[JoshuaZ]

For some reason my Airport Express seems overly slow when moving files. My setup is this: A 12in Powerbook, a Macbook Pro, Airport Express, my neighbors Macbook (we share a connection). The APE is set to 802.11 G only.

For the longest time I've noticed that moving files between any two computers over wireless is just darn slow. It doesn't matter which computers its between, its always slow. Distance isn't a problem as being in the same room give the same results. Data is measured as moving in 0.5 MB chunks. I'm unable to watch streaming video, for instance, between two computers.

When doing a direct computer to computer wireless network speeds seem to almost double. Data is moving in 1.0 MB chunks. I can watch streaming video.

Any ideas what could be causing this?

[legacyb4]

Try changing the channel you are running on, particularly if you live in a crowded area or have lots of wireless equipment (like wireless handsets, etc.).

There's a high possibility you are suffering from interference between the different devices.

[JoshuaZ]

Changed the channel. Nothing. Still just as slow.

[ghporter]

It sounds like either your broadband modem needs a reboot or your router does. Turn them both off and let them sit for at least a timed minute. Now turn on the modem and let it do its start up thing. When it's finished, turn the router back on. Once IT is finished starting up, check your network speed. I use Speedtest.net as a metric for my speeds, and since it's pretty much neutral to everything it is very helpful in comparing before/after speeds as well as PC/Mac speeds on the same or similar connections.

[JoshuaZ]

I'm running off a fiber optics connection thats plugged directly into my Airport Express. Internet speeds have never been an issue. I've pulled 1.5 MB/s down before. Speedtest gave me 14,000 down and 11,000 up. Its the speeds for file transfers between computers on the network which has always been dog slow.

As I said before, direct computer to computer wireless networking is more than 3 times faster than through the airport express. Perplexing.

[ghporter]

Restart that Express after leaving it off for a minute. There has to be SOMETHING between the fiber and the Express, so restart/unplug/reboot that too. Seriously, something is just not working right and a reboot is called for. It's probably the Express, but the fiber interface won't be hurt by rebooting it too.

[JoshuaZ]

Unplugged everything. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. Plugged it back. Both the fiber modem box and the express. Turned it all back on. Still getting the same old slow speeds between the two laptops.

To move a 700 MB file it tells me it'll take about 14 minutes. Still isn't fast enough to stream video between the two computers.

[ghporter]

Have you considered a hard reset of the Express? That will restore it to its factory default settings; your description of the problem makes it sound like something changed recently and it's most likely that this is what changed. It would also be interesting to see what kinds of speeds you get by plugging directly into the fiber modem. I'll bet you get WAY faster Internet downloads than you're getting through the AirPort Express. After a hard reset you might see a drastic difference-but if not, that will help eliminate a potential issue.

One other question: has there been a recent AirPort update that changed the firmware in the Express? New firmware could have caused this sort of thing. It happens all the time in other brands' firmware upgrdes...

[Andy8]

Have you got a cordless/wireless phone at home? I have noticed these cause dramas with some wireless networks. Perhaps you can try unplugging/turning off the cordless/wireless phone and see what it does to your network, if anything.

[JoshuaZ]

This has been a problem thats been going on for about 2 years. Its always been slow moving files over the network between two computers. Internet is never a problem, and speeds are always quite super fast (the speed test said I was getting 14,000 kps down). Neither my neighbor (who I share internet with) nor I have wireless phones, and the only thing that has ever caused issues is when someone uses a microwave (which is rare).

[ginoledesma]

During a file transfer operation, can you confirm that your transmit rate is 54Mbps? You can find out by holding the Option key while clicking the Airport icon in the menu bar (this works under Leopard). Alternately, you can download and install MenuMeters and choose the option to display the transmit/receive speeds. I'm curious to know what your average transfer rate is reported by either one.

iStumbler will reveal the current signal/noise values in your area. Apple used to provide this in their older Airport utility app, but this no longer worked with Tiger and later. Low signal / high noise values usually impact the wireless performance.

Barring any of that, you can break out the networking tools, such as ping to see if you're dropping any packets, or tcpdump to sniff what activity is going in with the APE.

[JoshuaZ]

Holding down Option while moving files says its going at 54mbs.

iStumbler shows my signal at 54% with noise at 9%. I'm about 10-15 feet away from the Airport with my MBP and the PB is about 2 feet from it.