Slow internet connection on my macbook pro

I have a very similar problem. I just got my Macbook Pro 13in about a week ago. While I could connect to the internet, I noticed that websites often took a very long time to load. I did a speed test (speedtest.net) and found something very peculiar. My upload speed was 8X faster than my download speed... this can obviously not be correct. I tried restarting, removing/re-adding the network adapter in network properties, changing locations etc, but nothing worked.

The router I was connected to was a Netgear (i forget the specific model) with WPA2 security enabled. I also had an older Airport express which I also tried, this interestingly helped a little, but upload speeds were still 3X higher than download, and nowhere near my older thinkpads speed. I then tried connecting with WEP security instead of WPA which seemed to have solved some of the problems, at least in terms of up and down speeds. Nonetheless I can still notice slowness occasionally. I don't really want to keep WEP because it's so easy to crack. This is obviously a software issue and not hardware related.

You need to add the Open DNS addresses to your DNS list in the AirPort advanced options. This makes a great improvement. I was having the same problem and this fixed it. I don't know them off the top of my head and I'm not on my mac, but if you google it, you should find the answer.

I found this post and added the DNS addresses. ( http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=6467885&postcount=19)

However the performance didn't change much. It may be marginally better, but still 10X+ slower than what it should be. Upload speed is still fine.


http://www.speedtest.net/result/547726875.png

Right, I understand. I am hoping that if everyone calls, then Apple support will know there is a problem(s)--assuming they really don't know.

I am having all the same problem's and issues that you describe - and I have come to the end of the line in termes of solutions - no ideas listed on this string has help what so ewer - I can nod to the words - Linksys, Netgear..I have tried to run Mozilla or Safari...I run a small business - I work from my expensive and now "worthless" Mac. I have no technical support solution - I host my homepage through Iweb...I am more or less totally f.... and money, time, good will is draining from me all the time.
I hope by adding something to this line of ill-stories that somebody from Mac will step up and claim responsibility - And construct a solution to this completely devastating problem....Anybody with positive experience ...please contact me with a solution...

Sins my participation in this thread (see previous writing) I have found something to cure my problem and maybe yours....I owe it to anybody who have these problems with their Mac Pro Book as listed in this thread.

I found this on another forum...And urge you to try it out..

1. Download OnyX (a free maintenance utility).
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/11582

2. Open OnyX and Click Cancel on these two Alert Panels:
-Cancel the S.M.A.R.T. Box
-Cancel the Startup Volume Box

3. Enter your Password

4. Click on the Cleaning Tab

5. In each tab, execute the command. Check all the boxes in each tab. When its finished in that tab, it will ask you to reboot. Say NO. Go on to the next tab and repeat until all tabs are done. THEN REBOOT.


Thank you to John Doe 57
macrumors 6502a

from http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=227348

Good luck and fingers x that - this will last..

My Mac Pro Book - My extreemly expensive Mac - worked well for 24 houers and is now back to the previous non-working-slow-state...See the 2 previous mesages...I literally do not know what to do...Please come forward with idea's...If you have solved your problem - or better if you work with apple

I have this same issue. We have a 15" MBP (1 gen removed from current) and 13" MBP (current gen). All wireless network settings are identical. Sitting in the same location of the house. Separate speed tests at speakeasy.net. The 15" is getting speeds consistent with what is being provided, the 13" is at about 1/2 the speed. Is there a physical difference in receivers?

I found the solution! Go into the device manager in Vista and roll back the driver. Works like a charm!

To be specific, when you roll back the driver, it should be version: 4.170.25.19. Good luck!!!

I wonder if the base housing construction of the MacBook Pros being aluminum may have something to do with the wireless connection capability and/or reliability. I wonder if the new base MacBook is fairing better with the wireless connection vs. the Pro version. Any thoughs???

The WiFi antenna is behind the Apple logo on the back of the screen. It's the only place that is plastic.

I've had many dropped connections since I bought my 13" MacBook Pro 2 weeks ago and the 15" Powerbook it replaced never had any problems on the exact same network.
Downloading updates and such can take days as the download stalls partway through and I can't restart it where it left off, I have to start over again. It really irritates me because I have to just sit there and watch the download and as it starts slowing down I have to pause the connection and restart it because if it stops itself it won't continue. If I'm using software update this is a big problem. So NO, this has nothing to do with Safari.

Have you seen all the other discussions reporting this problem. You can leave feedback for Apple here...

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

Here is what I have just written to them...

Hi, I love my 13" MBP, I have had it for around 6 months now. However recently I have found that it randomly disconnects throughout the day. Extremely frustrating. My old Macbook nearly 2 years old I gave to my wife does not suffer from this at all. We both connect to the same router on the same network. I am not the only person finding this. At the time of writing this mail to you there are over 8000 views on one single support forum thread entitled "Wireless disconnects randomly throughout the day on 13" MBP". There are also many other forum threads describing the same fault. Infact 8 out of the first 15 discussions on your 1st page list of threads reference this problem- thats over half! All people reporting a problem with MacBook Pro's and wifi connection dropouts, running both 10.5 and 10.6. Please can you sort this out.

Here is a list of forums where people are begging for a solution. There are more discussions than this, this is just a selection. Please don't ignore us.

8411 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2116174&tstart=15

7912 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2108841&tstart=30

6029 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2077738&tstart=0

3180 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2159149&tstart=45

2222 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2143268&tstart=30

1271 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2196802&tstart=0

1092 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2172455&tstart=60

865 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2103370&tstart=60

561 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2168865&tstart=15

532 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2199231&tstart=0

425 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2217751&tstart=45

334 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2220528&tstart=15

216 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2230572&tstart=0

264 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2227801&tstart=0

121 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2232460&tstart=0

75 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2235250&tstart=0

72 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2228356&tstart=15

88 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2233304&tstart=0

80 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2230603&tstart=15

152 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2230645&tstart=15

165 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2229632&tstart=15

96 views http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2231890&tstart=15

Kind regards,
Mike.

This is really frustrating. My MBP was working great until a week ago. Now the wireless download speed is absolutely crawling. The upload speed is fantastic and as advertised by my cable company. In fact my Iphone 3GS has about 5X the download speed of my MBP running 10.6.2. I've done nothing to my MBP or my network that could have caused this type of problem with wireless download speed. I'm at a loss and really close to just giving up on this high dollar brick....

Instead of "giving up on this high dollar brick," why not make a free appointment at an Apple Genius Bar and see about getting some expert help with it? If it has a hardware problem, that's what you have a warranty for. If it has a software problem or a user error problem, the Genius should be able to sort it out. This kind of service is part of what you've paid for, so use it.