Airport Extreme - Weak Signal

Good morning -
I have a 17" iMac G4 800 (no Airport Card - cable connected to the Airport base station) and a 12" PowerBook G4 133, networked with Airport Extreme. I connect to the internet via DSL with a Siemens Speedstream 4100. My ISP claims download speeds up to 6Mbps although it's usually closer to 4 or 5 (I don't know if this is relevant but thought I'd include it).
The Airport signal at the PowerBook is very weak - no more than 1 or 2 bars. It's only 50 feet away and inside the house. This is a relatively recent development - perhaps the past two or three months at the outside. The PowerBook works fine at other locations, so I don't think it's the antenna, and a friend's PowerBook also had the same problem during a recent visit.
- I have a closed network, so I don't think there's any additional drain on the signal.
- Unplugged both microwave and cordless phones and saw no change in signal power.
- Moved the Airport to provide a more direct line to the PowerBook, and rebooted both the modem and the Airport.
- Downloaded and ran MacStumbler and did find that several other nearby networks were on the same channel as I was (Channel 6). I've cycled through all other channels 1-11 but I'm still at one or two bars on my PowerBook.
I suppose that another closed network (not detectable by MacStumbler) could be causing the slowdown - but on all channels?
- Increased the Transmitter Power to 100% and changed the Multicast Rate to 11, since I don't need the range to be especially broad, but again I'm still mighty low.
BTW, what is the "Mode"? Presently it's set to 802.11 b/g compatible. Would that setting have an impact on my situation? Since I don't know what it is, I don't much want to play with it just yet...
What else should I be checking/doing?
Adriana
iMac G4, Powerbook G4, Airport Extreme Mac OS X (10.4.8)

It could be that a different type of device is operating at, or causing interference at, 2.4 GHz and causing your wireless network problem. Cordless phones are one big culprit. See KB 58543, AirPort: Potential sources of interference for some other ideas.
- Increased the Transmitter Power to 100% and changed the Multicast Rate to 11, since I don't need the range to be especially broad, but again I'm still mighty low.
Increasing the multicast rate can decrease the range. The multicast rate is the guaranteed data transfer rate. The network will drop if this rate can not be guaranteed.
BTW, what is the "Mode"? Presently it's set to 802.11 b/g compatible. Would that setting have an impact on my situation?
There are 3 settings:
802.11b only - The wireless network operates at the slower (11 Mbps) 802.11b protocol for all clients. Since 802.11g is backwards compatible, both 802.11b and 802.11g devices can connect.
802.11b/g - The wireless network allows both 802.11b and 802.11g clients to connect. The network speed will be slowed only if any 802.11b clients actually are connected.
802.11g only - The network operates at the faster (54 Mbps) 802.11g for all clients. 802.11b clients will not be able to connect.

Similar Messages

Airport Extreme - Weak Signal - 2 meters away

I just bought an airport extreme and after connecting it to the ADSL modem, my iMac is getting weak signal at times, down to 6 bar out of 15 bars. I don't get this problem with my old Netgear Wireless G router. There is no obstruction between my airport extreme and my iMac (about 2 meters away). Is there something I missed, please help.
Note: I noticed that my neighourhood has at least 6 - 7 open network (unprotected) and my iMac can see most of them, could that be the cause of my weak signal?

Pointdexler, Welcome to the discussion area!
Yes RF interference can cause problems with you trying to receive and connect to your wireless network. Try changing the channel used by the AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS) to one which is far away from those used by your neighbors.

Airport Extreme - max. signal 75%?

Hi everybody,
I just installed a brand new Airport Extreme base station in my home, connected as a bridge to my DSL modem. I set it up in different locations and signal quality is disappointing. At best, placed in the middle of my living room on a table and sitting right next to it, I get a 75% signal on iStumbler on my MacBook with 9% noise (yes, I tried other channels too). Is this the best this -expensive- machine can do? Or are there ways to improve the signal?
Thanks for helping out!
Menno

the 5Ghz signal is much weaker than the 2.4.
Remember the old saying in physics class that you cannot gain something without giving up something else in return?
Given the same amount of Wi-Fi power....which is limited by law......the higher the frequency, the weaker the signal strength.
5 GHz signals are capable of higher speeds, but they are absorbed much more quickly by walls, ceilings or any other obstructions compared to 2.4 GHz signals.
The bottom line is that you really need to think of 5 GHz as a "line-of-sight" signal. If the computer is in the same room as the wireless router, it will likely connect at 5 GHz. If you take the laptop down the hall a few rooms and around the corner, the laptop will likely not pick up the 5 GHz signal at all.
Unfortunately, the fancy advertising that talks about all the speed advantages of 5 GHz almost always neglects to mention the downsides.

Airport Extreme Base signal knocked out by Linksys LinkExtender

After installing a new AE Base and configuring it, all the computers in the house connect fine with a strong signal, but when the Linksys Link Extender is plugged in to enable a computer in an adjacent building to get a stronger signal, the AE Base signal gets weaker, another network shows up (on AirTrafficControl) and some older Apple computers are dropped off the internet.
Is there some configuring that needs to be done to the Extender so it will not do this, or is there a better way to connect an older PC to this airport system?
Many thanks,
...Tom

(Extreme BS is early model two ethernet conns, I think renamed snow)
No. The dual Ethernet (aka snow) 802.11b AirPort base station (ABS) is completely different than a round 802.11b/g AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS).
Identifying AirPort hardware

Airport Extreme - Boosting signal?

I just moved into a new apartment, and my Airport Extreme works great in the living room or office where I keep it. But when I go down a hallway (about 25 ft. away from the Extreme) and into the bedroom, I'm lucky if I get half a bar.
Any way to get a stronger signal? I've tried playing with the different channels but that didn't seem to do anything.
Would purchasing an Airport Express boost the signal in the bedroom?
Oh, and FYI, the Airport Extreme was purchased in July.
Thanks for the help.

It should, but most specifications are based on an open area with no other form of Wi-Fi interference present. With this type of environment, all wireless routers can reach far greater distances. However, as you can imagine, real-life situations can differ greatly from manufacturer's specifications, and at best, they should be only considered as guidelines.
Apartment complexes, university dormitories, etc. then to have high concentration of Wi-Fi operating and any of these near to you could interfere with your Wi-FI. A handy (& free) utility, iStumbler, (if you're not already familar with it) can help you "see" what other Wi-Fis are present. I would recommend looking for those with the strongest signal values and what channels they are oprerating on ... then, change your AirPort's radio channel to one at least 3-5 channels away. Once you can verify that you are getting the best performance and range posssible, and then, still require more coverage, would I recommend adding an additional base station.

Airport Extreme loses signal in next room

Purchased an Airport Extreme in May 2012 and it works extremely well for the wirelesss MBP (while in the same room) and wired Xbox 360. When we leave the room however, it immediately loses signal and may load a webpage slowly but most of the time we can't even get that much signal. We have a relatively small home (approx 1300 sqft) and it is pretty comapct in its layout. What can we do to improve the signal as I am pretty sure the Airport Extreme should be able to handle this radius? Thanks!

Thank you for your prompt reply! I actually did move it up about 2.5 ft onto a higher shelf prior to seeing this response and that seemed to "fix" the issue we were having for the moment. It is amazing how such a small change made such a big difference. Unfortunately, the way our layout is, this is about as centrally located as we can get it. All the rooms in the house are squared around the middle area that contains laundry, bathroom, closet, etc.
In reference to your suggestion to make sure the power level setting is set to 100%, how do I check that? Also, I do have the dual band model and I am unsure again as to how to check which is selected for wireless?
Thank you again!

New Airport Extreme dropping signal intermittently

Frequently my signal fails for no apparent reason, it shows full power on the status bar but sometimes it just looses my base station, then finds it, then find others in the building then looses them all again and so on. I have reconfigured the bases station, restarted the modem, renewed the DHCP lease but remains a problem. Most annoying.
My mac is older and the Airport Extreme card could be faulty I guess??
Any help is appreciated.

I would suspect wireless interference before failing hardware. There are only three non-overlapping channels in the 802.11g spectrum, and it's subject to interference from other 2.4 GHz devices like cordless phones and microwave ovens. The best you can do is try to mitigate noise and interference from competing networks.
Are your network preferences set to join your network (by default, join "your wireless network name")?
Try changing the wireless channel from "automatic" to some fixed channel, and experiment with different channels. Try enabling interference robustness.
Ironically, the popularity of wireless networking has contributing to the 802.11g standard's increasing uselessness. The draft 802.11n standard uses a different spectrum and more efficient means of handling data, with the cost of a reduced ability to penetrate obstructions.
This is a mixed blessing... we want our own wireless networks to have a big range; our neighbor's, small
The following quote from Enterprise Networking Planet seems to describe your situation:
2.4 GHz wireless LANs can experience RF interference from cordless phones, microwaves, and other existing wireless LANs. The interfering signals degrade the performance of a wireless network by periodically blocking users and access points from accessing the shared air medium. If it's not possible to reduce potential interference in the 2.4 GHz band to an acceptable level, consider deploying a 5 GHz system. The noise floor in the 5 GHz band is generally lower compared to the 2.4 GHz band, which allows 802.11n to function at higher data rates.
Since you have a newer 802.11n Extreme, you ought to look into a 802.11n USB wireless dongle for your iBook - they're not expensive. Shop around.

Airport Extreme loses signal

We have an airport Extreme. It worked fine in our new home for the first month. Now, with no change in any electronic equipment in the house, unless we are in the same room as the unit, we have very limited WIFI, and the signal drops continuously. We have a 5ghz and a 2.4ghz set up. The 5 is the worst, the 2.4 seems better, but that one still drops. Any suggestions?

Thank you for your prompt reply! I actually did move it up about 2.5 ft onto a higher shelf prior to seeing this response and that seemed to "fix" the issue we were having for the moment. It is amazing how such a small change made such a big difference. Unfortunately, the way our layout is, this is about as centrally located as we can get it. All the rooms in the house are squared around the middle area that contains laundry, bathroom, closet, etc.
In reference to your suggestion to make sure the power level setting is set to 100%, how do I check that? Also, I do have the dual band model and I am unsure again as to how to check which is selected for wireless?
Thank you again!

Boost Internal Airport Extreme's signal

I have an Intel iMac running OS X 10.4.11 w/ an Airport Extreme card pre-installed. My iMac is connected via a CAT5 to my DSL router. I use my intermal Airport Extreme to create a home network that I connect to with a Macbook Pro. The Airport Extreme's firmware version is Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (4.170.46.9).
I would like to know how to find out if there are any firmware updates for it and how to boost it's signal.

Sorry but the iMac does not create a wireless network which is compatible with the ability of the AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS) to wirelessly extend a network.
If you want to use an AEBS, an AirPort Express (AX), or a Time Capsule to wirelessly extend the network, you would need to create the wireless network with an AEBS, AX or Time Capsule.

Airport Express Weak Signal

I am using Airport Express and have it only 5 feet away and am receiving very weak signal strength. At best it reaches only 50% strength.
Any ideas? How do I improve this?

bump

MacBook in office unable to detect AirPort Extreme's signal?

Hello all.
I took my "old" AirPort Extreme Base Station (white UFO) to the office, connect it to a cable modem, wired network to my main G5 Tower (OS 10.4.11) and wireless network (closed) to my MacBook (OS 10.5.1).
I reset the B.S. and went through the setup utility inside the MacBook. On first try, I was able to establish and connect the wireless signal to my MacBook, although strangely, certain websites were not accessible, simple website like http://www.leoparddocks.com/ was not accessible.
This "intermittent" problem got worse a few days later where the MacBook totally cannot load any pages from Safari, although the AirPort Signal Strength on the Menu Bar is full (The B.S. is just beneath the desk)
I can even access all of the B.S.'s settings and configurations through the MacBook, but just not able to load any pages in Safari.
My original plan was to have the G5 Tower "enjoy" dual network of office intranet and also the internet via the wired network cable from the B.S. (Yes I know I will have to toggle between the 2 networks) and also wireless network access on my MacBook. But now seems like the plan is back to "square one", I have to plug the cable and hook it into the MacBook.
If anyone knows how to solve this thing is greatly appreciated.
Thanks and cheers

I stopped by my local apple retail store and had a quick chat w/one of the lovely employees. He checked with a Genius and suggested I plug the ethernet cables into the appropriate ports and make sure both computers were set to use DHCP in network settings. The fact that I was running my iMac on Panther (not Tiger or Leopard) should not make a difference b/c the iMac was hardwired via ethernet to the airport and had current airport software.
It took a little tweaking on my part at home, but using that advice I literally had both computers on the internet in less than 20 minutes. Those guys really are geniuses!
Thanks!

Airport Extreme dropping signal

Hi All:
I have Airport extreme, and an airpot express. In an ideal world I would like to connect my desktop Power Mac G5, my Mac Book Pro and a PC.
Since networking is not my game and I spend 3 days trying to set everything up and never got it to work I paid $95.- to a "professional" to install everything. It worked great for 4 days. I could stream music wirelessly, I could print from both Macs (never form the PC) I was in heaven! Ont he 5th day, iTunes won't stream music any more, nor can I print from either mac, thank god I can connect wireless from my Mac Book Pro. I didn't change a single thing. The "professional is telling me I have a "hardware problem" and I will have to spend extra mony to fix it. I am cluless. All my software is up to date.
Why would it suddenly stop working? I already disconnected airpot extreme waited 5 min. and connected again as I read in one thread, no luck.
Any hepl wpould be greatly apreciated.
Thanks a lot,
Alex Neuman

I'd suggest going with setting up the AX as a "wireless client" to take advantage of it's audio streaming capability with degrading your AEBSn's wireless network. Try this configuration first to see if it will satisfy your needs.
Here's the setup steps for this scenario...
AirPort Extreme Base Station Setup (AEBSn) w/Cable Modem
Perform a "hard" reset of the AEBSn. (optional)
o (ref: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107451)
Modem/Router Power ReCycling (optional)
o Power-off the Cable modem, AEBSn, & computer(s); Wait at least 15 minutes.
o Power-on the Cable modem; Wait at least 15 minutes.
o Power-on the AEBSn; Wait at least 5 minutes.
o Power-on the computer(s)
Setup the AEBSn
Temporarily connect your computer directly (using an Ethernet cable) to one of the LAN ports of the AEBSn, and then, using the AirPort Utility in Manual Mode, check these settings:
AirPort - Base Station
o Base Station Name: <whatever you wish or use the default>
o Base Station Password: (optional)
o Contact: (optional)
o Location: (optional)
o Set time automatically (optional)
o Time Zone: <select your time zone>
o Status Light: Always On (Default)
o Allow configuration over Ethernet WAN port (unchecked)
o Advertise configuration globally using Bonjour (unchecked)
AirPort - Wireless
o Wireless Mode: Create a wireless network
o Network Name: <whatever you wish or use the default>
o Allow this network to be extended (unchecked)
o Radio Mode: 802.11n (802.11b/g compatible)
o Channel: Automatic
o Wireless Security: None
AirPort - Wireless - Wireless Options
o Region: <select your region>
o Multicast Rate: 2 Mbps
o Transmit Power: 100%
o Create a closed network (unchecked)
o Use interference robustness (unchecked)
Internet - Internet Connection
o Connect Using: Ethernet
o Configure IPv4: Using DHCP
o IP Address: <provided by your ISP>
o Subnet Mask: <provided by your ISP>
o Router Address: <provided by your ISP>
o DNS Server(s): <provided by your ISP>
o Domain Name: <provided by your ISP>
o DHCP Client ID: (optional)
o Ethernet WAN Port: Automatic (Default)
o Connection Sharing: Share a public IP address
Internet - DHCP
o DHCP Range: 10.0 1.x
o DHCP Beginning Address: 10.0.1.2
o DHCP Ending Address: 10.0.1.200
o DHCP Lease: 4 hours
o DHCP Message: (optional)
o LDAP Server: (optional)
o DHCP Reservations: (optional)
Internet - NAT
o Enable default host at: (leave blank)
o Enable NAT Port Mapping Protocol (checked)
Perform a "hard" reset of the AX. (optional)
o (ref: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108044)
To set up the AirPort Express Base Station (AX) as a "Wireless Client," using the AirPort Utility, either connect to the AX's wireless network or temporarily connect your computer directly (using an Ethernet cable) to the Ethernet port of the AX, and then, try these settings:
AirPort > Base Station tab
o Base Station Name: <whatever you wish or use the default>
o Base Station Password: <enter a desired password for the base station>
o Verify Password: <re-enter the desired password>
o Allow configuration over Ethernet WAN port (checked)
AirPort > Wireless tab
o Wireless Mode: Join a wireless network
o Network Name: <type in the AEBSn's wireless network name or select it from the pop-up menu>
o Wireless Security: None
Once you verified that this is working, we can go over the steps to secure your wireless network.

AirPort Extreme - Drops signal

I have been encountering my AirPort Extreme droping from the network and I can not long find it with my laptop.
I am connected to cable and test the cable and the cable is fine.
The only way that I have been able to get it going agian is to restart the base station. This has been happening almost every day.

Although I do have problems with my own set-up from time to time, you may want to try one or more of the following:
1) switch on inteference robustness on your Mac.
2) manually set the channel (cycle through the channels 1-11 to find the one that worls best for you).

Airport Extreme signal strength problem

My airport extreme's signal is very weak by the time it gets to the other end of my house, and a couple of computers at that end have been using my neighbor's unsecured wifi for their internet connection. How can I extend or strengthen the broadcast? Is there a setting in the airport utility app? The computers affected are windows xp computers. My iMac and Vista pc are connected via the ethernet cable, so they're not using wifi.

Welcome to the discussion area!
Wireless signal strength dissipates quite quickly with distance and any obstructions such as walls or ceilings will make this effect even more noticeable.
If you have a newer dual band AirPort Extreme and you want to extend both bands for greater wireless coverage using wireless only, then you'll need to look at another dual band AirPort Extreme.
The AirPort Express can also be configured to extend your wireless network, but it will only extend one band.
The extending device would normally be located at approximately 1/2 to 2/3 of the distance between your main router and the area that needs more wireless coverage.
Post back if you decide to add an extending device to your network and you need help with configuration details.

Best way to extend Airport Extreme signal

Like most folks, I had no idea what a poor choice it was to let my internet service providor install my DSL connection in the far corner of my home. So until I install a phone or cable jack in the middle of my place, half my signal is wasted in the back yard, while the other end of my house is out of range.
(iPad 2, iPhone 4S, Macbook, etc)
My question is... what's the best way to extend my Airport Extreme wireless signal? I tried using my Airport Express as an extender but recently read that this actually weakens the signal. If that's wrong, how should I configure them to work?
Does anyone know of a better way to extend my wireless signal to the rest of my house? Short of moving my router?
Thanks in advance!

Please check out the following Apple Support article for details on the various options available to you with using multiple base stations for extending a wireless network. If you have any questions or need further assistance please don't hesitate to post back.

Airport Extreme - Weak Signal

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for