Faster perfomance on 802.11n

I just purchased the new dual-band version of the Aiport Extreme, and while I am happy over the performance upgrade from my Belkin router, I still think I can get even more out of this router.
Right now I have two machines running N (one Vista, one XP) and another laptop running XP that is G only. Soon to be replaced.
The two N machines connect at 130mpbs, which I think should be faster. This is even with them sitting close by the router. Do I need to do something special to implement the 40mhz channels? If I do, does this make the router N only? (Which it will be in the future).
The G machine right now only gets 36mbps unless it is within 15 ft of the router, then it goes up to 54.
Any help in tweaking this router, would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to the discussions!
If you selected the default settings for the AirPort Extreme, it is creating a dual band network as follows:
One 802.11 a/n network at 5 GHz
One 802.11 n/g/b network at 2.4 GHz
Both networks have the same wireless network name (SSID)
The 130 Mpbs reading indicates that you are on the "n" portion of the 2.4 GHz network. If you can connect at 5 GHz, this reading should be move up to the 220-270+ range if the computer is not far from the router and has a good look at it.
The "g" machine can connect at a maximum of 54 Mbps, so that's as good as it gets for that device.
I'm not sure whether the Windows machines are able to connect at 5 GHz. That may be a question for the AirPort for Windows forum.
You could also use the option to assign a separate name to the 5 GHz network (the default setting of the Extreme assigns the same network name to both the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz network) and then try to log onto that specific network with your Windows machines.
To enable this option:
Open AirPort Utility
Click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab below the icons
Click Wireless Network Options
Put a check mark in the box to assign a separate name to the 5 GHz network
Click Done
Click Update
See if your Windows machines can "see" the 5 GHz network and connect.

Similar Messages

How fast can Broadcom 802.11n support for maximum?

hey everybody,i got U160 yesterday that the WLAN adapter is Broadcom 802.11n but i just got a connection speed of 65Mbps but i can get 150 Mbps with my G230 with intel 5100 bgn ,connecting to the same N-Router,so i am wondering how fast can Broadcom 802.11n support for maximum.......

if readycomm installed, remove it.
check your firewall is active and using high performance.
by the way, which model of broadcom are you using?

Gigabit vs. Fast Ethernet (AEBS 802.11n)

Hi,
I have an AEBS 802.11n that I bought back in September 2007. It currently has the 7.2.1 Gigabit Ethernet firmware on it. I want to revert back to older firmware (because of some file transfer problems I have been having) and I see my choices are 7.2 Gigabit Ethernet, 7.1.1 Fast Ethernet, 7.1 Fast Ethernet. I am not sure which one to choose. Is it OK to put Fast Ethernet firmware on the AEBS even if it currently has Gigabit Ethernet firmware? What is the difference between those?
Thanks.

You should choose "7.2 Gigabit Ethernet".
The older versions are for the Airport Extreme N Base Station model previous to the one you own, which had only 100Mbps ethernet ports.

Mac Book Air wifi 802.11n

Hello.
I've just bought a 2001 mac book air 13'' i7.
Unfortunately I can't use the Fast Wifi 5ghz 802.11n
I've some problem to log to the 5ghz wifi connection of the Airport Extreme. as soon as I try to connect to the 5ghz wifi the book air gives an error:
Time expired to log on Wifi.
Hoever I can log to the 2.4 ghz wifi of the Airport Extreme... so I can use the itenrnet connection
I'm sure that Airport works fine, I've an iMac and a Book Pro that log wihtout any problem to the 5ghz wifi.
Any help will be great.
Max

Make sure that your router is set to one of the 5 GHZ channels that the MBA supports.
Channels 36 and above are 5 GHz channels.
Supported Channels: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112, 116, 120, 124, 128, 132, 136, 140, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165

AEBS 802-11N with fast ethernet ports?

Hi
One year (januari 2007) ago I bought the new model of the AEBS 802-11N. I always thought it had 3 Gigabit Ethernet ports. Just now when trying to install the new 7.3.1 firmware, I only can install the Fast Ethernet firmware. It seems that the AEBS only has Fast Ethernet ports instead of Gigabit ports.
Who can confirm that the AEBS (release jan. 2007) has only Fast Ethernet ports?
Jurgen

JurgenS, Welcome to the discussion area!
Who can confirm that the AEBS (release jan. 2007) has only Fast Ethernet ports?
Yes that is true.
The Gigabit version was released in August 2007.

High Definition - is 802.11N Draft standard fast enough for streaming?

My understanding, from what I've read, is that 802.11n draft standard is actually only running at 50% speed of the actual final 802.11n protocol that will be out in a couple of years.
If Itunes starts selling HD content or I import an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc to Itunes, is the 802.11n fast enough to be able to stream this content to Apple tv? Has anyone tried this?
Thanks!

My understanding, from what I've read, is that
802.11n draft standard is actually only running at
50% speed of the actual final 802.11n protocol that
will be out in a couple of years.
No. No idea where you got that idea. Right now the Wi-Fi alliance is "certifying" 801.11n Draft 2.0 devices. It is called "draft" simply because it won't be formally approved until 2008, given the normal standardization schedules. Between draft and approved final there may be changes, but they are usually minor, so much so that sometimes a firmware update may do the job.
If Itunes starts selling HD content or I import an
HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc to Itunes, is the 802.11n fast
enough to be able to stream this content to Apple tv?
Has anyone tried this?
First of all, don't expect iTunes to provide HD-DVD or Blue-Ray format files any times soon (I mean expect years before you see that). These are 1080p formats, which are NOT supported by the Apple TV. Apple TV does support content with a maximum resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, which can be considered "720p" HD content, though not at the full cable frame rate.
Yes, Apple TV can stream this content. I have converted several HD programs captured from ESPN (which broadcasts in 720p), converted them to H.264 at 1280x720x24fps using MPEGStreamClip (http://www.squared5.com/) and stream them to my AppleTV.
You can find several samples here:
http://hdonappletv.webhop.net/

54 MBps, from a new dual extreme 802.11n, fast enough

I am getting 54 MBps via a wireless connection, should I be getting a better speed?

+802.11n, any good+
Good performance for the slower 2.4 GHz band.
If you are reasonably close to the AirPort Extreme, you should be picking up the faster 5 GHz band. When you connect to this band, you should see speeds in the 230-270 Mbps range.
The PHY Mode will display as 802.11n 5 GHz.
The 130 you see now on the 2.4 GHz band is 130 Mbps

How do I connect my Airport Extreme 802.11n to Epson 645 Printer?

I can't figure out how to connect my Airport Extreme 802.11n to my Epson 645 Printer. Can anyone help me? Thanks!

You may want to try reinstalling Mavericks. Airport Utility installed by Mavericks may no longer connect to your older AEBS (though I've not heard that.) Installing the Old AirPort Utility (Version 5.6) on Mountain Lion | frank.is.
Reinstall Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks
     Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the
     COMMAND and R keys until the Utilities menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and
     after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears.
     Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
     Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
     Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
     Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks: Select ReinstallLion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks from
     the Utilities menu, and click on the Continue button.
     Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is
                three times faster than wireless.

Airport Drives Me CRAZY! New 802.11n Network Slower Than Old 802.11g/b

I've been using Macs since 1988 and consider myself an advanced user. However, every time I setup a new Airport wireless network or re-configure an existing one, I feel like a helpless newbie trying to figure out how to open a folder on my desktop. No matter how many times I read the manual or the help files or these forums, I can never grasp what seems like it should be a simple path from A to B to C.
Anyway, here's my current situation: I've been successfully (I think) running a 6 year old AP Extreme Base Station [AE] (in my home office addition) and 2 Airport Expresses [AX] (one AX roughly 15 feet from the base station--through sheetrock, and the second AX roughly 30 feet from the first AX--through sheetrock and some wooden stairs. (so roughly 45 feet from AE to 2nd AX). It wasn't the speediest thing going but it did the trick with older Macs.
I recently bought a MacBook Pro which supports 802.11n. I most often use this laptop at the point in the house furthest away from the AE (Base Station) The AE (Base Station) is in my home office connected to my MacPro desktop (see #1 below). In addition, the family iMac is also in that room furthest from the AE. Using the new MacBook Pro with the old 802.11/g/b network turned out to be painfully slow. I was experiencing the same slow network connection my family has complained about for years with their older Macs and 802.11g/b.
I decided it was time to upgrade the whole network, if only to speed up my MacBook Pro connection. Bought new 802.11n Airport Extreme (MC340LL/A) and 2 new 802.11n Airport Expresses (MB321LL/A). Setup did not go smoothly. Again, my normally competent Mac persona was reduced to a babbling three-year-old. Had three different Apple techs on the phone trying to help me through it. Got different, contradictory instructions from the last two. Finally got all three units working, only to find that not only does my MacBook Pro seem even more sluggish than when connected to the old 802.11g/b network, but my wife tells me web pages are taking at least twice as long to load as with the old network.
As concisely as I can lay this out:
*1. Airport Extreme (Base Station)*
Connected via Ethernet from its WAN port to my Comcast cable modem. One Ethernet (LAN) port on that AE is then connected via Ethernet to my Netgear 8-port Ethernet switch. Ethernet from switch to Ethernet port 1 on my MacPro. (MacPro does NOT have an Airport card because I forgot to order one. Also I confirmed that this setup was functional by connecting to the AE wirelessly with my MacBook Pro showing the name I'd given the new network prior to adding the two AX's to the mix).
Some Airport Extreme settings of note (all accessed via "Manual Setup" button):
Airport Tab > Summary
Version 7.5.1
Wireless Mode: Create a wireless network
Channel: 149 (Automatic), 1 (Automatic)
Wireless Clients: 3
Airport Tab > Base Station:
Allow Setup over WAN: Unchecked
Airport Tab > Wireless:
Allow this network to be extended: Checked
Airport Tab > Guest Network:
Nothing checked
Airport Tab > Access Control:
MAC Address Access Control: Not Enabled
Internet Tab > Internet Connection:
Connect Using: Ethernet
Ethernet WAN Port: Automatic (Default)
Connection Sharing: Share a public IP address [Think this one is probably wrong]
Internet Tab > TCP/IP:
Configure IPv4: Using DHCP
Internet Tab > DHCP:
Shows Beginning & Ending Address
Internet Tab > NAT:
Enable default host at: Unchecked and blank field
Enable NAT Port Mapping Protocol: Checked
Internet Tab > Advanced
Didn't touch anything here, so all at defaults
*2. Airport Express #1: Living Room Express (Closest to AE (Base Station)*
Airport Tab > Summary
Version 7.4.2
Wireless Mode: Extend a wireless network
Connect using: Wireless Network
Channel: 1 (Automatic)
Wireless Clients: 1
Airport Tab > Base Station:
Allow Setup over the Internet using Bonjour: Unchecked
Airport Tab > Wireless:
Wireless Mode: Extend a wireless network
Allow wireless clients: checked
Airport Tab > Access Control:
MAC Address Access Control: Not Enabled
Internet Tab > Internet Connection:
Connect using: Greyed-out, not selectable
Connection sharing: Greyed-out, not selectable
Internet Tab > TCP/IP:
Configure IPv4: Using DHCP
Shows IP Address
Internet Tab > Advanced
Didn't touch anything here, so all at defaults
*3. Airport Express #2: Dining Room Express (Furthest from AE (Base Station)*
Airport Tab > Summary
Version 7.4.2
Wireless Mode: Extend a wireless network
Connect using: Wireless Network
Channel: 1 (Automatic)
Wireless Clients: 2
Airport Tab > Base Station:
Allow Setup over the Internet using Bonjour: Unchecked
Airport Tab > Wireless:
Wireless Mode: Extend a wireless network
Allow wireless clients: checked
Airport Tab > Access Control:
MAC Address Access Control: Not Enabled
Internet Tab > Internet Connection:
Connect using: Greyed-out, not selectable
Connection sharing: Greyed-out, not selectable
Internet Tab > TCP/IP:
Configure IPv4: Using DHCP
Shows IP Address
Internet Tab > Advanced
Didn't touch anything here, so all at defaults
SETUP/GOALS:
With Airport Extreme (Base Station) as the starting point, have the two Airport Express units with the strongest, fastest signal possible, provide Internet access (and file sharing, iTunes speakers capability) to three Macs (one older iMac, one older PowerBook and my new MacBookPro). Again, I believe my new MacBook Pro is the only one with 802.11n support, so I don't expect the other Macs to take advantage of the speed boost offered by the three new 802.11n devices.
+Any and all help with this will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!+

{quote}With the AirPort Extreme, in the AirPort panel, Wireless tab, click on the button for "Wireless Network Options", check the box for "5 GHz Network Name", and enter a different network name. (That can be trivially different, such as the name of the main network suffixed with an underscore and the digit 5.) Once configured that way, connect your "N" gear to each network in turn to see if one is any better than the other. (If you're wondering what effect this would have, it allows segregating your "N" gear from the older gear to prevent the older gear from slowing down your network. However, distance and interference from things like walls may negate any advantage.){quote}
William: I was gone most of yesterday, but had a chance to implement your recommendations today. I added the 5 GHz network as you suggested, but in order to connect to that at all with my 802.n11 MacBokk Pro, I need to be within a few feet of the AE (base station). If I try to access that network even from the next room (well within reach of both the AE and the livingroom AX, I get one bar and "failure to connect" messages just trying to logon to that network.
However, I did some experimenting that (as of right now, anyway) resulted in much faster network access, not only from my MacBook, but also from the older iMac which is the furthest Mac from the AE. According to my wife, that iMac is "loading web pages faster than I've ever seen them!"
Here's what I did:
1. Moved all three units to places where it seemed they would have the least amount of interference with the clearest path from unit to unit, also raising the height of both AXs from about 2-3 feet from the floor to about 5-6 feet from the floor.
2. Changed one setting on the AE (base station): Wireless Tab > Wireless Network Options > Multicast Rate ---> Changed this from Low to High.
I have a feeling the location shifts made the real difference, but I will try changing the multicast rate back to "Low" just to see what happens.
Paul

New Mac Mini and 802.11n 5Ghz - Does it work?

Does anyone know if this works? It states that it is 802.11a compatible which uses 5Ghz so I am guessing it does. I don't want to have to use a third party internal card like I do now with a separate external antenna. Thanks.

I have a mac mini I purchased last week (late 2009). I run 5Ghz 802.11n only (there is a g access point in the house, but that's on another part of the LAN). I have an iMac and MacBookPro that connect to the 802.11n and the performance is great - almost half as fast as a direct USB connection - it simply flies.
However, the mac mini is abysmal. It connects fine - everything works, but I get hardly 1Mbyte per second., despite having full signal strength. This is the info in System Profiler:
en1:
Card Type: AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0x90)
Firmware Version: Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.10.91.19)
Locale: ETSI
Country Code: IE
Supported PHY Modes: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Supported Channels: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112, 116, 120, 124, 128, 132, 136, 140
Wake On Wireless: Supported
Status: Connected
Current Network Information:
MyHomeNetwork:
PHY Mode: 802.11n
BSSID: 0:23:6c:be:92:08
Channel: 44,1
Network Type: Infrastructure
Security: WPA2 Personal
Signal / Noise: -52 dBm / -94 dBm
Transmit Rate: 270
MCS Index: 15
If I can't fix this soon, I'm going to have to run a cable to it, which wasn't the idea in my living room!

Does 802.11n give a speed boost on the iPad?

I did some testing to see if I'd get a speed boost by enabling 802.11n on my Belkin F5D8233-4 router, which supports 802.11n draft specification. I have Verizon FIOS with 25Mbps download/upload. I also have the Verizon router, which only supports 802.11b/g, and I can switch which router I'm connected to in order to compare speeds of 802.11n and 802.11g. All tests were done less than 3 feet from either router.
Bottom line is that the iPad doesn't get any speed boost by using 802.11n, at least by using speedtest.net to do the testing.
The test I used was with the speedtest app for the iPhone. I made the Belkin a pure 11n router, and ran that app from the iPad. So the connection had to be 802.11n. Then I connected the iPad to my Verizon router, which had to be 802.11g, and saw virtually no difference.
I did the same test with a Windows laptop from my job that supports 802.11n. It connected locally to the Belkin router at 72Mbps according to the internal utility. Testing using speedtest.net indicated that using the 802.11n connection on the Belkin was 50% faster than the 802.11g connection on the Verizon router. (About 30Mbps for Belkin/802.11n compared to 20Mbps for Verizon/802.11g for downloads).
But with the iPad, doing the same test (switching from Belkin router to Verizon router), the speed didn't change. It actually seemed a little slower when I was on 802.11n, but repeated tests showed some variability, and the average was about 19Mbps.
I realize that the overall speed for the iPad when I'm in my house will get throttled by the FIOS connection max of 25Mbps (although it's interesting that with my MacMini, and the Windows laptop, when connected via 100baseT, I get 30Mbps from FIOS when they promise 25Mbps!). But I can't get the good results from the iPad using 802.11n that I see with the Windows laptop. I'd like to try a local speedtest using the local LAN. I installed Speedtest MINI on the MacMini, enabling the Mac as a server, and the Windows laptop did 72Mbps on the local LAN. But Speedtest MINI requires Flash in the browser, so I can't do that test on the iPad. And the Speedtest app for iPhone doesn't let you pick a local URL for the server.
So I'm now pretty sure that 802.11n isn't really working right on the iPad with my Belkin router, in terms of delivering increased performance. I've read other posts where people have looked at the transmit rate from the router side, but I really wish I could look at the transmit rate from the iPad (like I do in Mac OS X, or in Windows) to verify.
To be sure, I'd like to run a speedtest on my local LAN from the iPad. Has anyone been able to actually do some kind of test that verifies the speed of an iPad connection on a local LAN, and does that verification from the iPad, and not the router?
And finally, has anyone ever done a test that verifies that 802.11n from an iPad delivers a speed boost compared to 802.11g? Are there specific requirements on the router side that need to be satisfied so that the iPad gets a boost? I've read elsewhere where someone said that you only get the boost if using Apple's Airport Extreme as the router (so that you can't really get 802.11n on a non-Apple router), and I think I saw someone say that the router has to support communication over 5.0Ghz for the iPad to be fast on 802.11n. Has Apple ever said what are the real requirements for the iPad to be faster on 802.11n versus 802.11g?

To the contrary, my experience is that the "G" standard on WiFi provided MUCH faster speeds than the "N" standard on Wi-Fi. It makes no sense, I know, but it is true.
I was having horribly slow Wi-Fi speeds on my iPad2, despite a fast cable modem connection and a "N" generation Linksys wireless router (maybe 2-3 yrs old). Was achieving speeds of only 1.3Mbs -- slow enough that you couldn't watch YouTube videos. From hunting around on the web, I came across the suggestion to manually set the Wi-Fi router to the "G" standard (ie downgrade it from the faster "N" standard). Remarkably, I did it and it worked like a charm. I now get Wi-Fi speeds of about 12 or 13 Mbs, or 10x what I was getting before. It is an easy fix. And also I think the "G" standard is capable of 50Mbs so even though it is a slower and older standard, it is still way faster than anything you are likely to achieve as a home user. I think there is some glitch or oddity in the iPad and iPad2 which can cause it to perform very poorly with older "N" standard WiFi routers. New ones don't seem to have a problem.

AirPort Extreme 802.11n (4th Generation) no longer recognized by iPhone 4S

I'm a new community member so please forgive me if this question has been asked and answered and I didn't see it. DirectTV came to troubleshoot a DVR cinema connection device that had been wirelessly connected to my AirPort Extreme without incident since the DirectTV device was installed 6 months ago but stopped talking to the AirPort last week. The DirectTV technician asked me to unplug then plug back in the AirPort. Now, my iPhone 4S will no longer recognize the AirPort. The AirPort is not recognized in the AirPort Utility on my iPhone, but if I run the AirPort Utility on my iPad 2, it is found. I can see the AirPort on my wifi settings on my phone but I can no longer connect to the network. The iPad and my wife's iPhone 5 connects to wifi just fine. Also a windows 8 laptop which was previously able to connect to the AirPort can no longer connect. And, of course, the DirectTV device still will not connect. I am stumped. Please help. Thanks.

OK, two possible leads:
1) Using the AirPort Utility, I disabled 802.11n, setting the AirPort Extreme to b/g only. This seemed to help— I didn't fall off the network all afternoon. (Setting it to 'n' only did not work, unfortunately, or else that would have been better, since it would have let me take advantage of the faster speeds for Time Machine to the shared disk)
2) Soon thereafter, for seemingly independent reasons, we starting having trouble with our DSL connection. We reset the AEBS to factor settings, which didn't solve the DSL problem (had to get a Windstream technician out for that), but since that reset, I've been connected with 802.11a and the MBP hasn't fallen off the wireless network once.
We'll see how it holds up, but for now, the recommendation seems to be first to reset the AEBS settings to factory default, and then try disabling 802.11n...

After setting up my brand new Airport Express 802.11n and accidentally using it to connect my iMac to the network...my iMac no longer connects through Ethernet? Any ideas...I have tried everything without success!!

I have been using Apple technology for about 10 years starting with 1st generation iPods and our house now includes a 5 year old iMac, all versions of iPods and touches, Apple TVs (both generations) and most recently an iPad 2. I have always told family and friends that Apple technology just works. Unfortunately that stopped today. I bought a new Airport Express 802.11n to use for AirTunes around my new pool. I set it up from my iMac and accidentally used it to connect my iMac to the network for a short time. Now I can no longer connect the iMac to the network using a hard wired Ethernet cable. I have tried resetting everything possible, from hubs to routers to the Mac itself and it just will not connect to the network through Ethernet any longer. I am now a very frustrated Apple user especially when the support site says I can't use the fast path support because my product was manufactured 5 years ago...I just bought it at BestBuy yesterday. All other computers and itechnology in the house are connecting via wifi and Ethernet without any issue except from my new iMac boat anchor. Anybody who can help me??? Thanks

John, thanks for the email so quickly.
I too hope I haven't tried "everything" either but I am reasonably technical. I had done what you suggested to do before but I did both again.
Ethernet is yellow in the left side bar. In the right pane it's status says Connected but then below it says "Ethernet has a self-assigned IP address and will not be able to connect to the Internet."
I have tried the assist me menu and Network Status has Ethernet Green, Network settings Yellow, ISP Green, and Internet and Server Red and Failed for both. I have turned things off and on, checked cables, deleted all locations and tried restting them up but to no avail. I even disconnected everything and connected the mac directly into the cable modem itself and the thing still will not connect.
Thoughts???

How do you know if your Mac is 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz 802.11n?

We have a 2007 iMac and an original MacBook Air, which were both bought in January of 2008. And a brand new 17-inch MacBook Pro. Our Time Capsule is the older non-dual band model which was bought with the iMac and MacBook Air, again in January of 2008.
If they are all 5GHz, I would think I would want to set the Time Capsule's Radio Mode for "802.11n only (5GHz)."
Assuming that they are all 5GHz, is this what I should do for maximum efficiency, or does it really matter?
(And yes, I know that our iPhones would not be able to use the 5GHz band. Not a problem)

That's true. Apparently the 5Ghz band can use 40 mhz bandwith, rather than 20 mhz, which when combined with the relatively few 5ghz devices, means it can be quite a bit faster. I routinely get about 8-10 MB/sec (that's 64-80 megabits/sec) with my 2007 Macbook Pro and my Airport Extreme base station (802:11n). The signal from the Airport Extreme is pretty strong across even from about 150 feet away, and through several walls, but the speed drops significantly (to around 2 MB/sec at best)
Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to confirm your Macs support 5 ghz, apart from simply trying to connect to a 5 Ghz only network. I would assume that since my late 2007 MacBook Pro supports it, your Macbook (and probably Macbook Air) will support it too. I can't say for the iMac.
You can look in the Airport section of System Profiler, then look for an entry like this:
Supported PHY Modes: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Note the 802:11 a - apparently the "a" refers to the 5 Ghz band, which is used by 802:11n. So, if it shows this, I figure it should work fine.

Connecting AirPort Express to AirPort Extreme 802.11n

The following steps helped me set up an AirPort Express base station connected to a set of wireless speakers with my new AirPort Extreme 802.11n base station. I’m posting this because the process was not entirely intuitive, at least not to me.
I’ll assume you have set up the AP Extreme base station to connect to the internet and run your home network and that you are connected to your wireless network.
Make sure you set-up the AP Extreme base station to broadcast in 802.11n + 802.11b/g modes, i.e. both at once. You will also have to check he setting that allows the newtork to be extended.
Reset the AP Express base station so that in runs on the factory defaults by pressing the reset button with a paper clip. Wait for it to completely restart.
Launch the AirPort Utility. You should see both your AP Extreme and AP Express base stations in the left hand column. Click on the AP Express base station you just reset. When it asks to switch wireless networks do so. Then hit continue.
On the next screen select “Connect to my current wireless network” option and hit continue.
On the following screen select the “Extend the range of my AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express network” and hit continue. Do NOT select the “Join my wireless network” option even though it says this is how you connect to wireless speakers. This is the part that was not obvious to me. When I tried this the AirPort Express base station flashed orange and wouldn’t connect despite waiting 30 minutes.
Chose the network you wish to extend from the drop down menu. My keychain supplied the password for the network.
Give your base station a name and hit continue.
Select the main base station in the list provided. This is the one connected to the internet and hit ok.
The Airport Utility software will configure the network to accept the AirPort Express base station.
Now all that’s left is to connect your wireless speakers to the AirPort Exppress base station. You can now play music through AirTunes while being connected to your fast 802.11n network.

I recently setup an Airport Express in conjuction with my Extreme Base Station. I'm not really understanding how this method enables 802.11n connection speeds (via Base Station) to the internet and also allow streaming music through the Express at 802.11b/g. It's my understanding that if you want to be able to access the internet AND stream music at the same time the Express needs to join the network. In order for the Express to join the network (able to recognize the Base Station)...the Base station needs to be changed from 802.11n only to 802.11n (802.11b/g compatable)....which essentially means your connecting to the internet at 802.11b/g. If your wanting to keep 802.11n only on the base station...you would have to create a seperate network via the Express to stream music. What this means is you CANNOT access the internet and stream music at the same time. You would have to manually change Airport in the taskbar to do one or the other.
Am I off base here? If I am missing something please let me know...because it would be great to be able to connect to the internet at 802.11n only with a multi-case rate set to 23Mbps vs. the 11Mbps (maximum) of the 802.11b/g compatable option.
I guess what is confusing me is that my setup is basically the same as what was described above..minus having the "Extended Network" being enabled. How does extending the network change things?

Faster perfomance on 802.11n

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