The signal strength on my first gen AE is dropping off.

Question

The signal strength on my first gen AIrport Extreme is dropping off.  Is this an early indication of pending failure?

Answer 1

Well, the First Generation AirPort Extremes are about 5 years old now, and 5 years of 24/7 operation is pretty good for a modem or router, so it might be time to start thinking about upgrading to a new, faster dual band model.
Personally, I replace the modem and any routers at about 4-5 years, even if they are operating normally. But there are other things to think about as well.
Chances are, there are far more wireless networks around you than there were even a few years ago, so heavy competition for the very limited number of channels that are available may be slowing down your signal significantly.
Five years ago, I could find two or three wireless networks around me. Today, there are over twenty.
I noticed that my neighbor next door was installing a new wireless camera and security system a few days ago, and he told me it was up and running yesterday.  Yesterday, my wireless slowed down about 20%...not sure why...but I have an idea.
If you have added other wireless devices like cordless phones, Bluetooth accessories, a baby monitor, a new wireless thermostat and who knows what, all of these things can affect the performance of wireless network communications.
You have not provided any specifics on your network as far as the slow down is concerned, or mentioned any steps that you might have taken to investigate, so until we know more, we'll have to leave it at generalities and possibilities.
You never know. A new router might be just the ticket.....or.....it may offer no improvement at all. Every few days, we see a post from a user who has added a new router...and their network performance has dropped.
For this reason, if you are thinking of replacing the AirPort Extreme, you might want to check with the store on their return policies before you buy.