Airport Extreme ethernet connection to AirPort Express via LAN or WAN?

"And.....in Bridge Mode.....all Ethernet ports behave the same as LAN ports, so it does not matter which port is used."

Ok, that explains it. It does not matter. Did not know that. That is why it is working as it is supposed to - although AirPort Express is 90mbps (like you said), but fine speed for what I am using it for.

I really do not know too much about setting up this stuff. Learning as I go along!! Sure wish Apple still made these routers. I dread the time when mine no longer work and I have to set up a whole new router system for my home..... These seem to just play nice with all my Apple ecosystem things.

Thanks again Bob for the assistance. Great that people like you are here for people like me! :-)

Thanks Bob for the quick reply. (Connected ethernet cord to LAN port on Airport Express. No, not correct. was a typo on my end. Defiantly meant to say AirPort Extreme, not the Express -LOL)

Before I embark on the steps that you suggested above, I wanted to know if I should reset the eBay AirPort Extreme to a soft reset, hard reset or factory default reset? I believe when I first initially did the reset it said in the Airport Utility that it was a "soft reset". Just want to make sure to do it correctly this time.

Thanks again!!

Ok, ran into a snag....... Purchased used AirPort Extreme off ebay and have connected it to my existing AirPort Extreme via ethernet connection. Order of what I did: Connected ethernet cord to LAN port on Airport Express. Plugged in power cord to AirPort Express, waited a minute. Then pushed the reset button for 8 seconds and released. Blinking amber light came on. I did notice in Airport Utility it said something about a "soft reset", but I proceeded forward anyway, wasn't sure what that meant. (I then saw that the used AirPort Express had original person's settings) Proceeded to edit old settings to my set up with my password, names, etc. Set up as "Create wireless network", etc. Everything looks fine in settings, but the speed is not what I should be getting.

I am only getting 90 mbps down and 23 mbps up when testing iMac via OOKLA Speediest website. Xfinity Speed test coming out the same. This is the same speed I was getting with the Airport Express, which is slower than the Extreme. Doesn't make sense as I should be getting much faster speeds. This is with the AirPort Extreme directly behind my iMac and wireless.

I did update the AirPort Extreme to most current firmware of 7.9.1.

I did not - yet - "forget" the original Aiport Express router that shows on Airport Utility. The unit is unplugged and in not connected in any way so I figured it would not have any effect on the set up.

Do I need to do something else to get it to faster wifi speeds? Not sure what is wrong. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Bob, will do the hard reset.

But.....I am beginning to think that my old ethernet cable is the problem. The plastic tab has broken off the jack and some wires are exposed. It is an older ethernet cable that we ran years ago. Guess it might be the problem. I took a look online to see how to recrimp it, so maybe I can get the hubby to try and fix it. Will need to purchase tools, etc to do this. Not sure how hard it might be. Neither of us are very techie!

Interesting though - as the ethernet cable (even though it is not a tight connection) does not cause an slow downs when directly connected to my Mac. Speeds from 500 - almost 900. But when connected to the eBay Apple Extreme, it is no more than speeds of 80s - 90s. So that is why I never suspected the cable being bad. But I guess it is. Here is a photo of the cable.

Thanks Bob for the explanation of the speed issue. That explains that. I think I will look into picking up a cheap Airport Extreme on ebay. Good suggestion.

But my important question is, do I have the ethernet cable in the correct port on the AirPort Express? I currently have it running into the LAN port, and am wondering if it should be in the WAN port. Don't really understand the difference. Which port should it be. Thanks!

SOLVED! Did a hard reset on the AirPort Extreme as suggested. And also then crimped a brand new RJ-45 connector on the existing ethernet cable going from the wall into the ebay Airport Extreme and now receiving great speeds again. So the ebay AirPort Express does not appear to have bad ports which is great news for me.

Mac is hard wired to the ebay Airport Extreme router and receiving 600-800+ mbps

iPhone via wifi from the ebay AirPort Extreme is getting 400-500 mbps

These are great speeds for me now! Thanks again so much for the detailed information that you provided. Really, really was a great help :-)