New Mac Mini Wireless Internet - Slow, Disconnects frequently

Hi all:

I just got an email from Apple indicating that the tcp/udp degradation should be fixed in Mac OS X 10.6.8,

which is ready for update.

=======================

This is a courtesy email regarding Bug ID# 9276585.

Engineering has provided the following information:

This should be fixed in Mac OS X 10.6.8, which was just released. Please run software update to install this new release.

When you have tested, please update your bug report with the results.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this issue, please update your report directly (http://bugreport.apple.com).

Best Regards,

Developer Bug Reporting Team

Apple Worldwide Developer Relations

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Thanks for the info. But, I just have updated mine with new OS X 10.6.8, and it got worse if not better. At least for the moment. My MacBook and PC, which are sitting right next to the Mac Mini, are connected to the Internet via public WiFi (which happens to be accessible from my room in Tokyo) fine with no problem.

However, my Mac Mini, which at least had been connected ok -- though with very slow speed -- does not connect any more, for the last hour or so...

jmura wrote:

just have updated mine with new OS X 10.6.8, and it got worse if not better. At least for the moment. My MacBook and PC, which are sitting right next to the Mac Mini, are connected to the Internet via public WiFi (which happens to be accessible from my room in Tokyo) fine with no problem.

Welcome to the Club.

At least, it's not the Internet what is slow, it's the connection of the Mini in the wireless part of the network.

To find out what slows down your connection with the Mini while all the other machines in your wireless works fine try some tests.

Check the wireless network conditions on your Mini by clicking on the WiFi symbol with option key (alt) pressed.

That give you some more Info about the network your Mini have joined.

PHY-Mode - Tells the network protocol

RSSI - tells you some about the noise ratio for the joined network, where e.g. -40 is better than -60

Channel - gives info about the used channel and the frequency e.g. 2.4GHz or 5GHz

Transmission Rate - tells you the available bandwidth aka connection speed.

Compare this to the well working units, eventually fiddle a bit around with the location of the Mini to improve radio reception.

After major upgrades (here to 10.6.8) it's highly recommended to perform a permission repair on the system disk.

To do so,

• first close ALL running applications,
• switch OFF WiFi on the Mini
• open Disk Utility, choose your system drive and force a permission repair.

Don't bother about upcoming warnings like "Could not repair permission on file xy". This occurs as opened files could not get touched by the tool. Thats why you should switch off WiFi as running processes are also open files in the system.

After the run is finnished, reboot the Mini and rejoin the network.

If your Mini have Bluetooth activated and the joined wireless is on 2.4GHz this may create radio interferences whitch affects the connection quality. Check if the connection speeds up when Bluetooth is disabled.

If you have this on your own wireless at home and Bluetooth is essential e.g for a keyboard, try to use a differnt channel or switch to a 5GHz network.

Good luck - Lupunus

jmura wrote:

public WiFi (which happens to be accessible from my room in Tokyo)

I've forgot to mention this.

WiFi channels allow only a limited population of simultaneous active participants due to technical limitations. For that, a participant wanting to use the channel, e.g. to send data, eventually have to wait until another one frees the channel. This may, for a participant, dramatically decrease the speed especially in public wireless networks with a lot of booked in systems.

Thank you, lupunus, for the quick response. The first one, 'permission repair on the system disk,' I will do it later (thank you); while, the second suggestion does make sense!

I was connected to the same network with my PC AND McBook (which has exactly the same Airport settings as the Mac Mini) when I could not connect via Mac Mini. But, after I turned off the PC, I have no problem connecting the Mac Mini to Wifi so far.

I mean I have not connected my turning off PC and the Mac Mini's successful connection, in my mind. (I mean I thought about it once or twice days before, actually, but my brain tend to forget my own thoughts...)

Thank you very much for the interesting inputs.

(I do recall, though, my Mac Mini tends to lose the connection much more often than my MacBook, which is actually farther away from the Wifi device outside my house. Maybe your first suggestions clear this one up (or not?)... I will check it later.)

jmura wrote:

but my brain tend to forget my own thoughts...)

That's the way brains tend to work. Mine does the same to me. :-))

jmura wrote:

(I do recall, though, my Mac Mini tends to lose the connection much more often than my MacBook, which is actually farther away from the Wifi device outside my house.

That leads either to a placement, antenna (read below) or radio interference issue. Yor MacBook have its antennas* placed around the display what gives them a nice antenna frame reaching vertical in the radio beam. The Mini have its antennas in a horizontal frame.

Distance is not the major matter, as well as it counts too.

Obstacles like walls, furniture and so on are the major problem. Especially the often used dry walling plaster structures are big obstacles for the radio beam, because of the metal framing inside (Faraday's cage) and the moisture in the plaster. Water is a big bar for radio beam's.

Another thing is the orientation of the antenna or the antennas, as mentioned before.

For example, the radio field of a 5GHz wireless (if could seen) looks like a flattened sphere (like a Mentos or M&M) with the senders antenna in the center.

The reciver works better the more it's antenna reach into that field.

Lupunus

* Antenna.

Airport Extreme capable Mac's have more then one antenna (not less than two) to be able to use multiple radio streams (MIMO) from the transmitter. Each stream have a maximum bandwidth of 150 Mbit/s.

For that, if your machine, e.g. like newer Mac's, have 3 antennas, it can receive 3 parallel streams where each stream provides 150 MBit/s bandwidth.

That will show up on the Mac then as 450 MBit/s speed (bandwidth).

Hi Lupunus,

Thank you very much again for the kind follow up. That Mentos shape, etc., is very interesting. I think you guessed my situation right. Though there are no walls between the Mini and MacBook, my tiny room is packed with obstacles (even with the Tokyo standard -- a long story), and the Mini is rather half-hidden, while the MacBook is out on the desk. (Why didn't I think of that before?)

Actually, I just thought the WiFi is something just floating around, going though things if it is not a very thick wall. I have my CS degree in US, but, we did not have WiFi going around back then. Is my excuse...

The rate seems like around 150 Mbit/s now, though goes up and down much. So far, the connections are fine.

Thank you again.

jmura wrote:

The rate seems like around 150 Mbit/s now, though goes up and down much. So far, the connections are fine.

jmura,

for a 2.4GHz 802.11n wireless 150 MBit/s is the maximum rate. For that your readings are very well.

The fading, I think, it's not in your hands. There could be a dozen reasons for that. Microwave ovens, cars, people crossing the beam, other wireless stations on the same channel and so on.

For that, I'm afraid, the things you could do are limited. If you are petty good in electronics and the handling of a soldering iron, (and not afraid in loosing the warranty of the Mini) you may eventually attach a external WiFi antenna to it. You may buy one or use the "do it yourself" attempt. For the 2.4GHz are a lot of possibility's to improve the signal by antenna works.

The easiest way (without killing the warranty of the Mini) to increase the signal in the direction of the transmitter may be a parabolic reflector in the right direction, e.g. made from a beer can or something else. http://binarywolf.com/249/beer-can-wifi-signal-booster.htm

Lupunus

Ha Ha こんにちはLupunus-san,

Thanks again. That beer can trick seems fun! Actually, I shifted up the Mini a little, putting something underneath, and it is working very steady now; but, I bookmarked that beer-can page for the future. I plan to move in a few months, and it is very possible that I might need the trick. (Besides, if it works, I can brag about it to my friends.)

Thank you so much,

jmura

Bought a new Mac Mini and found it would connect to wireless with low throughput 0.5Mbbs and would disconnect randomly. Read reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10331876-263.html?tag=mfiredir "Tutorial: Fixing Wireless connectivity ..." A firmware update on my Billion BiPAC 7300N modem router from 1.06g to 1.08g fixed the problem and improved throughput to about 5Mbbs.