-of-life, so they don't need to tell us anything, but they did release a security update after it was discontinued (the Airport router line was discontinued in April 2018 and Apple released the last security update in June 2019). I was simply commenting on if they would release a firmware update if Apple was aware of a security issue and my hope would be if there was an issue, Apple would tell its users to stopping using the Airport Extreme if they were not going to release a fix. Hopefully that makes sense.
Click to expand...
Okay thanks, but it's just surprising to me that with everything getting fairly frequent security updates there have been none for AE in almost three years.

And do you have to launch Airport Utility to check for updates or will System Preferences issue a notification?
 
In 2018, Apple said they’d continue support for the routers for 5 years. As the previous poster mentioned, the most recent security update was in June, ‘19. Ver 7.9.1 for the AirPort Extreme AC. Nothing since. These things are so locked down though, that perhaps they’re not very vulnerable.
 
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Mine died recently, but it was so slow anyway I was happy to save the space it took up. I use iCloud to backup my documents folder, other stuff I need to worry about to GitHub, and I use a USB-C 1 TB SSD to take a Time Machine backup. I say good riddance to Time Capsule, yet another Apple abandoned product.
 
I don't see the point of upgrading your router unless the wifi coverage is poor. The next evolution is Wifi6, but what's the point if your devices are Wifi5(AC)?
 
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SeenJeen said:
I have an Asus RT-AX58U (great name) that has support for Time Machine backups. I think I only paid $100 for it last year. It's been rock solid and the range is much, much better than any of my AirPort Extremes or Time Capsules.

I remember plugging it in, plugging my modem in, downloading the app, configuring the Wifi name/password, and then that's it.
Click to expand...
I recently got an Asus RT-AX82U which is the gaming version of your 58U. Have been happy with it. I was reading this thread because I still have my 6th Gen AirPort, and was curious as to what people were saying about it in this point in time.
 

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