Apple AirPort Extreme Wireless Base Station (Refurbished Model RF-MD031LL/A) 5th Gen $89.99

Yeah, when I got the Airport Extreme I ordered from their last sale, I plugged it in and it would not power on. I assumed it was DOA. I checked the warranty on Apple's website, and it still had warranty till August I think. Took it to Apple and they plugged it in, and it wouldn't power on. They then tried another PSU they had under the counter and it powered up. So they determined the old PSU was dead and they ordered a new one. Pretty simple really.

What's so hard to believe about that? These things have a one year (from the original date of purchase) warranty through Apple. The device that you buy *may* be under warranty as well.

Its good router, not great, and definitely not the best. The first question I'd have is "best at what?". It doesn't have the most options, the configuration is very limited, it doesn't have the highest routing or wireless performance, it doesn't have very fast USB performance...generally I'd probably not even consider one of these at even these price points.

Read the reviews. A lot of independent sites give it 3/5 stars. If you have an all apple household, it'll probably suit you. If not, your $90 will buy you a better router and it'll be brand new. You can pick up an asus RT-N56U for less than this and its a better router by a fair margin. A little more will get you an open box N66U, which also isn't the best router, but its better than the airport models.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wi...5-reviewed

Cons:

• No web admin
• Can't use 40 MHz mode in 2.4 GHz
• 3 LAN ports
• Limited routing features

Closing Thoughts

There has been considerable buzz around the Gen 5, mainly due to the higher transmit power that forum denizens uncovered by parsing the FCC test reports. But higher transmit power on a router or AP doesn't really help if the client doesn't have equivalent power to communicate back. And so it is with the AirPort Extreme Gen 5.

The bottom line is that the AirPort Extreme Gen 5 definitely has improved throughput for medium to low signal levels in 2.4 GHz. But any performance gains in the 5 GHz side are offset by losses in other test locations and directions (up / downlink).

In other words, the Gen 5 is likely to perform better in the 2.4 GHz band where the Gen 4 doesn't. But in the 5 GHz band, you might see a slight performance improvement, but it's just as likely you won't.

Disclaimer of Warranties. ALTHOUGH THIS REFURBISHED PRODUCT IS SUBJECT TO THE RETURN POLICY, THIS REFURBISHED PRODUCT IS SOLD ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITHOUT ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.

it "may" be under warranty because it is still within the one year warranty of the last person who purchased it?(continue warranty from last person? or is it you can initiate a full one year warranty when you purchase from BB? if you get one full year, that would be great purchase?

Since some noob deleted this from the wiki, I repost it here:

Not Apple Refurbished
NO WARRANTY


There is no guarantee that Apple, Inc. will honor any warranty as the product is not an Apple factory refurbished item.

You're actually able to re-initiate AppleCare for a full year of coverage to align with your purchase date from BestBuy. Take a look at my post from the previous thread on this deal for how to do it. Takes 5 minutes or less.

http://slickdeals.net/forums/show...tcount=143

How do I know this works? I bought one last time and did this. I have a full year AppleCare reflective of my BBY purchase date.

Link no-worky.

Blah blah blah.

No experience with this router I can see. You have to cut and paste from a site that played with the router for a day and doesn't have an appreciation for what the average consumer wants in a router. You would buy this for great performance and easy to configuration. The easiest to configure router I have come across. You get it because it looks greats too and you know what you're getting. It has the features the vast majority ever bother with.

http://reviews.cnet.com/wireless-...49749.html


http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2...471,00.asp

There are just so many other consumer level 802.11n APs that either fall short or are incredibly frustrating and unreliable. Thus far, I've been using an Airport Extreme Gen 5 and Time Capsule Gen 4 as my primary AP with over 12 devices attached to each one for the greater part of a month without a single instability. It's that kind of stability that really sells it for me, even with 3x3:3 out of the picture.

I'm pretty sure both those reviews aren't for the current gen, but since it hasn't changed much, I get your point. However, I prefer to look at the REAL review of this router:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/457...ster-wifi-

Of note, in this review:

I'm pretty sure both those reviews aren't for the current gen, but since it hasn't changed much, I get your point. However, I prefer to look at the REAL review of this router:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/457...ster-wifi-

Of note, in this review:

ya, and just to follow up on that (Thanks for sharing link), this describes our household, ha:

That kind of sums up WiFi in general—ideally, it should work and be something transparent to the user instead of a constant consideration. I wager the vast majority of Airport Extreme and Time Capsule owners have no idea what 3x3:3 is or how to even check their physical link rate, and for the most part that's a testament to how stable these devices are. Maybe that's the reason why Apple doesn't make a super huge note about changes like markedly improving their WLAN connectivity. One thing is for certain, Apple's wireless division is either playing it incredibly cool, or honestly not getting the credit it deserves.

I'm pretty sure both those reviews aren't for the current gen, but since it hasn't changed much, I get your point. However, I prefer to look at the REAL review of this router:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/457...ster-wifi-

Of note, in this review: