cerarz

Q: 802.11 ac on 5ghz tx rate drops to 7mbps

Hi,

Im using MBP 2014  yosemite + tested on el capitan.

I got new router that supports 5ghz and 2.4ghz. What i noticed is that for some time after connecting to 5ghz network it will work fine but then after few minutes it will suddenly drop the TX rate to 7mbps and internet would be unreachable. While on 2.4ghz network it works fine. When i reconnect it starts working again but it will inevitably drop. Has someone noticed something similar? It makes 5ghz network unusable  to me.

 

I also tested this on windows 10 bootcamp - there it works without flaw.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Aug 19, 2015 3:27 AM

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Q: 802.11 ac on 5ghz tx rate drops to 7mbps

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  • by lowprodan,Helpful

    lowprodan lowprodan Oct 25, 2015 2:52 AM in response to cerarz
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 25, 2015 2:52 AM in response to cerarz

    I have PRECISELY the same issue on my MacBook Pro (Mid 2012). I have a couple other Macs in the house also on the 5ghz network and when I have the 7mbps issue, I've hopped on those and there's no problem whatsoever. I've gone through multiple support calls and even brought it to the genius bar but the issue remains.

     

    Things we've tried:

    1. Restarted router (Airport Extreme w/ 802.11ac)
    2. Resetting PRAM
    3. Resetting SMC
    4. Removing networking preference files
    5. Reinstalling OS
    6. Hardware test (no flags)
    7. Repairing permissions
    8. Removing all saved wifi networks

     

    There are probably others but the bottom line is that none of those solved the issue. The only fix is to switch over to the 2.4ghz network but that's just temporary in that I want to be on the network with less interference (5ghz). Anyone out there who can help?

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Sep 2, 2015 11:39 AM in response to cerarz
    Level 9 (72,507 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 2, 2015 11:39 AM in response to cerarz

    Try changing the channel the 5 GZ signal is using.

  • by lowprodan,

    lowprodan lowprodan Sep 2, 2015 11:42 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Sep 2, 2015 11:42 AM in response to Eric Root

    It's currently set to Automatic for both 2.5 and 5.

     

    Would this still hold up as a solution even though only the one computer is having the issue? All other computers in the house (iMac, MacBook) haven't ever had this issue and they all connect to the same base station.

  • by cerarz,

    cerarz cerarz Sep 3, 2015 8:20 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 3, 2015 8:20 AM in response to Eric Root

    Signal is flawless in my case as when using Windows 8 on that same mac it works like a charm. I provided feedback in el capitan beta and they answered to try it with the latest version. Unfortunately I downgraded before to yosemite because Office crashed when trying to save files.

  • by lowprodan,

    lowprodan lowprodan Sep 3, 2015 9:24 AM in response to cerarz
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Sep 3, 2015 9:24 AM in response to cerarz

    Mine too - 5 bars all the time. I thought it was DiscoveryD that was mucking things up but the update to the latest version Yosemite (with mDNS responder replacing it) didn't really help at all with this specific issue.

     

    Good to know that they're hopefully fixing it in El Capitan.

  • by cerarz,

    cerarz cerarz Sep 13, 2015 4:41 AM in response to cerarz
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 13, 2015 4:41 AM in response to cerarz

    Has anyone tested this in elcapitan gm? I hope they fixed it but i doubt it. Testing now on windows 10 - flawless.

  • by lowprodan,

    lowprodan lowprodan Sep 15, 2015 8:36 PM in response to cerarz
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Sep 15, 2015 8:36 PM in response to cerarz

    I've been on El Capitan for about two days now (public beta GM) and from what I can tell, it's fixed! I cleared my DNS cache just to be safe (using CleanMyMac 3), but other than that, I haven't done anything differently. So far, so good!

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Sep 16, 2015 12:49 PM in response to lowprodan
    Level 9 (72,507 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 16, 2015 12:49 PM in response to lowprodan

    You do not need to use cleaning programs. They can destroy your computer operation.

                                      

    CleanMyMac - Uninstall

     

    CleanMyMac2 Un-install

     

    CleanMyMac 3 Uninstall

     

    After un-installing, use this program to make sure you got all the pieces.

     

    EasyFind – Spotlight Replacement

  • by William Kucharski,

    William Kucharski William Kucharski Sep 16, 2015 2:13 PM in response to cerarz
    Level 6 (15,152 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 16, 2015 2:13 PM in response to cerarz

    cerarz wrote:

     

    Signal is flawless in my case as when using Windows 8 on that same mac it works like a charm. I provided feedback in el capitan beta and they answered to try it with the latest version. Unfortunately I downgraded before to yosemite because Office crashed when trying to save files.

     

    The issue is that the signal speed is a historical value reached due to past experience with retransmits, interference, etc. and may not reflect the status of the connection at any particular moment.

     

    So, for example, if there was interference degrading the connection for the past hour, but it then disappears, the other computers won't necessarily see an issue, but if your computer was trying to send or receive data it will have "downshifted" to the fastest speed at which it could reliably transmit/receive data.

     

    Changing channels is the best approach, or reboot your router.

     

    (The "automatic" setting on AirPort picks a channel based on signal conditions at the time it boots, it doesn't change it if it later finds interference.)

  • by cerarz,

    cerarz cerarz Sep 16, 2015 11:10 PM in response to William Kucharski
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 16, 2015 11:10 PM in response to William Kucharski

    Ok, just to clarify.

     

    - There are no other 5ghz networks in my vicinity (only 2.4ghz).
    - Using computer the whole day on 5ghz in win10 (updgraded) has not produced any problems. Os x on 2.4 works flawlessly even though I got 5ghz router because of much interference (around 8 2.4ghz networks).

    - Turning wifi off and on again in os x seems to fix 5ghz connection until it fails again.
    - The problem is not with a value, but with a fact that whole internet stops working / comes to a crawl.

     


    i would have no idea on which chanell to switch 5ghz as the are equally free.

  • by cerarz,

    cerarz cerarz Oct 12, 2015 4:57 AM in response to cerarz
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 12, 2015 4:57 AM in response to cerarz

    El capitan same issue on MBP on OS x. Macbook air 2013 has no  problems on the same network. Im just fed up with it. Thinking of returning the machine because of fault.

  • by Alex192577,Helpful

    Alex192577 Alex192577 Oct 25, 2015 11:14 AM in response to cerarz
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 25, 2015 11:14 AM in response to cerarz

    Same thing was with my rMBP15 late 2013 until yesterday. Problem with 802.11ac started after Yosemite 10.10.2. 10.10.3 and all followed did drop on 5 Ghz network as you described , 2,4 Ghz was OK ,217 Mbps with no drops.Thanks to Time Machine I tried all followed and then returned back to stable 10.10.2. Now I am on El Capitan 10.11.1. Yesterday I started experimenting with changing of regional codes on my Airport Extreme router, after I have changed settings to EG from RU region ,I have now 405 Mbps. It is floating from 600 Mbps to 270 Mbps. Before that on my local RU after 1 minute speed drop from 405 to 7Mbps with no access to internet. So result as on 10.10.2 I had with no drops. I will return back to my country code later when new version of OS be available to check if WiFi issue with 5 Ghz network corrected.

    PS: I have Mac mini late 2014, it work fine on all version of OS, it is strange as rMBP late 2013 and Mac mini late 2014 have the same WiFi card according to ifixit  web page

  • by cerarz,Solvedanswer

    cerarz cerarz Oct 25, 2015 11:21 AM in response to Alex192577
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 25, 2015 11:21 AM in response to Alex192577

    Thank you, this helped a lot and actually i solved my problem by doing some research about router country codes.

     

    I found this guy who had a problem after traveling https://www.blix.com/eirik/annoying-80211d-protocol  and this discussion http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/9768/change-mac-os-x-wireless-card-coun try-code

     

    I ran command:

    sudo /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Versions/Current/Resourc es/airport -s  


    and found out that two routers in my vicinity used US country codes (even though I'm in Slovenia). 2 were using Slovenian and the rest didn't broadcast.

     

    I worked on presumption that MBP picks up US country codes and has than some conflict with channels or whatnot.

     

    I switched both my networks to US country code and now it works really well.

     

    There is some other workaround on second link which could be used if this docent work.

     

     

     

    I think the problems were caused by conflicting country codes and Apple should really address that as I can't really go knocking on doors of neighbours about their router settings. I hope this helps to other people having same issues.

  • by Googole,

    Googole Googole Jan 8, 2016 11:33 PM in response to cerarz
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 8, 2016 11:33 PM in response to cerarz

    My new MacBook 12-inch, early 2015 join the 5G network with 802.11ac has the same problem. Now I am on El Capitan 10.11.2, Tx rate speed drop from 174 to 7Mbps with no access to internet.


    But i command " sudo /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Versions/Current/Resourc es/airport -s  " .


    Found all country code are the same.


    how can i do? please forgive my terrible english.

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