Slow Time Capsule Wireless Speed

I've had my 500GB TC over 2 weeks now, and it's taking absolutely AGES to back up each time. Some occasions it only has to back up MB's worth of stuff but it still takes ages.
Why is this, and what can I do about it?

Just to add some of my experiences to the debate.
I use a late-2008 TC and connect it wirelessly to an ISP supplied modem/router and a late-2008 iMac. Because of limitations with the modem/router, I had to use 802.11n at 2.5 GHz. The internet connection is via the modem/router and internet usage from the iMac is fine in all circumstances (it does not go via the TC).
Performance was pretty good with 7.3.2 but when I originally tried to upgrade to 7.4.1, TC backup became very slow and pretty unreliable. In my case, restarting the router got things going again but TC usage was always a pain. So, I reverted to 7.3.2 and ran beautifully for several months.
Then I tried 7.4.2 when it came out and my regular hourly backups became very slow, typically taking 70-80 minutes rather than 2-3 minutes. However, in contrast to 7.4.1, the connection to the TC was very reliable if slow, somewhat different to my experience with 7.4.1.
Switching back to 7.3.2 and TC was back to normal.
Being curious and having time, I decided to try changing things and see what happens. First tried dropping the wireless to use 802.11g. Result with 7.4.2 was excellent - probably a little faster than 7.3.2 with 802.11n. Tried 7.3.2 with 802.11g and that was as good as 7.4.2 with 802.11g.
Then tried letting the modem/router select the wireless channel and 7.4.2 with 802.11n became a lot better but remained at least twice as slow as 7.4.2 with 802.11g (but not 30 times worse).
So, what do I conclude from that? Not exactly sure but there would appear to be something amiss with the 802.11n support on the 2.5 GHz band for the "old" single band TC when using 7.4.2. Perhaps it is more susceptible to interference or something but when faced with identical circumstances (just switching the firmware level, no other change), it is definitely worse to very much worse.
For now I am happy with 802.11g and 7.4.2.

Similar Messages

Time Capsule wireless speeds issue

I recently upgraded my internet service to a 16 Mbps cable modem service, and am thrilled with the speeds I'm getting when my iMac or MBP is directly connected to the Time Capsule by ethernet. When connected in this fashion, I can easily download at 2.0 MB/sec or more. On wireless, however, there is a discrepancy I cannot explain. Although the iMac and MBP can transfer data over wireless between each other at speeds of several MB/sec or more, when I try to download from the internet over the Time Capsule wireless I get only 200-400 KB/sec. Obviously there's nothing inherently limiting the wireless to those speeds, so I cannot explain it. Using one of the older 1 TB Time Capsules at 2.4 GHZ, 802.11n (b/g compatible - no option to change near as I can tell), WPA personal, and I have an Airport Express N at the other end of the house to extend the range. Any thoughts?

I'm sure this doesn't help you, but I think I have the exact opposite experience from you. When I connect to my Time Capsule with either ethernet or wifi, I can download from the internet at speeds of 14000Kbps, which is about 1.4MBps, I guess. For the LAN, if I'm connected via ethernet, I can get pretty phenomenal speeds. But if even one system is connected via AirPort, the speed drops to where I'm struggling to get 1KBps. It makes streaming to my AppleTV impossible - I need to decide a day early about any movies to watch. And syncing up iTunes between my desktop and laptop takes hours if done over WiFi as opposed to taking seconds if done over ethernet. So far I've found no option to select to speed things up. I hope you find an answer - maybe my problem is related to yours.
For changing to 802.11n only, I've never found a way that would work either.

Time Capsule Wireless Speed degradation

Hi everyone,
I have a TC 500 GB, creating a Wi-fi network.
I have normally a IMac 20" connected, and sometimes other devices (PC, IPod).
The problem is that the Wireless speed of my connection get slow day by day, and after few day the speed is completely unaccetable.
To restore the original speed I found out two solution:
-HW reset (disconnect the power supply and then pressing the reset button before reconnecting to the power supply);
-change the firmware (I am continuinously changing between 7.3.1 and 7.3.2).
Does anybody face the same problem? I have already tried to change the wi-fi channel, the wirelles type (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz) but nothing changed.
Thanks for the help
Andrea

I've had the same problem and I'm on cable. But I have had this degradation of speed on the previous Apple Extreme airport as well as the Time Capsule I have.
I have cable. If I plug directly into the cable modem I will get 30-32 Mbps consistently. The claimed speed I am paying for.
But going to wireless, speed decreases over the day and I have to restart the TC. But as I said I had to do the same with the Extreme n Airport too.
Also no matter what, the Airport's have only ever delivered at best, 18Mbps. They never supply the full speed of the internet connection.
I personally believe the reason the speed decreases is heat. These beautifully designed Airports do get very hot. And I think this is why the speed decreases over the course of the day. If I leave it unplugged over night and boot it up in the morning, I get almost my full 30Mbps for a short time with the cold unit. But then through the day, as I work and actually can tell the connection is slowing, I run a speed test and I'm down to 18Mbps or even slower.
So I restart.
I think it's heat. Just my guess though.

Very Slow Time Capsule WiFi Speeds - Disappointing

Hi,
I've read a lot about this in the TC posts, but have yet to see a solution. The wireless speeds on my 1TB TC is solidly slower than my old Linksys router. Whereas my Linksys can manage speeds greater than 12,000kb/s, the TC can only manage around 6 max. Most of the time, it's much slower. I've disabled backups, and nothing is different other than removing the Linksys, and replacing it with the TC. Needless to say, this is very troubling. And yes, I've applied the recent airport update to my mac, and the system update to the TC.
Has anyone found a solution for this, and if not, has Apple confirmed this as an issue.
Help!

OK, I'm not sure about this, it's just speculation, but I have an idea. The problem with AEBS, and why it couldn't be used to backup to USB drives reliably, is that the data being sent there was not acknowledged, i.e. there was no receipt from Airport saying, "I successfully received that data." I would imagine lots of wireless routers don't bother acknowledging - if the data gets lost, another request will surely get sent again. ACKs tend to slow things down - satellite cable modems even pre-acknowledge packets due to TCP's problem with ACK latency. TCP requires decent timing and ACKs to perform well. But you can't have that on a backup solution. You need to ACK the data. So the TC (and now with the firmware upgrade, AirDisk) have to ACK the data, which slows things down, which makes your wireless seem slower. Again, this is all just speculation, but I think it's a reasonable theory.

Time Capsule wireless speed vs. ISP speed

I am looking at upgrading my ISP Service from a 10Mbps to a 50Mbps download speed. I am told that my current modem will not handle the increased speed, so I'll have to upgrade to a newer modem that includes wireless router capabilities. I am currently using a Time Capsule as my router (late 2008 model). My questions are:
1) apparently I can disable the wireless capability on the new modem, and continue to use the Time Capsule as my router - but will the Time Capsule actually deliver the increased speed to my remote computers (2 MacBooks and 1 iMac)?
2) Would this be the best route to take given that I use Time Machine and a shared printer attached to the Time Capsule?
Advice would be appreciated.

Welcome to the discussions!
+1) apparently I can disable the wireless capability on the new modem, and continue to use the Time Capsule as my router - but will the Time Capsule actually deliver the increased speed to my remote computers (2 MacBooks and 1 iMac)?+
The Time Capsule can deliver up to 300 Mbps using 5 GHz and 130 Mbps using 2.4 GHz, so it will be able to handle a 50 Mbps internet connection with ease. FWIW, the Time Capsule can handle an ethernet connection up to 1000 Mbps, otherwise known as Gigabit.
+2) Would this be the best route to take given that I use Time Machine and a shared printer attached to the Time Capsule?+
We don't know anything about the device that your ISP would be providing to you. As far as keeping things simple, continuing to use the Time Capsule would save you from having to configure a new network on the new router. Since your devices already connect to the wireless on the Time Capsule, no further modifications should be needed for them to continue to connect as before.
You'll probably need to reset Time Machine to keep backups running smoothly, but that's easily accomplished. Post back if you need details on this.

Time Capsule wireless reduces my broadband speed

Does anyone have any idea how my Time Capsule wireless is managing to strangle my download rates? I have restarted etc etc oh and turned off the wireless on the BT Router which seems to have helped...but still:
My old Powerbook (10.4.11) is connected directly to the BT Router via an ethernet cable. It is getting pretty consistent download speeds of 5,6,7 Megs....BUT here are the rubbish results via MacBook Pro and Wireless on the Time Capsule (500gig version) the first figure is download, the second is upload.
The figures are actually VERY flattering - again and again webpages simply fail to load and I have to cancel and start again. It's driving me mad...any ideas?
23/11/2008 21:05:26 656 Kbps 301 Kbps
23/11/2008 11:14:28 768 Kbps 106 Kbps
23/11/2008 11:11:53 2184 Kbps 166 Kbps
23/11/2008 11:06:59 2328 Kbps 304 Kbps
23/11/2008 10:44:44 3880 Kbps 299 Kbps
23/11/2008 10:44:29 2488 Kbps 300 Kbps
23/11/2008 10:15:50 752 Kbps 313 Kbps
22/11/2008 11:26:46 904 Kbps 345 Kbps
22/11/2008 10:24:04 656 Kbps 130 Kbps
22/11/2008 08:59:16 3056 Kbps 317 Kbps
22/11/2008 08:31:55 1592 Kbps 346 Kbps
22/11/2008 08:16:12 664 Kbps 161 Kbps
22/11/2008 00:10:13 992 Kbps 334 Kbps
22/11/2008 00:08:55 1096 Kbps 291 Kbps
22/11/2008 00:03:08 1400 Kbps 300 Kbps
22/11/2008 00:00:42 4816 Kbps 339 Kbps
21/11/2008 23:57:05 1496 Kbps 341 Kbps
I don't mind being Traffic Shaped too much I guess - but web pages stalling and stopping will lead to violence soon!

Hi Peter,
You have just described almost exactly the problems and conclusion I have. Unplugging and restarting almost every day to get even half decent connection speed - yep, I'm with you on that one. Pile of rubbish. And accessing the hard drive wirelessly through Finder - even navigating around the folders takes ages. I dearly love Apple kit, but as you say, it is embarrassing when you try using it in front of anyone else, and it performs like this.
Like you, I'm also currently wondering about returning my 6 month old Time Capsule, and am trying to find out whether I/we are just unlucky to have got duff ones, or is this standard behavior for a TC? If anyone else has any comments, I'd be interested to hear.
By the way, about having AirTunes skip and cut out, I did have the same problem initially, but I changed the way the Airport Express was configured, and that fixed it. I think I changed it from the 'Extend your wireless network' to the 'just act as a dumb music router' option, or whatever the wording is. You may find that at least you can fix that issue.
Jim.

New to Apple and Time Capsule Wireless

I am a new apple customer. I just bought my 1st iMac and I am trying to make the total break from MS.
I have mediacom as my ISP and my present wireless router is a Linksys WRT600n (purchased about 3 years ago). With this system I have had problems with coverage in my house as well as needing to reboot the device often.
The router is located in a 1st floor bedroom and I get spotty coverage in the living room and even more spotty service in the adjacent kitchen. The distances away from the router as the crow flies is 24 feet for the living room (involves 4 interior walls) plus 15 more feet (an another wall) to the kitchen. Since we use our wireless system more in our living room and our bedroom (this is only 12 feet away and 1 interior wall), I have decided to move the wireless router to the living room and place it on top of a entertainment center. My thinking is that it will provide better coverage to the areas where we use it (hoping to use Apple TV in both living room and bedroom).
This leads me to my question: what has been the experience of the time capsule community in regards to time capsule wireless coverage and reliability?
Also, please note that the iMac will be located in the same bedroom where I will be removing the current router and as such, the wireless backup capabilities of the time capsule will need to traverse the same 24 feet and 4 interior walls.
Any feedback will be most appreciated.
Harvey49

The reliability of the Apple Extreme is very good.. TC much less good. 3years is often a failure point for stuff that runs too hot. Like your WRT600N and the TC with its Green Drive and internal power supply.
On wireless range though I would say pretty ordinary. I have tested all the generations of the TC and most of the Extreme.. including Gen5. In my double storey house with an old G wireless modem router (downstairs extreme end).. right near the TC/AE whichever I am running.. from the other end of the house (upstairs) the old G wireless gives more than adequate signal to get full speed internet.. the TC does not.. And 5ghz goes pretty much to the next room and then disappears but that is as expected.
Use the tests here to find what give good range.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/bar/58-2_4-ghz-dn (you can change the chart to give speed in the worst location ie F http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/bar/58-2_4-ghz-dn?see=P_F
Airport extreme is there. Well down but there.

Can I copy my iTunes files and folders to Time Capsule wirelessly from my PC?

Can I copy my iTunes files and folders to Time Capsule wirelessly from my PC? I was wondering since my iTunes files and folders are connected to iTunes.

You can but the TC is the worst possible location. The design is slow to start and quick to stop data connections.. that will cause trouble.
Moving folders has specific instructions.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1364
Move it to an external hard disk fine.. but be very sure you will not be happy with the TC as a location.

My MBP doesn't remember my Time Capsule wireless network when waking from sleep

My MBP (OS 10.5.8) doesn't remember my Time Capsule wireless network when waking from sleep. Thus, every time my MBP wakes from sleep, I need to select the Airport icon in the upper menu bar, select "Join other network", enter SSID and password. This is very cumbersome. And, I never had this problem when I was using the ISP's provided wireless router/gateway/DSL modem. Adding the Time Capsule and using it to generate the wireless network has introduced this problem.
It appears that this problem has to do with the hidden SSID. I don't need the lecture on how hidden SSID provides no serious security benefit. That's why I have the WPA2 encryption. I'm interested in a solution that will allow the Time Capsule to generate the wireless network, maintain a hidden SSID, continue to use WPA2 encryption, but have my MBP recognzie and autoconnect to this network.
Solutions I've alread tried:
1. Open Network Preferences
2. Select Airport from left hand column (and ensure Airport is at top of that list)
3. Select Advanced
4. Delete all Preferred Networks.
5. Apply settings.
6. Restart computer
7. Return to Network Preferences and from Advanced page, manually add my network with hidden SSID and WPA2 password
This solution works fine as long as I don't take my computer elsewhere and connect to another network. As soon as my preferred networks list gets another network, my MBP stops finding my TC network. Since I take my laptop to a lot of places (it's a laptop, after all...) this is a problem.
As I say, prior to adding the TC on my network (and using it to generate the wireless network), my MBP had no problem keeping 50+ preferred network names/passwords in the Preferred Network list, but always automatically finding/connecting to my home network without the need to "Join other network." Thus, I assume the problem lies with the Time Capsule.
Any ideas?

LaPastenague, thanks for weighing in. Didn't know that the hidden SSID capability was not IEEE standardized, and thus different devices will handle hidden SSID differently. With my admittedly limited knowledge of how SSID/hidden SSID works, I'm still a little confused as to why my MBP would remember the generic router/gateway's hidden network, but struggle with the TC's hidden network.
To my knowledge, when an SSID is broadcast by a base station (Airport, wireless gateway, etc.), a connecting device (like a laptop, iPad, etc.) detects this broadcast--this would be a passive reception of this SSID signal.
When an SSID is hidden, the base station does not broadcast its identification. Rather, a connecting device must transmit the name, and when the base station recognizes the broadcast, the connection is made. That's what you do when you select "Join another network" and manually enter the SSID.
The idea with OS X's Network Preferences is that these steps, whether for hidden networks or broadcast SSIDs, become automated.
Where is the potential for a different chipset between the TC and the previously used wireless router/gateway to alter this functionality? Shouldn't the selection of an SSID by the MBP to broadcast to seek for a base station be a function solely on the MBP? And once broadcast by the MBP, the TC should detect and reply?
Basically, the MBP can connect to the hidden TC manually just fine. The MBP can connect to the old setup automatically just fine. The MBP cannot connect to the TC automatically. Aren't these automatic connection functions solely on the MBP?
I'll try un-hiding the network and re-verifying that the problem is exclusively with the hidden network.
Z

How to Sync iPhone/iPad with Time Capsule (wirelessly)

Hi - I am wondering if there is way to sync my iPhone or iDevices with Time Capsule wirelessly. Please let me know if there is and how?
Thanks in advance..

The iOS devices....iPhones, iPads, iPods, etc.....sync to iTunes on your computer or to iCloud.
See this Apple support document:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1766
It is not possible to sync iOS devices directly to the Time Capsule.

How to integrate AT&T U-Verse with existing Time Capsule wireless network

I would like to switch from Comcast HDTV+Earthlink internet service to AT&T U-Verse, but it’s not clear to me how to integrate the AT&T system with our existing Time Capsule/wireless set-up. The TV (with cabled DVR) is in our family room; the Time Capsule, printer & iMac are in the study. Do I need to move the Time Capsule - so it is directly connected to the AT&T ‘gateway’ box via ethernet cable - or - can I just attach an Airport Express module to the modem/router box and leave the Time Capsule where it is? (I plan to turn off the wireless function on the AT&T device.)

No, we have a mix of 802.11g & 802.11n devises, so it looks like I will need to use the WDS option
Yes, this is your only option here.
can I 'create' a (Apple) WDS network rather than 'participate' in a (2Wire) network?
Maybe I am mistaken, but I sense that you may be thinking that you can somehow combine the 2 Wire and Apple networks together in a WDS setup. This is not possible since they are not compatible for this purpose.
You will configure the main Apple router to "participate in a WDS network". There is no other way to set it up if you want to use WDS. It will be configured as the "main base station" in the setup.
You could leave the 2Wire network "as is" and use it for guests or some other purpose. There is some concern though about having different networks in close proximity due to likely interference effects between the devices.
(2) Can I use an Airport Express device in 'relay' mode and also use it to stream AirTunes to the stereo?
Yes
I'm also wondering if the 2Wire device & the TC should have the same password and security (WPA2), so the NetQuakes seismograph in the garage can 'see' the internet through both devices. But perhaps a question for another day...
OK to use the same WPA2 Security, but having the same password for two distinct networks may cause some confusion.

Extending Gen 1 Time Capsule Wireless network with Airport Express N

I am having difficulty setting up my new Airport Express w/ 802.11N (SKU# MB321LL/A) to extend the wireless network from my Time Capsule (SKU# MB276LL/A).
My setup is as follows:
Time Capsule is connected to Cable modem with the following wireless settings:
Wireless mode -> Create a Wireless Network
Allow this network to be extended -> Checked
Radio Mode ->802.11n (5Ghz N only)
Wireless Security -> WPA2 Personal
The issue is the when I attempt to setup the AE to extend the network. I match the settings to the Time Capsule:
Wireless Mode -> Extend a Network
Select the Time Capsule Network
Allow wireless clients -> Checked
Wireless Security -> WPA2 Personal
However after I reset the AE the LED glows Amber and the following problem is reported:
+Wireless Network+
+This AirPort wireless device is set up to join a specific wireless network that can't be found. If you don't see the network that you want to join in the Network Name Pop-up menu, enter the network name and network password if necessary to try again.+
When I check the Airport->Wireless tab the settings were as before.
Any thoughts on this? Thanks.

Welcome to the discussions!
Have you tried to position the AirPort Express close, say 10-15 feet, as a test to see if it will connect that way?
If so, then move it back another 10-15 feet, etc.
5 GHz signals do not travel well or penetrate surfaces very well, so my first thought was that the signal was not strong enough for the Express to pick it up where you had it located.
Message was edited by: Bob Timmons

IPhone 4S Can't see Time Capsule Wireless after IO6 update

My iphone can't see my Time Capsule wireless network after upgrading to IO6. My iPad3 works fine after upgrade.
I determined that if I change settings on the TC to 802.11N(b/g) compatible it can see/connect.
Seems to be a problem with the 802.11 5GHz band that the iPhone can't see after the IOS6 update.
Not sure if this is the same issue that others are seeing but could be worth a try to change your router's radio config.
Hopefully Apple sorts this out soon.
Very annoying to upgrade and have existing networking break!!!!
Bad Karma and I just ordered 2 new iPhone 5's

Still having this issue - used to be able to connect prior to this update - The iPhone has no problem auto joining the local Cable WiFi - but still doesn't show the Time Capsule WiFi SSID's in the list. iPad and three other Macs see and can join the Time Capsule WiFi.

TS1550 Do external hard drives mounted on my Mac get backed up by time machine on a time capsule wireless Apple external back up disk? How can I see what folders have been actually stored in the wireless back up disk?

Do external hard drives mounted on my Mac get backed up by time machine on a time capsule wireless apple external hard disk? How can I see what folders have been actually backed up in the external wireless disk? any help would be appreciated

They can provided you remove them from the Exclude list. Normally, Time Machine does not automatically backup external drives.

Mac connects but PC won't connect to internet via TIme Capsule wireless net

I have my personal Mac and work PC at home. I'm switching from a wireless network using my airport extreme base station to a new time capsule. Had no problems earlier, but now with my new wireless network I have the following problem:
- Both Mac and PC are able to connect to my home wireless network created through Time Capsule
- Only Mac can access the internet via the Time Capsule wireless network
- PC connects fine to the wireless network, but the settings indicate the internet cannot be accessed
I've tried fiddling with configurations etc. but cannot seem to get the PC to connect through to the internet using my Time Capsule.
The PC will connect directly to the net if I plug in the ethernet from my cable modem....What's the problem? Any ideas?

Welcome to the discussions forum AZR-DC.
The PC will connect directly to the net if I plug in the ethernet from my cable modem...
Make it a habit to power down your modem whenever you connect something different to it. Merely detaching the AEBS and attaching your Time Capsule or your computer directly will confuse most modems, so leave it powered down for a few moments. Power down your other equipment while you're at it.
Then, power up all the equipment as follows:
Modem... wait a few moments for it to complete its startup sequence.
Time Capsule. Wait a few moments again.
Computers.
Be sure your PC and your Mac are getting their addresses "via DHCP".

Slow Time Capsule Wireless Speed

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