Upgrade time?

[n4in]

I am new to the site and forum, thanks for a great resource, I have a simple home network with cable internet coming into a DOCSIS 3.0 modem to my Apple Airport Extreme circa 2008. Our house is about 1800 sqft with two floors and the cable modem is in the basement at one end of the house. Wireless internet works OK in the house when used in the middle to end of the house where the wireless router is located but the other end it is weak and almost unusable. We live in a rural area and the internet is not very fast; about 12-18Mbps down and 2-3 Mbps up (I pay for 20Mbps/1Mbps, the max speed available to me). Would it make a difference with our internet speeds upgrading the wireless router to something AC1750/1900? We do have some newer devices that are AC capable.

Thanks,
David

 

[thiggins]

Upgrading from an N to AC router can make a big difference, even for N devices.
Does An AC Router Improve N Device Performance?

 

[stevech]

But with your ISP providing 12-18Mbps down, it's unlikely you'll see much difference with 11AC.
I'm not Apple-literate so I can't comment on the demerits of the circa 2008 WiFi from them.

(Assuming the speed you discuss is the speed for a PC connected via ethernet, not WiFi).

 

[sfx2000]

Yep, it's probably time to consider an upgrade from the Airport Extreme - assuming this is the 1st or 2nd gen, it's dual-band, but single radio...

Might consider going with an Apple Airport Extreme AC - it's an AC1900 class Router/AP, and all devices will benefit to some degree moving to the newer chipsets - check the Apple Refurb store - looks like Apple has them for $129 at the moment... which is a great price for a Tier 1 class device.

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/FE918LL/A/refurbished-airport-extreme

 

[n4in]

Thanks for the info, I am borrowing a friend's Linksys AC2400 with four antenna arrangement. I definitely see a range improvement in the house and some speed improvement but the speed change isn't that noticeable. I have decided to probably go with something besides apple this time and AC1750 or better. I have to return the AC2400 next weekend.

 

[stevech]

You're looking only at the signal strength in the to-user/client direction.
Most Consumer wifi gear does not display the client-to-network signal strength.

 

[KenZ71]

I'll be the contrarian.....

Go with a used router from Amazon or ebay where the seller has high ratings

I have 2 of thesehttp://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/B002HWRJY4/ref=olp_tab_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

One as router one as AP. Works great for me.