Airport Extreme - Spot the difference!

Take a look at these two images on the Apple web site:

US Version

UK Version

Spot the difference?

Well in case you didn't notice, the UK version is being advertised as only half as fast as the US version.

This is apparently due to the fact that the Airport Utility doesn't allow you to select 802.11n (5 Ghz) and then "use wide channels" under wireless options if your region setting is set to United Kingdom. The "wide channels" setting is required to get the maximum 5x throughput.

It looks like Apple have blocked UK users from using "wide Channels" in both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz range :-(

The reason for this? Well, Macworld UK states:

In the US the new AirPort Extreme is up to five times faster than its predecessor. However, in the UK the device is just 2.5 times faster. The reason for the lag is UK government regulatory restrictions that prohibit wide-channel operation. The wide-channel operation that is restricted is the 40MHz channel that is found in the 5GHz frequency.

Original Link

However, one of the ScreenCastsOnline forum members (Mabsey) reports that if you're in Ireland (or at least if your Airport Extreme thinks you're in Ireland) this restriction is lifted and you can switch over to 5Ghz and "wide channels" to get the full 5x speed.

See the ScreenCastsOnline forum thread for more details and screenshots.

Of course, ScreenCastsOnline would never condone tricking your Airport Extreme into thinking it is located somewhere it's not, that would be illegal!

It just seems weird that my Airport Extreme came with Ireland set as the default?

Of course, I changed it straight back to the UK setting and dropped its speed by half.

Technorati Tags:
Apple, 802.11n, Airport Extreme

Comments

[shadownight]

"It just seems weird that my Airport Extreme came with Ireland set as the default?

Of course, I changed it straight back to the UK setting and dropped its speed by half."

I'm not sure I should believe you... Tsss...

[mr darkman]

thanks for this,

After purchasing my airport extreme I was most impressed by the 130Mb link speed as reported in the Network Utility, boy it was fast!

Then I came across your site. I didnt alter the country, it was set to Ireland but I did change the radio mode to 802.11n only (5Ghz). Network Utility now gives a 270Mb link speed.

These are real numbers, the new speed is definitely twice as fast I have timed it on file downloads.