Airport Extreme slowing down internet connection to a crawl

Hi,
Can anyone explain this one?
Just this afternoon my internet connection slowed to a crawl. Pages would stall loading and I couldn't even collect emails. There was a connection there. A Google search might take a minute or so but anything else would barely flinch.
So I did a few restarts and complete power downs of all my peripherals, computers and network devices but no joy. I called my broadband provider who did a remote test of my cable modem and confirmed it was responding well.
So I removed the Airport Extreme from the network and connected directly to the modem. All was fine, in fact that is how I am working now. But when connecting the Airport Extreme back in I have this extremely slow connection. I have looked at both the Network preferences and Airport Setup Utility. Both claim the connection is good.
I also have an old G4 in another room. It was switched off during all the goings on this afternoon but I powered it up to see if the same problem persisted. Sure enough it does, as it is also connected via the AE. However, the local connection between computers is just fine.
So how do I resolve this? Why would the AE cause such an internet slowdown?
Thanks,
Colin

I've had similar symptoms on my network. Here are network details:
Comcast is the ISP
I have an Extreme and an Express set up as a single wireless network.
Extreme is plugged in to the cable modem. Express is an extension of the Extreme.
Devices that are regularly "on network": Mac Mini (G4), MacBook, Mac Pro, 2 TiVO Series 2.
All Macs are running 10.4.10.
Symptom: Over the course of 3-6 weeks, wireless access slows to a crawl for the Intel-based MacBook and MacPro, but not the PowerPC Mini. All web sites, email traffic, etc., for the Intel Macs becomes painful: CNN's home page loads in minutes, not seconds, for example. Unplugging and replugging the Express doesn't do anything. Powering off and on the Extreme resolves the issue. For now. There are no pending firmware updates for the Express or Extreme that I'm aware of.

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Can the wireless card in my mac wear out and slow down internet connection??

can the wireless card in my mac wear out and slow down internet connection??

Yes the WiFi card can wear out but not what you would really call wearing out like a pair of pants do. It can start to fail causing the connection between your computer and your Wifi router to slow down, IE transmit and receive less data in a given time period. And then it will fail completely.
But as to your internet connection being affected by a failing WiFi card no that can't happen.
If you turn the WiFi off and connect the computer to your router with an Ethernet cable does your internet browsing and downloading speed increase? If it does then there may be something wrong with the WiFi card in your computer or the WiFi section of your router. Hard to say which.
If after connecting the computer to your router with an Ethernet cable and your speeds do not increase then it is a problem with the router or on your ISPs end.

Airport Extreme Base Station Internet Connection issue

I have a connection question for Airport Extreme Base Station.
I have Comcast cable broadband. I connect that to a Linksys router for
use with my Vonage phone, and then from the Linksys router I connect
via Ethernet to my iMac. I like the direct Ethernet connection for
performance reasons.
In order to set up a home network to connect my Tivo's (and eventually
my PC and printer), I have set up an Airport Extreme Base station and
connected it to the Linksys router from it's ethernet connection to the
WAN (cable modem) input on the Extreme.
I have connected to the Airport network with my iMac, but since I am
connected to the Internet via Ethernet, I cannot tell if my Airport is
connected to the Internet so that I can use it for my Tivo. My PC is
still in storage from a move, so I can't check with that.
My question: How can I tell if my Airport is connected to the Internet
without disabling my Ethernet connection on my iMac?
A few more info points/questions in case it helps answer:
1) I previously used this Airport to connect this iMac wirelessly.
2) Should I be connecting it to the LAN port since it's coming out of
the router?
3) If the connection issue is because I am going through the Linksys
first, can I connect the modem to the airport and then use the LAN port
to connect to the Linksys router?
4) If I have to disable the ethernet connection to test the Airport,
how do I do it? Just unplug it?
I appreciate any help as the online and manual help from Apple is not
quite up to par with such a complex configuration.
Regards
Bill

2) Should I be connecting it to the LAN port since it's coming out of
the router?
No, connecting to the WAN port is fine.
3) If the connection issue is because I am going through the Linksys
first, can I connect the modem to the airport and then use the LAN port
to connect to the Linksys router?
The issue is that you have two routers which effectively creates two networks. Unless this was your original intent, you will want to setup the AEBS as a bridge.
To set up the AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS) as a bridge, using the AirPort Admin Utility, connect your computer directly (using an Ethernet cable) to the LAN port of the AEBS, and then, make these settings:
Network tab
- Distribute IP addresses (unchecked)
- Apply the new settings.
- Wait at least 5 minutes.
4) If I have to disable the ethernet connection to test the Airport,
how do I do it? Just unplug it?
Well, that's certainly one way, but an easier way is to temporarily disable the "Built-in Ethernet" in your network configuration.
System Preferences > Network > Show > Network Port Configurations
- Built-in Ethernet (unchecked)

Airport Extreme Slow Ping (Internet) Response

I am having problems with my dual-band airport extreme. When connecting to the external internet, I'm seeing high ping responses (>500ms) after about 5-10 minutes of resetting (hard reset) the Extreme and initially seeing 15-30ms response times.
I've tried:
1. Moving the router physcially in the house (no improvement)
2. Trying different channels on both 2.5 and 5 (some, but inconsistent improvement)
3. Multiple hard resets and reconfiguring the Extreme
4. Reinstall the firmware (haven't tried going down in firmware)
5. There are no cordless phones in the house
6. Absolute speed to the internet is strong (above my provider's stated speed)
7. If I connect my Macbook pro directly to the cable router, everything (ping + speed) is great.
8. Seeing slow ping responses both on my MacBook Pro and a separate PC
Any suggestions on how to troubleshoot? Seems like it a problem with the wireless connection and/or interference.
thanks!
Dale

had a 5th gen Extreme that I bought with 7.5 and immediately upgraded to 7.6. Saw the exact issue you described. exchanged it for a 6th gen Extreme, and am experiencing the same behavior again... both with 7.5.2 and 7.6 firmware.
everything is hunky dory when plugged directly into my cable modem.
third time's a charm, hopefully.

Wired Mac on Airport Extreme slowing down Wireless network?

I have an Airport Extreme 802.11n and a MacBook Pro 15" (unibody). I recently added a MacMini Core 2 duo as an iTunes server, and since it didn't have 802.11n (it's an older one), I shut off the WiFi and ethernet cable'd it to my Airport Extreme. It works great; I can see the Mini in Shared devices from the MacBook Pro, share the screen, and my Apple TV syncs beautifully as well.
Then today I noticed that the internet connection on my laptop was really slow. After some chasing I realized that the same speed tests from http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/ ran on the ethernet-Mini vs the WiFi-MacBook Pro were radically different. At any given time, the speed on the MacBook Pro was as low as 25% the speed on the Mini… sometimes even worse!
I discovered that if I shut down the Mini, the MacBook Pro speed increases. Not to the same point as the Mini, but I can attribute some loss to just being on WiFi and only getting about 60% signal strength (according to iStumbler -- even though the mac WiFi signal strength shows full bars… anyway). But in the past (before the Mini was added) I've run those speedtests and seen results like I'm seeing now only on the Mini.
So why would this tethered Mac be causing such a slowdown?
I'm about to upgrade to the new Time Capsule with separate 802.11 b/g and n antennas but would like to understand this problem before I make that upgrade. Something else feels wrong to me.
btw I did recently upgrade to the 7.4.1 firmware (at the same time I did the Mini addition… poor science, I know), and so I tried reverting it back to 7.3.2 to see if that made any difference, and it did not.

So I started poking around a bit more this morning, and ended up doing a slew of tests. A LOT of tests. I tested two different portables and the Mini, tested with the Mini off and on, and tested with Safari 3 or 4 (depending on what was on each system) and Firefox 3. I then tested the portable plugged directly into the wire.
I ran each test three times and averaged them.
There are some very interesting results.
Tests with Mini on vs. Min off makes a negligible difference on average on Safari. However Firefox performance consistently went down with the Mini off.
But here's the big shocker – performance of any wired computer was between three and TEN (!!!!) times that of the wireless! This is unbelievable.
Worth noting I was sure to disable all other wifi devices on the network, even the other portable, when performing the tests. Apple TV and iPhones were all powered down during these tests.
All my test results are visible here on iWork.com here: http://bit.ly/KYGTj (I think anyone can log in using an apple ID, if not then email me or post your email address here and I'll add you to the list)
Feel free to download the Numbers files and perform your own comparison charts.

Does new Airport Extreme slow down when used with Airport Express?

Maybe this is self-evident.
If get the new Airport extreme and use an old airport express to extend it, will signal slow down to the old speed?
Does the AE have a greater range? Perhaps I don't need the Express to extend.
I live in NYC and there are so many signals in the air. It seems like having the additional airport helps keep me connected.
Thanks.

The airport express is g technology not n technology, so it will be at least as slow as your old network. Also, I'm not sure but I think the the range will be a bit longer than with the old g system, but does not have the full potential of an n system.
I've set up my new system but none of my machines are n capable. I extended the system using my old expresses. The speed of the system is no greater than what it was before the n.
I bought the system to upgrade my technology because everytime my Applecare runs out, I get a new computer which isn't too far down the road. I've purchased an Apple TV which will also work better with the n technology when I upgrade. It's either buy it now or buy it later. I'm also hoping that some third party like Belkin will develop a PCIX card to provide n technology to those of my computers that aren't currently n capable. I'm sure there is many like me out there.

EA3500 slows down internet connection by half

I have a Win7 PC that is connected by ethernet cable to my EA3500; my other PC's run off the EA's wireless.
My provider is Cox and I subscribe to their Ultimate service which now gives 100+ Mbps down and 20+ up. When I connect my Cox modem directly to my PC, I get download speeds in excess 120 Mbps and upload over 20 Mbps.
My problem is when I connect my PC through my EA3500 router via ethernet, my PC's download speeds drop to 50 Mbps, though the upload speeds remain near 20 Mbps.
Wireless speeds to the other PC's are also in the 50 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload.
Why would my EA3500 choke down my ethernet connected PC's downloads to 50 Mbps when a direct connection with the Cox modem more than doubles the speeds to over 125 Mbps? Do I have some setting set up incorrectly in the EA3500?
Thanks in advance for any ideas and answers you may have.

What solved the issue for me was to go into my Linksys smart wi-fi browser app and select "Media Prioritization" and then the select "Settings" (it is there in a small link) and once in, I I entered 125000 in the Downstream Bandwidth window, which previously was set for 58227 for some reason. That opened up the throughput through my entire router, both wired and ethernet sides.

Airport Extreme consistently dropping internet connection

Hi folks,
I've been banging my head on this for over a week to no avail, so I'm hoping beyond hope that someone here has experienced and found a solution.
I have a 4th gen AEBS connected to a cable modem. Roughly a week ago, all devices (lap tops, phones, ipad, apple TV) became unable to connect to my WPA2-enabled network. Powercycled both the modem and the router, problem solved. 5-10 minutes later, we lose all connectivity again. Airport Utilitiy shows everything working properly. Connect an ethernet cable from the AEBS to a laptop, works fine even when the wi-fi doesn't.
Reset the AEBS back to factory default, left it an open network for a bit and all devices were able to connect just fine for several hours. As soon as I rebuilt my network and enabled WPA2, same issue cropped up. This is consistent over 4 full resets. Open network, no problem. Closed network, no connection.
Through my digging, I found a tip on changing the IPv6 configuration so I tried that; again, no dice.
Anyone have any thoughts on additional things to try? Many thanks.

If only connected by wireless is causing the dropouts then there is a possibility that Wi-Fi interference may be the cause. Per chance do you live in an environment that has a high concentration of other Wi-Fis in the area? Apartment, condo, or dorm?
Have you had an opportunity to run your Mac's built-in Wireless Diagnostics yet? If not, please do; if yes, please provide your results.
To run the Wireless Diagnostics: Option-click the AirPort icon in the OS X menu bar > Open Wireless Diagnostics ... > Continue
In addition, from the Wireless Diagnostics menu bar > Window > Utilities > Info. What the values you are getting for Active PHY Mode, RSSI, Noise, & Rate
From the same Utilities window > Wi-Fi Scan > Scan Now. Are there a few or many other networks present? Specifically look for those that are operating on the same Channel as yours.
Finally, let's get an idea on welll your Wi-Fi network is performing: Utilities > Performance. What is the average SNR value (top graph)? Is it greater than 25 dB?

Internet speed slows down when connected via airport express

Internet speed slows down when connecting via airport express. When connecting directly via the timecapsulethe internet speed is ok, when connecting via the airport express the speed slows down.What can I do to change that? Any suggestions?

Turn off the AirPort Express completely as a test, and move your computer very close to the location of the Express.
As I said before, the Express can only extend the bandwidth (speed) that it receives from the Time Capsule, so the speed that you see there with the Express powered off will be the fastest speed of which the Express is capable.
The Express will make the signal go further when it extends....but it will not make the signal go faster.
A good location for a device that extends wirelessly is a point that is about half the distance from the Time Capsule and the general area that needs more wireless coverage.
If you locate the AirPort Express too far from the Time Capsule or there are more than a couple of walls in the signal path, the signal will be very slow by the time that it reaches the Express....and the Express simply extends a signal that has already slowed down significantly.
If you already have the Express located about half the distance between the Time Capsule and general area that needs more wireless coverage, how many walls, ceilings or other obstructions are there in the signal path between the Time Capsule, the AirPort Express and the area that needs more coverage?
Often, due to obstructions, it is just not possible to achieve good performance when you try to extend a network wirelessly. The solution is connect the AirPort Express to the Time Capsule using a wired Ethernet connection.
There is virtually no signal loss with this type of connection, so the Express can be located exactly where it is needed and it will produce a much faster wireless signal in this type of setup.

Airport Extreme set-up - Ethernet connection ok but wifi connection doesn't see the internet

I'm trying to set-up a new (5th Gen) Airport Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi to replace an existing TRENDnet router.
It's connected to a Motorola cable modem with Optimum internet service.
When I hard wire my laptop (Windows) through ethernet I get internet access. However when I try to connect via wi-fi on the laptop the Airport Utility displays 2 errors: Internet not available and No DNS server.
When I try to connect my ipad, when I select the Wi-fi network I see the network and it tries to connect but continues to cycle, with the wi-fi icon appearing in the top line then disappearing before returning. In the Airport utility on the iPad I see the same issues listed as on the laptop.
In the airport utility under the internet connection, "Connect using" is set to "ethernet" and "connection sharing" is set to "Off(Bridge mode)"
Appreciate any help.
thanks

I would recommend that you do the following as a minimum:
Power-down the modem, AirPort base station, and computer(s).
While all of the devices are powered-down, perform a "factory default" reset on the base station. This will get it back to its "out-of-the-box" configuration and make setting it up much easier, especially if you use the "Assist me" process within the AirPort Utility. (ref: Resetting an AirPort Base Station or Time Capsule)
After the base station resets, go ahead and power it back down.
Power-up the modem; wait at least 10-15 minutes.
Power-up the base station; wait at least 5-10 minutes.
Power-up your computer(s).
In this basic configuration, computers connected to the base station, either by wire or wireless (as appropriate for the base station type), should now be able to access the Internet through the ISP's modem. Once Internet connectivity has been verified, you can use the AirPort Utility to configure the base station for wireless security and any other desired options.

Extreme slow down when using wireless connection

I did not have a wireless network prior to purchasing the airport express and needed this as I purchased a macbook. My intention was only to use this device as a wireless network. I have my cable modem connected to a linksys router which is connected to the airport express. The internet connection on my macbook is extremely SLOW! I have reset and reinstalled my airport several times, called apple support and trouble shoot for over an hour, however still experiencing the same problems...slow internet connection. In my troubleshooting I have determined that cable modem and connection, router and airport are all working properly. So the only other thing is interference issue. I've tried changing the channels, use interference robustness option however still no results. I just want my laptop internet connection to work fast. This is my last hope otherwise I'm going out tomorrow to buy a wireless Linsys N router. Any suggestions????

Well it turned out to be a DNS configuration problem on the MacBook. If you go to Networks-Advanced in the System Preferences for the Airport connection, then select the DNS TAB. In there I had a spurious DNS entry. I deleted the one that was manually entered in (it's in black text) that way the one I received from the Airport Express was the only one in there (it is greyed out and you can't delete it.)
Hope that helps.

Airport Express disconnects wired internet connection when attempting to extend Airport Extreme WiFi network

I just purchased and airport express to extend my wifi network. My base station is an airport extreme, I have one wired connection and a wifi network. When I go through the recommended steps to set up the express and "extend the network", the airport extreme will no longer connect to the internet via ethernet. I have tried various settings and can't seem to resolve the problem. Any assistance would be much appreciated.

Ok so we now have a solution to the problem. A friend of mine came round to work this out with me last night and we were able to get it working, but it is not as easy as I had hoped. Fisrtly we plugged the airport express into my router using the ethernet cable (for this I am using an Airport Express Base Station") and in airport utilities selected the airport express. In edit, we then gave the airport express a new range of IP address which did not conflict with any of the other applications that I have already assigned. We also named the Airport Express with a distinguishable name. We then waited for the changes to be registered then unplugged the Airport Express from the router. I then plugged my AppleTV via HDMI into a tv to test it and selected the new wifi network with the new Airport Express distinguishable name. I was able to watch a video that I have on my ipad directly on my tv without being connected to the internet, and was able to play Airplay presentations.
No the easiest solution, and certainly not something that anyone at Apple has talked me through in my lengthy conversations with them at Applecare.
Hope this helps.

Connected to Airport Extreme but not internet

Yesterday after returning from work, all of a sudden I couldn't get any internet access through my airport extreme. I could connect to it and play music through "airtunes".
I looked at the settings of the airport BS and everything looked the way it should. After doing some trial and error I found out that I can get internet access through the airport BS when disabling "Distribute IP addresses".
However with Distribute IP addresses unchecked, I can't get iTunes to connect to the airport allowing me to play music wirelessly through my stereo.
Anyway, here's my setup:
Airport:
Wireless mode: Create a wireless Network (Home Router)
Wireless security: WPA2 personal
Channel: Automatic
Create a closed network (checked)
Mode: 802.11g Only
Internet:
Configure: Using DHCP
Network:
Distribute IP addresses (checked)
Share a single IP address (using DHCP and NAT) checked
USE 10.0.1.1 addressing
With that setup I can play music through airtunes but not get any internet connection.
Distribute IP addresses unchecked, I can get internet access but not play music through airtunes.
Anybody has an idea what could be wrong?

Yes. Disable that. Using that may make you feel good but the MAC addresses are easily discovered and cloned. Instead use WPA with a non-dictionary password.

HT1677 why when i connect safari to internet the other windows computers slow down the connection?

why when i connect safari to internet the other windows computers slow down the connection?

Your question has nothing to do with using iPhones in the Enterprise...which is the focus of this forum. Suggest you post it in the OS X forums

ANOTHER Airport Extreme base station dropping connections

I think my network connectivity problems predate the latest Airport software update by a few days.
Our MacBook Pro's randomly drop an Airport connection when they are near a secondary access point operated in Bridged Mode.
My one-year-old Airport Extreme/Time Capsule had been working fine in 2.4GHz b/g/n mode with a gigabit switch and a link to a Comcast cable modem, all set up in the northwest corner of the house. I decided to replace it with a new, dual-band Airport Extreme/Time Capsule so that we could separately operate a faster 5GHz "n" network for modern notebooks along with the 2.4GHZ b/g/n network for older notebooks and iPhones.
We substituted the new Airport Extreme/Time Capsule for the old model and it now serves IP addresses to 5GHZ network devices. The old Time Capsule was moved to a new location in the southeast corner of the house, connected to the network via Cat 6 Ethernet, and also set it up to join the same 5GHz wireless "n" network in Bridge Mode -- it is an access point, but not serving DHCP addresses.
Now, whenever a laptop is near that device, it accesses the LAN through that Airport Extreme's 5GHz WIFi connection. The problem is this: every few hours (though sometimes sooner - its random), our MacBook Pro's lose their network and Internet connections (not simultaneously though). This only happens if the laptops are physically closest to the older, Bridged wireless access point. It can happen in the middle of Web surfing and always, when they wake from sleep. It NEVER happens if the notebooks are physically closer to the new Airport Extreme (and hitting it's 5GHz signal) and the iPhones NEVER lose their Internet connection to the separate 2.4GHz b/g/n network.
When it does happen, we have to Restart the notebooks to re-establish an Internet connection, though I suppose restarting the Airport Extreme/Time Capsule also might re-establish the connection. Sometimes, I can just move my laptop back to the northwest corner where the main Airport Extreme/Time Capsule is located and get right back online through that access point. But usually, I just sit in the back room, restart and rejoin the network through the secondary, wireless access point. Turning off/on Airport (at the MacBooks) accomplishes nothing and neither does Network Diagnostics.
This affects two new, MacBook Pro "n" laptops running 10.5.8, but does not affect the iPhones. So, it only seems to be a 5GHz issue. I don't think it's RF interference because I've tried three different 5 GHz channels. I've also tried reducing the secondary Airport Extreme's transmission power to 50% and, more recently 25%, to no avail.
This morning, it started happening again, so I finally used the Airport Utility to turn off the Wireless Mode of the secondary device for my next test (thanks to the Ethernet connections, it's still visible on the wireless network). We'll see if this solves the wireless connectivity problem.
Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this? I wonder if it is some odd, configuration issue.

I just started having a similar problem in the last week. I have three devices: the Gigabit AEBS is connected to my cable modem and is the DHCP server. An Airport Express (N) extends the wireless network. A second (G-Only) Airport Express is connected to one of the gigabit ports on the AEBS and creates a second wireless network for iPhone, G-devices and guests.
Lately, the connection from my May 2009 MacBook Pro has started acting strange. The Airport icon in the menubar shows I have full signal strength, but I'm no longer connected to the Internet and I can't browse other N computers on the network. Devices that are connected via the G network continue working fine and remain connected to the Internet. This is interesting because even the G network has to go through the AEBS to get to the Internet. It only appears to affect the Internet connection via the AEBS's own WiFi but not its ethernet ports. If I open Airport Utility from the MacBook Pro, the AEBS status shows as Normal. Turning off/on the Airport on the MacBook accomplishes nothing but I can restart the AEBS from the Airport Utility and then everything goes back to normal. A few hours or more later, the problem occurs again.
By holding the Option key when clicking on the Airport icon and looking at the Airport MAC address I can tell that the MacBook Pro is connected to the WiFi-N via the Airport Express extender. Like you, I may have to try and shut that one off and see if the problems occurs when it is connected directly to the AEBS. The problem with that is that since it is farther away in the house, the signal strength and thus my transmit rate will be slower. I'd be curious to see if your experiment by shutting down your secondary AE will still cause drops.

Airport Extreme slowing down internet connection to a crawl

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