2019 Macbook Pro Wifi dropping to very slow PHY data-rate

I am experiencing a drastic WLAN performance drop on my MacBook Pro (16", 2019) and Catalina (10.15.3), connected to an AVM Fritz!Box 6591 (cable access router w/ WIFI-5, 4 spatial streams).


After working several hours on top 1300 MBit/s, MCS-Index 9:


the PHY data rate drops to 13 Mbit/s:

resulting in these details (remark: the WLAN situation & quality parameters didn't changed):


Any ideas or are there any complaints known?


Thanks & best regards

Christian.

MacBook Pro 16", macOS 10.15

Posted on Mar 3, 2020 6:10 AM

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10 replies

Mar 3, 2020 8:29 AM in response to Blui48

VF corporate and two different VF Guest networks are competing directly on channel 36. Your 80 MHz channel there is vulnerable to all that interference up to channel 64.


There are several others including Aco...something there as well (in the range between 36 and 64) that will cause data errors if their packets collide with your packets, so your speeds will slowly decline over time because of competing Networks.


I do not understand what is showing at channel 135, perhaps that is a channel for Mesh networking with multiple Routers?

Mar 3, 2020 7:34 AM in response to Blui48

How many other Routers do you see in the Option-Wi-Fi display?


You could have a situation like this one:

(drag and drop on Preview to see larger or scroll)

this graph from Wi-Fi Explorer, a lost cost Utility with a free trial available on the Mac App Store.


you can also use the built-in Scan display. It will show another Router using exactly the same channel, but it does not show signal spread:


This is available from the Option-Wi-Fi menu



Mar 3, 2020 8:17 AM in response to Blui48

The Tx-rate shown in that "snapshot" has always been the ACTUAL Tx-rate you are currently using.


When you have conflicts with other Routers on nearby channels, it induces errors and cause re-transmissions, and the Tx-rate is automatically reduced until it becomes stable again.


Switching your computer Wi-Fi Off only fools you -- your Mac will start at a higher rate, but quickly revert to the fastest reliable rate, which will be much slower in many-Router areas.


Switching the Router off and on (if and only if channel selection is set to "automatic") will select the least-busy channel. You appear to have good signal (RSSI = 48) so using higher-numbered channel should not be a problem unless you move farther away from your Router. [Distance drops off with higher channel numbers, so everyone wants the lowest numbers.]





Mar 4, 2020 8:21 AM in response to Blui48

In a crowded Wi-Fi environment, you CAN set up a mesh network this way. However, this leaves you open to interference and slowdowns on the linking channel, which looked overwhelmed on your charts:


-------------

The VASTLY preferable way to set this up is to run an Ethernet cable to as many of the Routers as possible, eliminating the crowded mesh Wi-Fi channel as much as possible.



Every well-behaved Router since 802.11g has been able to be connected in this way. Just give them all the same network-name and password, and they automatically merge into one big Roaming Network. This provides higher performance and stability than Mesh Networks.


If you have to install new cables to do this, Category 5e cables up to 100 meters with all eight conductors present and not used for anything else (like Power-over-Ethernet) will allow speeds up to 1 Gigabit. This is adequate for today's standards, but you should consider category 6 or 6a for runs up to about 55 meters. This may allow for up to 2 Gb, 5Gb or 10Gb Ethernet speeds in future.


In the US, cables that run through suspended ceilings that serve as return-air spaces must be flame-resistant "plenum-rated" cables with teflon jacket, or can be any type if run inside a conduit.

Mar 3, 2020 7:59 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

We definitely have more WLAN-routers here, around 65 :-(


Switching WLAN off and on helps to get 1300 MBit/s again, also (of course) switching the WLAN-router off and on again helps.


I can share the graph after network scan.


I thought that the TX-Rate shown in WLAN menu is the current physical WLAN limit showing the maximum speed I will get with no traffic from other WLANs active. Does the TX-Rate show the current rate that is available, respecting all transmit conflicts? In my opinion this can't be possible since we have here a heavy WLAN density and I never saw this behavior before? Maybe this changed in Catalina?!


Thanks & best regards

cb


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2019 Macbook Pro Wifi dropping to very slow PHY data-rate

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