Macbook and slow wireless connection

I have trouble reaching high speed when connecting with AirPort to my BT Voyager 2110 router. Connecting with a cable works great.
It seems to be a problem many people have that their wireless connection between the Mac and a router gives only a fraction of the transfer speed compared to when when using a PC and connecting wireless to the very same router. Is Mac more sensitive and have compatibility problems?

I solved the problem I described above. I changed the channel on the router to 11. Tech support told me that Macbook prefers 11, then 2 and then 6. I tried number 2 yesterday and it was still bad. However, channel 11 solved my problems. Now the wireless is fast as with cable.

Similar Messages

Orange Livebox & MacBook Pro Slow wireless connection

Hello,
Looks like we are a lot experiencing a slow or sporadic wireless connection.
I have done all updates, the MBP finds the livebox and connect properly but I have a very slow connection.
Lan connection is working fine and quick.
Please could somebody help me, this is my first Mac, if there is any tips or tricks to get a normal wireless speed.
Cheers.

What kind of wireless router or access point are you using?
Are you getting full signal?
Is the wireless router or access point around anything with a lot of metal or..
since you said that when you connect to your modem via ethernet then you could have a problem with your wireless infrastructure... if you have tested your wireless network with another computer and it works fine or if you went somewhere that has a hot spot then you can determine if there is an issue with your home network or an issue with the wireless card in the laptop...

T61 and slow wireless connection

I have a T61, type 6457-E3G using Vista Business.
I have a problem when I try to connect with my ZyXEL router, it's a P-2602HW-D1A. I get the same download speed as I get when using LAN, but my upload speed behaves very strangely. It starts shoving a medium speed, but instead of going up to max. speed, it slowly slows down till there's almost no connection.
Recently I changed my hard disc. (WD Scorpio Black 320 GB/7200 RPM)
I used to have the same problem earlier, with my old HDD, but suddenly, one day, it was just gone and the upload speed via wireless was almost the same as LAN.
I remember I updated all the drivers (Lenovo and ZyXEL) on the old HDD and thought that was it, but unfortunately it wasn't...
I have no problem connecting to my D-Link router and I use Access Connection.
Any advice would be very much appreciated
All the best Ebbe

Thanks for taking the time to answer...
I'm using Vista Business and it's not only a problem with streaming media being slow, it's all my downloads, including my mail. After a short while the connection slows down to almost nothing... and I have a 10 Mbit/1Mbit connection...
The strange thing is that our T43, running XP, has absolutely no problem with the WLAN connection and also, as I mentioned earlier, that this T61 used to function properly before changing the HDD... well, in the beginning it didn't, but suddenly one day it did, unfortunately I don't know what actually made the difference... so being no expert, I imagine it could be some kind of a missing driver, but if so... which one... ?
Ebbe

I have a MacBook Air, which I just upgraded to OSX Lion. I also have the latest version of iTunes. When I try to stream to the AirPort, the Airport resets, and the wireless connection on the macbook locks up. Any suggestions where to start?

I have a MacBook Air, which I just upgraded to OSX Lion. I also have the latest version of iTunes. When I try to stream to the AirPort, the Airport resets, and the wireless connection on the macbook locks up. Any suggestions where to start?

To free up hard drive space the best bet is to move data files that you don't need access to all the time. Likely candidates are music, video, and photos. Things like word processing and spreadsheet files can also be moved but they tend not to be very large and so don't free up much space. The problem with moving the above mentioned files is that iTunes and iPhoto need to know where the files are stored.
Here's an article explaining how to move the iTunes folder. You can move the iPhoto library using the Finder but there is a slight complication. Start iPhoto, open the Preferences and click on the Advanced tab. The first option is "Copy items to the iPhoto Library". If this option is checked, copy the iPhoto library to your external folder (drag it from the Pictures folder to your external drive) and then delete it from your Picture folder. If this option is not checked, it is a bit more complicated and we'll need to talk a bit.

One Solution for Fixing Slow Wireless Connection

Quick and easy solution for slow wireless connection.
My hardwired PC connection was working fine over FIOS, but my wireless connection through my Macbook Pro was soooo slowwww, although the machine itself was fine. Pages would take forever to appear, then finally sort of pop up. Didn't really seem to be a Mac problem, just a connection problem.
After searching forever to find a fix, I found a quick & easy solution that works at least for now: change your DNS address.
I'm not a techie so I don't know ALL of the implications of doing this, but in desperation, it has worked for me and I think at no risk to your network or machine. Changing my DNS address has made my connection blazing fast and relieved many weeks of frustration.
HOW: I can only share how to change on a Mac. (Please chime in if you can give directions for PC. ) Just go to this Apple support page, which will outline exactly how to do it. I used 4.2.2.2, I think you can also use 4.2.2.1 as the DNS address. http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2002
Other resources I've found follow:
(specific to FIOS): http://www.stationstops.com/2008/04/16/high-speed-internet-3-tips-to-optimize-your-verizon-fios-broa...
(Specific for Mac): http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=358919
Maybe this is a commonly-known fix but it wasn't for me, so hopefully it will help some of the other less-than-technical people out there. Good luck!

Actually this is a common problem with Mac OSX (http://rubyisbeautiful.com/2008/2/8/osx-dns-fix-update) and how it does DNS lookups and pertains to routers that provide the internal gateway (i.e. 192.168.1.1) as the DNS address which is what the ActionTec does by default.
You can change that at the router level to either push out Verizon's dns that the router then uses or any other open dns server. I had to do this a long time ago for some of the OS X boxes on my network.

Snow Leopard freezing and slow wireless

I installed Snow leopard, installation went fine since then my computer will randomly freeze for increments of 30 seconds up to a few minutes. Happens on iTunes, Quicktime and safari. I also find to have a very slow wireless connection since the installation. Any ideas?

strange, my wifi's as fast as it normally was.
machine is: macbook 13.3" unibody 2ghz, 4gb ram
wiped it clean beforehand, installed SL fresh then restored my work via time-machine on install
Cocktail's a good util to customize your wifi speed, although it won't work on SL
My machine is set to 64bit mode though, however to be honest the 32/64 bit is a mystery at the moment, seems the kernel remains at 32 whereas the rest can happily go to 64bit with 64bit apps running happily against 32bit ones.
May want to time-machine your work, install fresh and restore from time machine. just use a usb-portable or huge memory stick, will only need to do it once.
Michelle's machine has the same problem (core duo macbook white), going to look at that tomorrow, will post if i solve it

Macbook will not wirelessly connect to Netgear router...

Hello, I've been trying to sort this problem out with my Netgear DG834GT router for ages now, but I don't seem to be getting anyway. I'm really not a tech whizz, I'd go as far to say I know nothing about computers or networking or anything, so I don't really want to do anything that will make the problem worse.
I'm currently having to use an ethernet cable, which is really annoying. Anyway, when searching wirelessly for available connections, my macbook find the netgear router, and asks me to put in the password, which I do, but it never connects. The weird thing is, if I have my ethernet cable plugged in, then unplug it, wireless works fine but only for a couple of minutes. Turning the mac on and not plugging the ethernet cable in, and any wireless connection is pretty much useless. All the other laptops (non-mac) in my house work fine wirelessly.
Am I missing something?
Cheers!

I've taken a look at your router's installation manual - hopefully this link will work (you can download it from this site):
http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/list/kw/DG834GT/sno/1/search/1/session/L3NpZC8 zT1VKS2luaw%3D%3D
If the link does not work, simply go to Netgear support and type in your model number.
In any case, pay particular attention to No. 2 in the instructions. It states that your computer needs to be configured before it'll work with the router and shows how to do that.
(I know this from my (newer) Netgear - it does not like to recognize any device unless I've gone through similar steps).

Linksys E2500 and Mavericks wireless connection

Installed Mavericks and lost wireless connection with my linksys e2500.
Cisco connect says "unsupported operating system" and "visit http://homesupport.cisco.com/linksys/support"
Cisco website does not address Mavericks OS

I'm having the same issue with my Cisco Linksys router.
I am unable to connect to the wifi network, or use the Cisco Connect application. As the application is the only way of adding and removing devices from the network, changing the password, and likely fixing this issue, I'm quite frustrated.
I phoned Cisco about this issue yesterday and they had no helpful information. They advised me to download the newest Connect software from their website, and stated this should fix the issue. I told them that I'd already attempted this solution, but their software has only been updated to include a compatibility fix with 10.8, and the issue is with 10.9. They then advised that I restart my computer. AKA, they would be no further help.
The Connect software is available for download here, so I hope that they release an update soon with a fix to this problem. The release notes under the latest update include a mention of the 10.8 compatibility fix, so I hope a 10.9 fix will be forthcoming.
The only solution in the meantime seems to be a complete restart and install of the router and software using a PC. And even this only works to correct the Cisco Connect issue, and likely not the main issue of actually using the wifi network with Mavericks. Regardless, I believe this is a Cisco/Linksys issue, and not an Apple issue.

Slow wireless connection 802.11n AEBS and Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro

I have three Macs all currently connected wirelessly to the new 802.11n AEBS.
Mac #1 - PowerMac G5
Mac #2 - 17" MacBook Pro Intel Core Duo
Mac #3 - 15" MacBook Pro Intel Core 2 Duo
The wireless connection speed (when using the web browser) is fine for both Mac #1 and Mac #2 but noticable slower for Mac #3. All three Macs are sitting right next to each other. All three Mac are getting an excellent signal. All three Macs are running the same version of the OS. All three Macs have identical network setting (as far as I can tell).
When connecting Mac #3 to the AEBS via an ethernet cable, performance is good. I've also tried configuring the channel manually in the AEBS to channel #1 but this did not help (seemed to help others in a different thread). Additionally, I ran the 802.11n enabler and performance was bad both before and after its installation.
Any idea why the Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro would be performing differently?

Ok eveyone. I did some digging and was able to get the network speed back with my Core2Duo machine. I put the Airport Extreme into Bridged mode and connected the Ethernet cable to one of the LAN ports, not the WAN port. After that everything works great. for more information check out this lengthy thread...
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3989864&#3989864
and this site mentioned...
http://www.macintouch.com/reviews/airportn/#performance
Apparently the new base stations have a few issues that need to be worked out so I'd consider this a workaround. There should be no reason to have to do this. Good luck.

MacBook Pro 2010: very slow wireless connection

I know a number of people have posted similar questions, but I think I've done everything I can to fix this.
I bought a 13 inch MacBook Pro last week, and found I was getting a very slow connection to my wireless network. OK when I was right next to the base station, but very slow in another room (the room I want to use it in).
I checked with speedtest.net, which showed I was getting download speeds of around 0.3 Mbps - although, curiously, it showed upload speeds of 1.5 Mbps. I ran my old MacBook in the same room, on the same wireless connection, and consistently got speeds of over 10 Mbps. So it can't be the network that's causing the issue.
After an hour on the phone with tech support, I took the Mac back to the Apple Store, where I was unable to get any wireless connection whatever. They exchanged it for a new machine. Worked fine in the store - but when I got it home, I was still getting very slow speeds. The old MacBook still outperforms it by at least a factor of ten. All the system software is up to date.
Is this a dodgy batch? Or has the wireless range dropped considerably with the new MacBooks?
Message was edited by: Steve Caplin

Steve Caplin wrote:
Darin,
You're right - there are a lot of issues about MBP WiFi. I think there's a major problem with it.
If there was a ..."major problem with it" you would see more complaints than wifi just being among the top 10 discussion items in a trouble shooting forum. There are millions of MBP users many of whom, like myself, use wifi every day without issue.
Your statement "They exchanged it for a new machine. Worked fine in the store - but when I got it home, I was still getting very slow speeds." would lead one to suspect maybe interference from some source or a configuration issue rather than a "major problem".
You probably already tried changing the channel, resetting your router, changing the security scheme, elimination possible sources of interference, separating your components (router, computer, external monitor, ...), etc. but maybe starting over with a default configuration will help isolate the problem.

New macbook pro 2011 weak and dropping wireless connection

Just looked throught this part of the forum and found out there are a lot of people out there which seem to have the same problem as me.
I purchased a new modell 2011 MBP on the very first day from our apple store.
At home, sitting directly beside the wireless router I didn´t noticed anything wrong.
I have got beside of the Mac OS a bootcamp Prt. with Windows 7 on it and everythign works fine so far.
Five days after purchased I started traveling on business and at present we are for some weeks in Melbourne. Were having a wireless connection in our appartement and here I have got massiv problems with my connection.
We are having altogether four windows mashines with us, my IPad, my Iphone, another HTC smartphone, and my new Macbook.
All the other devices connecting to our room wireless without problems. The net strengh is not fantastic but the other devices bringing it up to four bars on the windows wireless symbol in the task bar. None of the other computers where ever loosing the connection.
Only my macbook can not make it over three bars and its going on and off. Donwloads fail freuquently because the conection is interrupted more than one times..
In my opinion this problem is even worse on the Windows OS and a bit better but far away from beeing good and acpetable on the Mac Os.
I hope its only a driver issue and there is no hardware problem with the new mashine. Other than this I love the new notebook and I am very satisfied with its performance.

Hi,
I've noticed similar behavior - specifically with the new 2011 MacBook Pro 13 and 17" models (tested) on Cisco infrastructure - using a 1252 and 3500i/e series APs running in dual-band mode, with 5GHz preferred. I've seen the transfer rates when in close proximity to the AP move between 72mbit and 243 - occasionally 300. My 2010 system in the same position is a solid, dependable 300.
They did modify the wireless chipset in the new 2011 MacBook Pros to replace it with a true 3x3 802.11n device. Cisco have long praised the Broadcom chipsets so I will see if their wireless team can advise me on what this new gear is capable of.
I currently look after a very large deployment of wireless LAN equipment so my wireless performance is absolutely critical to my work - the 2010 system was a godsend and a testament to how wireless devices should be built. It looks to me like this could be a software issue so I only hope Apple resolves this ASAP. I'll hang on to my 2010 system for now...

Macbook slow wireless connection

Hi guys, just got my new Macbook, and its wonderful except for one thing.
My wireless connection was just fine for the first few days, but ever since today its been horribly slwo. The other windows pcs on my wireless network are still fine, so the problem seems isolated to the macbook. I used the network utility to ping my router and the result of low pings of 2, 3 ms followed by a fat lag spike of 1000+ ms ensued. The ping log looks like this.
PING 192.168.0.3 (192.168.0.3): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=0 ttl=250 time=1662.578 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=1 ttl=250 time=667.342 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=2 ttl=250 time=2.843 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=3 ttl=250 time=2.530 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=4 ttl=250 time=5.100 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=5 ttl=250 time=1665.790 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=6 ttl=250 time=666.208 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=7 ttl=250 time=5.999 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=8 ttl=250 time=2.515 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=9 ttl=250 time=2.574 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=10 ttl=250 time=1663.791 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=11 ttl=250 time=665.401 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=12 ttl=250 time=2.985 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=13 ttl=250 time=2.485 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=14 ttl=250 time=2.884 ms
Anyone know what might be the problem? The internet was very fast until this afternoon when it stopped working. I looked around online and it seems like a lot of other macbook core2duo users might have this kind of network problem as well. If i sent it in to applecare would they just change the airport card inside the macbook?
I have tried changing the SSID and the broadcast channel to make sure they didn't coincide with any of the surrouding networks and that didn't solve the problem. I also tried connecting to some other networks and got the same ping problem.
Thanks.

Since the problem suddenly appeared, it might just be interference.
(There is an "interference robustness" setting in airport that may or may not help.)
Do you live in an environment with a high density of wireless devices?
Did you install any software or updates since yesterday?
Have you tried restarting your router?

Slow Wireless Connection

I am having problems with a very slow internet connection, that seems to be getting slower.
Currently we have a DSL Modem connected to a LinkSys DSL Router connected to an Airport Extreme. We have been using this setup for several years.
We run 2-4 laptops of various types...MacBook, MacBook Pro, and 1 Windows. Today, I can hardly get my MacBook to go anywhere.
I went up to my iMac G5 and plugged in the ethernet directly to a port in the router and did a DSL speed test through my ISP and it came back as 4.4 Mbps, about the same as it has since I upgraded speeds last fall.
I then disconnected the ethernet and switched back to wireless, and ran the same test. This time is came back 775 Kbps.
Any suggestions? Thanks!

I am assuming that you are still having the issue with network performance, or at least it has not stabilized.
I would still think Wi-Fi interference to be the potential issue and suggest that you pursue this a bit farther ... if you don't mind.
Again, I would suggest downloading a copy of iStumbler. Use iStumbler's Inspector feature (select Edit > Inspector from iStumbler's menu) to determine the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) at different points around your house, by performing a simple RF site survey. Within the Inspector, note the values for "signal" & "noise" at these locations. Start with your MacBook near the base station, note the readings, and then, choose the locations where you will typically use your MacBook to access the Internet.
SNR is the signal level (in dBm) minus the noise level (in dBm). For example, a signal level of -53dBm measured near an access point and typical noise level of -90dBm yields a SNR of 37dB, a healthy value for wireless LANs.
The SNR, as measured from the MacBook, should decrease as the range to the base station increases because of applicable free space loss. Also an increase in RF interference from microwave ovens and cordless phones, which increases the noise level, also decreases SNR.
SNR Guideline
o 40dB+ SNR = Excellent signal
o 25dB to 40dB SNR = Very good signal
o 15dB to 25dB SNR = Low signal
o 10dB to 15dB SNR = Very low signal
o 5dB to 10dB SNR = No signal
If the SNR is 20dB+ at each of these locations, then you should be getting reasonable performance from your AirPort. If less, either try to locate the source of the Wi-Fi interference or try relocating either the base station or the wireless clients until they are within a 20dB SNR range.

Really slow wireless connection

Ive had my Macbook Pro for almost three years and have never had any wireless connection problems. However in the last couple months, my internet shows full connection to my Belkin wireless but Safari loads the pages extremely slow if at all. My iphone works great connected to our wireless, and our PC desktop does as well. I also took my Macbook to Starbucks to try their wi-fi and it works perfectly there. I would really love to be able to fix it at home instead of having to take it in! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi J,
Open System Preferences > Network > select AirPort > click on Advanced > TCP/IP > Configure IPv6 > Off > OK > Apply > Turn AirPort Off > Turn AirPort On
Open System Preferences > Network > select Ethernet > click on Advanced > TCP/IP > Configure IPv6 > Off > OK > Apply
(FOR LION: If you can’t see an option to turn ipv6 off, set it to link-local only.)
IPv6 troubleshooting http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3802
If that doesn’t help, here are some other internet troubleshooting ideas:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/11395.html
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1714

Just bought a macbook and can't connect to the internet. very frustrating

i can't connect through my wireless router. it reads it but can't connect. my brothers hp laptop connects to it and works. i brought it to work and tried to connect to the router at work but it failed again. but my bro's hp just reads it right away. i need some help please.

Hi,
The same happened to me, but here's a fix.
If it is password encrypted, when you first turn on your macbook, and they give you the internet connection list, Click on advance, and select "This computer does not connect to the internet" Then everything will finish installing.
Now when you see the wireless symbol on top of your screen (right next to the blue tooth) select Airport ON if it isn't enabled. Then connect to your wireless router, and when it asks for the password, click on the internet password type, and select the "Wireless WEP 12/48 key...or something like that" and it should connect. That is what I did to my macbook and it worked

Macbook and slow wireless connection

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for