Which is used first, the NIC or Wireless NIC?

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Which is used first, the NIC or Wireless NIC?

I have a new Macbook Pro that I am currently using with the wireless N going to my TimeCapsule.

I heard that it would be faster to used a wired NIC.

My question is, which will the Macbook use first if both are active? the Wired NIC, or the wireless?

I would like to have both active because I often move the Macbook from my desk and use it on the couch, so I would like to seemlessly swith to wireless.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, Mac OS X (10.7.4), 8GB Ram, 756GB Flash

Posted on Aug 31, 2012 7:59 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 31, 2012 8:00 PM in response to Mike Delaney

If you go to the Network System Preference you can set the Service Order such that the wired adapter is used before wifi.

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Answer 2

Mike Delaney Author

Level 1

54 points

Aug 31, 2012 8:05 PM in response to infinite vortex

Thanks! That is what I was looking for!

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Answer 3

Aug 31, 2012 8:18 PM in response to Mike Delaney

Great! By the way, as I see you're using an rMBP like I am you might find that wifi will sometimes be used as the primary adapter regardless of your set service order. I have the feeling it's because wifi is a built in adapter (and hence will always be en0) and ethernet isn't.

If you use local network file shares like I do, sometimes you may notice network throughput slower than it should be. Simply turning wifi off, and back on, should fix it. A mounted file share will continue to use the adapter it was mounted under unless it becomes unavailable at which point it will automatically switch to the first it can reconnect with based on the service order. Doing this doesn't unmount your files shares but may interrupt a copy (or similar) process.

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