AirPort Extreme Base Station

Reviews for AirPort Extreme Base Station

Customer Reviews and Ratings

4.0 out of 5 stars

Based on 492 reviews

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    MUCH more powerful than the previous generation

    • Written by from Miami

    The 5th generation AirPort Extreme Base Station is MUCH more powerful than the 4th generation model. My wireless speeds have more than doubled since swapping out for this new 5th generation model.

    The FCC database results confirmed the 2x-3x power output increase, which easily explains the performance increase. Just Google "MD031LL/A" and links to their database results should appear.

    So YES, it's worth the upgrade and you will easily see a speed/range increase, especially in other rooms of your house or apartment that don't have line of sight to the device.

    1976 of 2170 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Couldn't Be Happier

    • Written by from ELLENTON

    Excellent coverage. Use for all of my WI-FY gear including BluRay DVD Player, WII Game Set, iPhone, iPad2, and Printer. It outperforms two other units that it replaced. Good job Apple.

    1138 of 1300 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Excellent product and easy setup!

    • Written by from Newport Beach

    I've never found routers fun to set up but this one is different. It was a breeze to set up and has been rock solid for almost one year. Great product and superb support, if needed.

    1086 of 1218 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    PERFECTLY BRILLIANT

    • Written by from SOUTHAMPTON

    My AEBS has been used very successfully in conjunction with a Vigor 120 ethernet modem. Speeds have improved when compared with my previous equipment and reliability has been 100%. It provides internet access for 1 PC, 1 laptop, 2 Mac minis, 1 MBA, 1MBP, 1 Blu-ray player, 1 TV, 1 Wii, 1 ATV2 and 4 iOS devices, all without any problem whatsoever. I should add that it was staightforward to set up and runs cool (even having been continuously 'on' since purchase). I am very satisfied with the great performance and recommend the AEBS, but do please bear in mind that it needs to be used in conjunction with a modem.

    533 of 557 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Just Works

    • Written by from Knaresborough

    Works perfectly well with my ADSL modem which is a BT Homehub. Bought to replace the wireless function of the homehub and outperforms it in every way.

    Paired with an Airport Express I now have total coverage in the house and garden.

    Very easy to set up too.

    408 of 444 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Excellent device!

    • Written by from Romsey

    The review above is rubbish as he clearly does not know how to set it up correctly, i have it working with an ADSL and it works brilliantly.

    Allows separation of N a G signals which is great if you have a have a range of devices which have different capabilities.

    I would recommend to anyone.

    347 of 399 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Outstanding Performance!!

    • Written by from Canon City

    The previous wifi router we had was a Cisco and it just wasn't cutting it for our household. I purchased the AirPort Extreme and could not be happier. We have 3 MacBooks, 1 iMac, 1 Epson Wireless printer, 2 Apple TV's, 2 iPhones, 2 iPod Touches, 2 Android Smartphones, 1 Wii, 2 Xboxes, 1 Samsung 3D Smart TV, 2 3d Blu-Ray Players, and a lot of airplay speakers on this router and it handles amazing. The speed is very impressive for the load this router carries. Every once and a while we have to restart it but other than it is a amazing product. ONCE AGAIN, WELL DONE APPLE!!!!!

    153 of 158 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Fantastic product. Runs a bit warm.

    • Written by from Celina

    I've been experiencing terrible download speeds from my ISP Suddenlink for about 6 months now. On Speedtest.net, on average/most often times, my download speed would be 2.5Mbps. I am paying for the 10Mbps (highest speed possible) plan with the ISP.

    After replacing the old Netgear router with the AE, and having Apple help me set it up via phone (I'm not networking intelligent whatsoever, I'm a Hardware, OS, and software kinda guy), I achieved similar/small improvement in performance. Typically getting 2.5-3Mbps downloads, with an occasional (and short-lived) hike in speed ranging 5-8Mbps. DON'T STOP READING HERE!

    After doing some tinkering, I managed to get the full 10Mbps out of my ISP with this router. I get 10.63Mbps down on my mid-2010 Mac Mini which is on the 5GHz private network, 10.08Mbps down on my iPhone 4 which is on the 2.4GHz network, and 10Mbps down with my iPad which is on the 5GHz private network. I'm extremely satisfied with my purchase, and would definitely buy another in the future. Hopefully more ISP's will become available in my area with higher speeds, so I can take full advantage of this baby :)

    WARNING: The AirPort Extreme seems to run a bit warm, though not 'hot'. I'm keeping a small fan running next to it to keep temps down (there is no ceiling fan in my office).

    Currently, I have my AirPort Extreme set up this way:
    -Wireless Mode: Create a wireless network.
    -The radio mode is set to Automatic.
    -Broadcasting 2 networks, a 2.4GHz and a 5GHz (the 5GHz network is hidden).
    -The 5GHz network is on radio channel 161.
    -The 2.4GHz network is on radio channel 6.
    -Security is WPA2 Personal

    Under Wireless Network Options:
    -Country: United States
    -Multicast Rate: Low
    -Transmit Power: 100%
    -Use wide channels is checked
    -Created closed network is checked (because I'm hiding the 5GHz network)

    116 of 123 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Rock Solid

    • Written by from CHARLOTTE

    I've owned at least 20 different models of other routers and wireless base stations, going back to the first home versions. However, the Apple products have been consistently the most stable and best performing. I had to reboot other routers at least once per week, but the Apple routers go months without issues. They cost a little more, but they're dependable.

    109 of 111 people found this useful

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Poor Lifespan

    • Written by from Oregon City

    Airport Extreme is a great product for two years MAXIMUM. After that the Airport Extreme will begin to fail for various issues. After having three fail completely in two years, one for firmware reasons and two for hardware reasons, this product deserves two stars. Even though it is incredibly easy to set up and maintain, the life span is horrible.

    144 of 185 people found this useful

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Does not work well with AT&T DSL

    • Written by from raleigh

    I recently had an issue with my internet line dropping. I upgraded my modem and airport extreme and the issue continued. The AT&T technician ran tests on my line and asked what lights were lit on the modem when it dropped. He indicated that there is a problem with the router. I ended up getting an AT&T combo of modem and router and so far so good.

    I previously had an airport extreme and did not have any issues with it, it is just recently this cropped up.

    Setting up the airport extreme is a cinch. I don't know whether there is an issue with the firmware or not, but it is very frustrating that the line drops for no reason.

    94 of 108 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Absolutely Incredible

    • Written by from Scottsdale

    I just bought an AirPort Extreme today. It has completely blown my expectations out of the water. I previously had a Linksys router...it doesnt even remotely hold a candle to the performance of the AirPort. While before it took 6-8 seconds to open a page, now with only upgrading to the AirPort Extreme (keeping the same internet provider and everything) I'm having pages fully open in a second or less, many times instantaneously. I could not be more satisfied with this product. PS. Setup is a breeze.

    85 of 90 people found this useful

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    USB Disk a Joke

    • Written by from Toronto

    The router is good, as far as routers go. It's fast and easy to set up. One of the key features is the USB disk sharing which is why I bought the router. Apple products are usually superior, so I figured they would have this feature working really well on the APE

    Wrong. I could write to my drive at speeds ranging from 200 KB/s to 900KB/s (the higher speed achieved after 20 minutes or so). I was expecting at least 2 - 3 MB/s write and >5MB/s read.

    If you want a NAS (Network Attached Storage) router, look on CNET for some recommnedations. The speeds acheived here are useless - unable to stream media from the hard drive to any media player without constant interruptions and buffering.

    I returned this after 3 days of frustration.

    109 of 142 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Superb piece of kit.

    • Written by from Leeds

    Sublimely easy to set up, extended the wifi network at home and with 3 x 1 gb wired connections as well... easily connected to the existing network either though ethernet or by wifi..and it even has a guest internet access...
    If you want a superb addition to your home network - this is it.

    80 of 85 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Expensive - but worth it

    • Written by from West Vancouver

    I have 2 MacBook Pros, an iMac, a Macbook, an iPhone and an iPad, and have spent the last year struggling with my old router. Constant disconnects plagued me, so not having to constantly restart my modem/router is delightful. The time I have saved so far has easily paid off the purchase. Plus, my connection is noticeably faster than with my previous router

    It's expensive - probably the most expensive router I have seen on the market - but I am very happy with my new AirPort Extreme, and I would recommend it to anyone else with too many Apple products to count.

    77 of 80 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Great!

    • Written by from Kirkland

    Like everyone ive been plauged with router problems from all the major companies. So instead of accepting the daily reset to get my old router to work i got this. It was pretty simple to setup and was up and running on all my devices in about 20 min. Ive had it for about 2 months and ive only had to reset t once, and i dont even think it was the actual problem. All my speeds have pretty much doubled. Yes i know my old router was 2 years old and this was a big upgrade but my download speeds are insane. I can now stream HD in Netflix where i couldnt before. I am an apple fanboy and love apple products but trust me if this didnt work i would have moved on. This is expensive but it is definately worth not having to reset it multiple times a day And with it being dual band it should last a long time. If you want a solid fast and reliable Router this is the way to go. Don't accept the horrible products other company's put out.

    75 of 77 people found this useful

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Worked great for 1y6m then failures left and right waste of Money

    • Written by from Cane Ridge

    I had Gen 1 Timecapsule that lasted 3 years. I bought this Airport Extreme on 4/30/2011 and it failing now only last year and half. Now it drops internet every day and have to reset it every day. Its not a isp issue... another router works fine.

    The devices DHCP service failing to work. No fixs no firmware updates to fix. This is just a waste of money for $179 Router that has no storage and to fail year and half is poor Apple product.

    My first negative feedback for apple ever.

    I am extremely disappointed.

    91 of 110 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    airport extreme base station

    • Written by from reading

    wonderful works fine in my house on my ipad, imac, macbook ipod .very good job!!!

    72 of 75 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Best All-Around Wireless Router and Extender

    • Written by from Oakville

    I've had a number of wireless routers over the years. A high number. Various brands. Various models. They all had two things in common: (1) They're glitchy, with frequent drop-outs and mysterious malfunctions that require rebooting or a reset/reprogramming, and (2) they stop working shortly after the warrant period has expired.

    And then there's the Apple AirPort Extreme.

    The AirPort Extreme is a shining star. It just works. It's stable. It's reliable, year after year of 24x7 use -- I have two, with 4+ years on one, and 5+ years on the other. It's also a little faster than the competition.

    The setup utility (PC and Mac) is easy to use, and gives you lots of features, such as limiting internet access for certain users (e.g., children) to certain times of the day, sharing printers, sharing hard disks, etc.

    AirPort Extreme easily gives shared access to a variety of devices: Macs, PCs, iPhones, Wi-Fi TVs, and others. Imagine your Macs, PCs, iPhones, and tablets all able to access your home printer or home network storage (hard disk), without a host computer acting as a "go between" server.

    The AirPort Extreme can also be configured as an "extender," so you can have two or more units in your home to ensure full, secure, strong-signal coverage throughout your home, and even into your back yard, if you wish. Devices can access the extender both wirelessly and by Ethernet cable. My extender "speaks" to an Audio-Visual receiver, an Xbox-360, an HD-TV, and a Blu-ray player, and it serves wireless devices in that area, such as laptops and phones.

    Perhaps the highest compliment I can pay to the AirPort Extreme is to tell you that I'm a PC guy who wouldn't want to be without it. I highly recommend it.

    72 of 76 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Near perfection

    • Written by from Durham

    Okay I say near perfection because nothing is absolutely perfect, but the extreme comes close. After getting fed up with my old wifi-poor signal strength, having to reset it regularly, and slooowing down with more than one device using the network, I decided to take the plunge and buy the airport extreme. I waited because I was put off by the price tag, but trust me when I say it is so worth it. It was up and running in minutes, and EXTREMELY fast, and I now have full signal strength everywhere in my house, including going outside to sit on the deck. We have had both iPhones, an iPad, the computer, printer, dvr, and an additional iPhone (visitor) all connected and using the network at the same time with no problems. ( my old router would have crashed and needed to be reset). I also love the guest feature as anyone who comes over can easily connect to my network without me having to give out my password. Basically it's AMAZING!

    68 of 68 people found this useful

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