WiFi n Airport Express vs Airport Extreme

[drsox]

Why does Airport Express give better WiFi n results than Airport Extreme ?
I have an Airport Express with 802.11n only (5Ghz) and an Airport Extreme with 802.11a/n - 802.11b/g/n (limited range of settings options)

With the Extreme sometimes I get 300Mbps, sometimes I get 130Mbps, sometimes 54Mbps.
And it changes every so often ! The location of the MBA is the same - 3ft away from the Extreme.

Then I added an Express unit, next to the Extreme. Connection rate : 300Mbps. Solid - no changes.

No-one else is accessing either unit

Anyone else see this ?

 

[GGJstudios]

I have an Airport Express with 802.11n only (5Ghz)

There is no AirPort Express model that is 802.11n only. The current model is 802.11a/b/g and draft 802.11n.

 

[drsox]

There is no AirPort Express model that is 802.11n only. The current model is 802.11a/b/g and draft 802.11n.

Beg to differ !

The 4 options for a wireless network in all of my 3 Airport Express units are :
1. 802.11n (802.11b/g compatible)
2. 802.11n only (2.4Ghz)
3. 802.11n (802.11a compatible)
4. 802.11n only (5Ghz)

If I select option 4, I get the results I indicate.

Do you have an AEXpress ? What are your wireless options as listed ?

 

[GGJstudios]

Beg to differ !

The 4 options for a wireless network in all of my 3 Airport Express units are :
1. 802.11n (802.11b/g compatible)
2. 802.11n only (2.4Ghz)
3. 802.11n (802.11a compatible)
4. 802.11n only (5Ghz)

If I select option 4, I get the results I indicate.

Do you have an AEXpress ? What are your wireless options as listed ?

Yes, you can select option 4, but the device is still a/b/g/n capable. The device is not restricted to n only. Perhaps you meant to say, "I have an Airport Express with the 802.11n only (5Ghz) option selected".

 

[drsox]

On the other hand the Extreme does not present the same 4 options (only 2) and seems more prevalent to switching (inefficiently) between bands and between rates. Therefore the apparent difference between Airport devices.

If I only have 5Ghz n devices, I want to be able to prevent the AExtreme from looking for other 802.11 options. I seems to be able to do this for the AExpress it seems.

 

[BlackViper]

same revision?

The Airport base stations have gone through a number of updates while retaining the same form. Could be that you are comparing an older Extreme to a newer Express. Wifi signal is a funny thing, could the Express be in a better spot; even a couple feet can be significant depending on the surroundings. You didn't say if your Extreme was configured for 5Ghz, that band will likely have less interference from other devices.

 

[GGJstudios]

If I only have 5Ghz n devices, I want to be able to prevent the AExtreme from looking for other 802.11 options. I seems to be able to do this for the AExpress it seems.

Do you have any printers? If so, are they 5GHz? All the printers I've seen are 2.4.

 

[drsox]

Don't think so. The Extreme arrived from Apple 2 days ago with the designation : MD031Z/A. The Express units are 2 months old or less.

The only options in the config for the Extreme are :
1. Automatic
2. 802.11a/n - 802.11b/g/n
3. 802.11a - 802.11b/g

I guess Automatic allows the unit to switch between 2 and 3. It is set to Automatic and seems to sit on option 2.

----------

No, my printer is on a wired LAN.
The AE units are only for an iPad 2 and a new MBA. Both are 5Ghz n devices.

 

[drsox]

Just thought of another possible cause.

I'm also testing the Guest Network option on the Extreme as a prelude to using an iPhone 4S from Xmas onwards.
However, no devices were connected to the Guest Network at the time of the results - merely that the option was enabled.

Is this enough to make the Extreme hop about wrt data rates and connect options ?

 

[DaveTheRave]

The only options in the config for the Extreme are :
1. Automatic
2. 802.11a/n - 802.11b/g/n
3. 802.11a - 802.11b/g

Click the Option button at the same time you click on the menu drop-down and you'll see more choices.

 

[drsox]

WOW. I see them all - thanks.

I wonder what else hides within the OSX menus just waiting to spring out.