Help Me Decide: Rent Wireless Modem, Buy New Or Can We Fix APE?

[SteveO]

Just got 400 down installed via Spectrum. Uses: Netflix, Prime, Hulu, laptops consisting of 2009-10 vintage MB/MBP.

Have a 2012-ish APE - I skipped the Spectrum rental router because I read my APE could get me decent speed at 300 down max on 5ghz setup but the most I'm getting is 60 down on both standard setup and 5ghz/automagic setup.

Network tested via ethernet cord is 385 down, so the speed is definitely there. Yes I'm going to test this again later as it should be 400, but even 385 down @ $30/month is better than 100 down @ $50/month (was on Google fiber before this).

Would love to get even 300 down on the APE. Suggestions?

If not, a new modem that'll do 400 down is apparently in the $300 range. This Nighthawk one says it's 1.9 gbps = 237 mbps, so meh to spending $150 on something slower than my 2012 APE? (Am I reading that wrong?)

Renting to get ~400 down even for a couple years from Spectrum at $5/month seems wise if I can't get my APE to ramp up; tech changes so fast I don't know that it would be worth it to shell out that kind of modem dough. Ideally I'd like to get the APE going at 300...so I'm all ears for ideas. Thanks.

[mattkime]

Do you notice a slow speeds or are you going for big numbers?

Might be helpful to post screenshots of your wireless details (holding down option key and clicking on your wifi menu item)

...and if you're looking for a new wifi router, whats your place like? I assume its on the smaller side (with wifi transparent walls) if you're certain you need only a single access point.

[C(-)ris]

Airport Express or Extreme? Which generation? What model are the connected devices?

[Sarcany]

SteveO wrote:
Have a 2012-ish APE...

So, the squarish flat white 802.11n.

At 5GHz, I'd expect you to get about 11-13MBps.

If you've got the 2013 802.11ac tower, you might theoretically pull 50-60MBps, but real wold speed usually tops off at about 26MBps.

So, the Nighthawk would be an improvement.

...Of course, it's not much use to have a good router if you don't have the WiFi card/chip and antenna in your computer. You may be maxing it out right now.

...Try to keep track of the difference between bits vs Bytes.

[Forrest]

Inexpensive dual band WiFi routers are common. This TP-Link AC1750 Smart WiFi Router - Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Internet Router currently sells for $65 and has been on sale for $50.

[SteveO]

Sorry: AirPort Express 802.11n (2nd Generation, small square white). Didn't watch TV tonight but at 60 down there shouldn't be much buffering, but then again it doesn't seem "instant" either.

Small 3br 1955 ranch. Walls slow down the wireless a bit, the router is in the living room which is 20' from my office and 15' from the TV - I work a lot on the LR sofa so not too worried about the walls in between there and my office. Fairly open line of sight from LR to TV (& Roku 3).

Would like big numbers but could certainly live with 200+ down (nice to have for faster TV) for $60 ish - that link Forrest provided looks promising as an alternative if I'm really going to top out at <200 down with APExpress. But the chart on this page shows 300/450 down, so not sure what's what here. Granted that's for the Extreme but they're both 802.11n so... ?

I want to say our computers top out at 100 down (just guessing from AP stats from the time period), but the Roku 3 I'd guess is a lot more capable, and I could also hard wire it. Computers are '09 MB 2.2ghz and mid-'10 MBP 2.4ghz, both 13". I know they're old, the fast speeds are mostly to benefit the TV.

[Sarcany]

SteveO wrote: But the chart on this page shows 300/450 down, so not sure what's what here. Granted that's for the Extreme but they're both 802.11n so... ?

Those weren't real world numbers. They were theoretical maximum for the tech.

Typically, you halve the theoretical max of a wireless product and then knock another 30% off for processing overhead to get a good guesstimate of real-world performance. So, doing the conversion: 300Mbps theoretical max... 150Mbps... 105Mbps... 13MBps in practice with good reception.

Yes, it really works like that.

A good 802.11ac router will be able to use some of the beamforming tech to improve on 802.11n a little bit so you might see a little kick in speed on those old Macs, but not much. Might not be worth upgrading the router until you've got a Mac that can take advantage.

[Filliam H. Muffman]

I get 125 Mbps Speedtest numbers with Comcast using a wired link to my computers. My phone showed a 433 Mbps link but I only get 90 Mbps (84% of 125 Mbps wired computer speed) when it less than 10 feet from the AC1350 rated speed access point.

To get real world speeds for AC routers, you need to subtract the 2.4 GHz throughput and then divide the remaining number by half.

The most recent 6th gen Apple AirPort Extreme from mid-2013 is running first gen 802.11AC draft firmware from 2011. Apple has updated their firmware for security, but not speed. A newer access point rated for AC2600 (or higher) should be able to double speeds over an APE, assuming the receiving device is also rated for the higher speed.

[SteveO]

Cool, good info, thanks people. Mucho apreciado. Time to start shopping...