Difference between Transmit (Tx) rate and Link Speed

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rainman1962 Author

Level 1

11 points

Difference between Transmit (Tx) rate and Link Speed

I recently got a new router. I wanted to see what the speed is between my Macbook Pro and the router. I went to Option + Wireless (icon) on the top menu bar and it shows a Tx rate~1,053 Mbs. However, when I use the Network Utility App it shows a Link Speed of 304 Mbps. Obviously these are different metrics. What do they mean?

Also, they are both reporting on the same wireless band and the report more or less the same values every time I poll them.

Thanks for your insight!

Jeff

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Posted on Jan 13, 2020 11:49 PM

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Answer 1

dwb

Level 7

33,172 points

Jan 14, 2020 6:35 AM in response to rainman1962

The tx rate is the maximum possible transfer speed you can expect from the router at that time. It is the transfer speed that the router can send. Link speed is what your computer is actually able to receive. Probably the 2 biggest impacts on actual reception are distance from the router and possible interference in the household.

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Difference between Transmit (Tx) rate and Link Speed

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