Are you able to connect the PC directly to the ONT? You will need to set up a PPPoE connection under Network with the login details.

That will at least eliminate the Airport from the equation and give you a baseline of what the hardware is capable of.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by D_an_W:

makes me wonder if I need to replace the AirPort Extreme at all.

It is the first component I would swap out to test. They are quite old now. Is this the one?
https://support.apple.com/kb/sp680?locale=en_GB
That is the 6th generation and it went on sale in 2013, and Apple discontinued the whole lineup in 2018. If you have another router (e.g. ISP box) give it a try for a test.

My guess is the CPU in the Extreme is not up to the needs of PPPoE over your fast FTTP service, and Apple designed their routers for the USA market which don't typically use PPPoE.

Thats the one yes, can't complain at all for the length of time I have had it. Still unsure about what to replace it with but I think ASUS are ruled out as they only seem support 32 DHCP reservations.

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

Are you able to connect the PC directly to the ONT? You will need to set up a PPPoE connection under Network with the login details.

That will at least eliminate the Airport from the equation and give you a baseline of what the hardware is capable of.

I did try that after reading a post on here but couldn't get it to connect, maybe I did something wrong.

In reply to a post by candlerb:

In reply to a post by D_an_W:

It is actually running macOS Big Sur 11.6.1 which also happens to be the last this hardware will support without patching etc.

It's a Hackintosh? Definitely try booting into Linux as a comparison.

But once you've convinced yourself that it's not the ISP that's the issue but your own local machine, you can forget about it. Like you said, it's fast enough for what you need. It can't consume a gigabit reliably on a speedtest? Speedtests aren't what you actually use the machine for.

Hackintosh yes, been running macOS on it for quite some time now (Still have VMs with Windows of course!) I think I can remember how to create a Ubuntu USB boot drive, will give it a go thanks.

In reply to a post by D_an_W:

Thats the one yes, can't complain at all for the length of time I have had it. Still unsure about what to replace it with but I think ASUS are ruled out as they only seem support 32 DHCP reservations.

Possibly an old limit.
I've had over 32 set on my RT-AX86U. It says the max is 64 in the GUI.

Edited by j0hn83 (Fri 19-Nov-21 21:17:22)

In reply to a post by j0hn83:

In reply to a post by D_an_W:

Thats the one yes, can't complain at all for the length of time I have had it. Still unsure about what to replace it with but I think ASUS are ruled out as they only seem support 32 DHCP reservations.

Possibly an old limit.
I have over 32 set on my RT-AX86U. It says the max is 64 in the GUI.

Interesting thanks, it's only information I read in the manuals so could well be outdated.

In reply to a post by D_an_W:

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

Are you able to connect the PC directly to the ONT? You will need to set up a PPPoE connection under Network with the login details.

That will at least eliminate the Airport from the equation and give you a baseline of what the hardware is capable of.

I did try that after reading a post on here but couldn't get it to connect, maybe I did something wrong.

Worth doing. Not particularly difficult in MacOS:
- click '+' to create a new service
- choose 'PPPoE' (second from bottom)
- select the wired ethernet port from the drop down (it defaults to this anyway)
- Give it a name and click 'create'

Once its built, select the new PPPoE service
- enter your account name + password (tick remember the password)

Should be ready to connect from that point, using the button

This gives you direct unfettered access at the ONT, so no routers etc to get in the way. Should give you the cleanest test result.

I really wouldn't expect much difference performance wise doing it this way in MacOS and Ubuntu, certainly not as much as "abstraction" as doing it with Windows.

By the way who is your ISP? Did you test with their supplied router rather than your AirPort in place?

Have you tried speed tests with any other devices besides your hackintosh?

What about doing a simple (non-browser) speed test using the ookla speedtest.net app for Mac?

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

By the way who is your ISP? Did you test with their supplied router rather than your AirPort in place?

Have you tried speed tests with any other devices besides your hackintosh?

What about doing a simple (non-browser) speed test using the ookla speedtest.net app for Mac?

My ISP is Aquiss who don't supply a Router, don't have any other Ethernet devices I can test with at the moment and yes I did try the Speedtest.net app and got a similar result to their website.

Just trying the PPPoE connection again.

It's the AirPort Extreme that's slowing you down. I have 900/110 FTTP as well. Using the BT Smart Hub2 I get full speed on a wired 2017 iMac. I changed the router to TP AX10 and my speeds were the same but the router was reliable and wifi way better.

On the AirPort Extreme acting as the router, I topped out at about 300Mb.

I still use the AirPort Extreme in bridge mode to extend my network via ethernet. That works fine and get full speed to any device wired to it.

I hope that helps.

Shrey