OT: wifi computer help please.

[Cicli]

Lets start with I dont know squat about computers or networks. Now, I have cable internet and its suposed to be good. My wifi is a Apple airport that is about 8 years old. My internet at home is slower than if I just use my cell phone on the carrier network. It works but not good. Do these wireless things go bad? As in deteriorate? Would it help to plop down the cost of a nice cassette on a new wifi thingy?
Just trying to find a solution without getting too technical. Thanks for some help on this.

[R3awak3n]

First things first, have you restarted botht the cable modem and the wireless router?

I know its basic but it usually solves the problem for this issue.

[572cv]

Wifi things (routers Etc) do go bad. But also, older ones may not have as much capacity as newer ones. Slower speeds inherently, likely. Eight years is a pretty good run for this kind of thing. You can still use a working import for , say, speakers in the living room.
I also know little, but have found this to be generally the case here.

[regularguy412]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

First things first, have you restarted botht the cable modem and the wireless router?

I know its basic but it usually solves the problem for this issue.

^^ this is definitely the first step.

You should also bring those 2 items back online in a specific order. Unplug power to both. Make sure they are without power for at least 10 seconds. Then plug power back into the modem ONLY. Let it get a 'good' lease (signal) back to the service provider (can take up to a minute or maybe a little more) . The lights on the modem may still blink, but if so, it should be a regular pulse. Usually in most modems, the lights are just steady ON. Then power up the router. You should see at least one more light come on, on the modem. Let that have about 30 seconds to a minute to reconnect.

Then see how you go.

And, yes, routers and modems do go bad, but usually it's several years. Or you may have had a power surge that injured them and they are having difficulty as a result.

Hope that helps
Mike in AR

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Cicli

Lets start with I dont know squat about computers or networks. Now, I have cable internet and its suposed to be good. My wifi is a Apple airport that is about 8 years old. My internet at home is slower than if I just use my cell phone on the carrier network. It works but not good. Do these wireless things go bad? As in deteriorate? Would it help to plop down the cost of a nice cassette on a new wifi thingy?
Just trying to find a solution without getting too technical. Thanks for some help on this.

I had the same issue..I went to Comcast got a new modem(that plugged into my Airport)..and that made a huge difference. A new Airport isn't a bad idea also..they get 'tired', methinks mostly for old technology..I are 'puter-dummy' also.

[huck*this]

Yes a new access point would do you well. The "radios" do wear after time. I would advise getting a AP with external antennas rather then internal. After all you are paying a premium I'm sure for the internet. Shoot me a PM me if you want some recommendations on Access Points.

[R3awak3n]

new router tech is much faster so getting a new router will give you faster speeds for sure. I just upgraded and its much faster. That said you should not have speeds that are worst than 8 years ago when you bought the router.

[carpediemracing]

Call your internet provider. If the modem is included in your rate they'll often send you a new one at no charge. The new one may even have a wireless router (for inside your house) built right in.

Although we use a nicer modem than the "stock" one, whenever I call for help they insist on sending a new modem/router unit.

[shovelhd]

An 8 year old Airport cannot handle 50-100mbps cable internet speeds. It will choke access and potentially drop packets, which would explain the latency you are seeing. Either rent a combo modem/router from your provider or invest in a good N600 or better router. Plan on $100-$200. BTW your wife's Apple will work just fine with a non-Apple router. You don't need an Airport.

[Tony T]

What's the speed you're paying for with your cable co?
You can check the speed at a number of sites, on of which is https://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

You can also test if it's a wireless issue by plugging your computer directly into your AirPort with an ethernet cable to see if it improves the speed (which would confirm that it's a Wifi issue)

Also open AirPort utility and see if you need to update the firmware (it will tell you if it does)

[seric]

I I'm on my phone right now, so I'm going to provide a short answer with two important points.

1. Due to the collision avoidance used in wifi, the performance of the entire network is deteriorated by the device with the weakest signal. If you have a single far away device, it slows down all devices operating close to the access point as well.

2. Yes, radios go bad. Pretty much all modern electronics deteriorate faster than those of the 70's and 80's due to changes in materials used in order to better manage environmental impact factors of manufacturing.

[Cicli]

Well,

I bought a router for 100.00 and returned the one to the cable company I had to rent for 13.00/mo. Bought a new airport extreme and all is well. I ran the test before and my download speed was 13mb or something like that. After, it is 90 something. Works about 10000x better.

Thanks all.

[carpediemracing]

Good news.