Should I wait to upgrade my Airport Extreme?

[iMore Question]

Hi iMore. I have a 5th generation Airport Extreme but I'm getting sporadic WiFi speeds on my iPhone 6 and iPad Air2 and sometimes the iPad drops off completely. It always seems to be late at night. There are up to ten other networks in my neighborhood that I can see depending on where I am in the house. I was thinking the 6th gen Extreme may help, but I'm hesitant to buy one with the new product season upon us. Has there been any indication that Apple might release a 7th gen Airport Extreme?

Thank you,

Rob

 

[Tartarus]

Try restarting both your AirPort Extreme and the Internet modem first. If this doesn't help, try resetting the AirPort Extreme to factors defaults.

If all above doesn't help, then give a call to your internet provider. It could be they're working on their infrastructure at those times.

It would be a shame to hear if a newly bought AirPort Extreme isn't the solution due to above mentioned reasons

 

[Bigeric23]

Just curious, but do you have a computer that is having the same issue? Or is it just your mobile devices?

 

[RobT3]

Hi Thanks. I've had the Extreme for three years. I ran some tests on Speedtest all pinging the same server.

Computer plugged into Extreme = 115.61 down/ 11.66 up 18ms, 115.96 down/11.95 up 20ms.

iPad Air2 = 72.68 / 5.63 (30 ms) in room with router, then 22.35 /8.12 (27 ms) - around the corner 20 ft away in another room.

iPhone 6 = 31.03 / 7.47 (30 ms) in room with router, then 21.64 / 3.11 (30ms)

The iPad has dropped off completely in the room around the corner and I've taken tests downstairs late at night where I couldn't even get an "up" reply. However, I've only checked my Apple TV once and it had full signal strength downstairs.

So I'm still wondering, if it's an iphone/ipad thing, or router, or ISP (Cox) working or throttling?

I could by the latest Extreme, I just don't want to buy one and have Apple release a new one in a few months.

Thanks again.

 

[RobT3]

I was really hoping to get Rene's input on whether he thinks a new router would be coming out soon or not.

 

[Trees]

I think thats a good idea. We have the 6th generation Extreme and it has been working well overall. I don't have the number of neighbors in my area as you do, so that could be one variable. Apple may announce something in the fall.

In the meantime, I've found that Home - SmallNetBuilder is a good place to get more info about routers and their capabilities.

Tartarus has a good suggestion to check with your ISP. They could be having infrastructure problems, or in our case, our ISP had failing equipment coming into the house. Once that was replaced, our connection out has been solid.