I've a network that is powered by an Airport Extreme and extended by an Airport Express. My Airport Extreme broadcasts 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz channels separately.
2.4 GHz operates on channel 4 and 5 GHz operates on channel 44. The network is WPA2 protected. 'Router Mode' is off. 'Radio Mode' is 802.11 a/n – 802.11 b/g/n (Automatic). And my 'Country' is selected to United States.
Also everything, including my network gear and things that connect to it, is up-to-date. And I'm not on any other DNS.
Recently I made the Airport Express extend the 5 GHz channel instead of the 2.4 GHz one because of 5 GHz's better performance.
But now when I connect to my 5 GHz channel I get worse performance than my 2.4 GHz one.
Below are the screenshots of my tests on both of the channels. The faster one is the 2.4 GHz one. (by the way, I know it's a shame but unfortunately that's the situation in my country at the moment, hopefully there will be fiber soon)
What exactly is causing this woeful performance on 5 GHz? What am I missing here?
Best Answer
The 5GHz is all hype. It can be faster, only if you're close to it. 2.4GHz is still superior in range and as you know, WiFi speed drops off the further away you get from your access point.
The only time I've found 5GHz useful is: When many other networks are interfering with mine. (in between two large apartment buildings with 12+ networks bouncing within the corridor, it's nice to switch off of the 2.4GHz)
Or, if I'm in the same room as the AP, I can get a strong signal. Then 5GHz is sometimes faster.
here's something interesting from wirecutter.com
No matter what they are called or technology they use, repeaters start out with a minimum 50% throughput loss. The reason is that a repeater must receive, then retransmit each packet using the same radio on the same channel and with the same SSID. If the repeater is very efficient, then your loss will be close to 50%. But if it’s not, throughput loss can be higher.”
Thanks to that 50% loss in bandwidth right off the top, just about all wireless extenders suck.
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-wi-fi-extender/