usb 3.o causing wifi interference

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usb 3.o causing wifi interference

my La Cie Porsche USB 3.0 external HD is causing high levels of noise on my late 2012 Mac Mini wifi. Checked levels using WiFi Explorer app and noise levels run about 11%-15% with the HD turned off, and around 41%-55% with the HD turned on (Mounting or not does not seem to matter). I have a 2 TB HD and a 3TB HD and both cause the same problem.

Just checked to see if the noise is still there if I unplug the USB cord from the Mac Mini and then turn on the external HD... Funny thing, the noise does NOT appear! So it seems like the noise is as result of the connection between the external HD and the Mac Mini USB 3 port.

Anybody else have that issue?

Mac mini (Late 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Jan 6, 2013 1:31 PM

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Answer 1

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Forestron Author

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Jan 6, 2013 1:43 PM in response to Forestron

Just did a little more testing... Plugged in the HD's into the USB 2.0 port on my Thunderbolt Display... No noise.

So it appears that the problem is with the Mac Mini USB 3 Ports.

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Answer 2

Forestron Author

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Jan 6, 2013 2:03 PM in response to Forestron

One last test... Plugged my Apple Superdrive in the Mac Mini USB 3 ports. Also pluged in a Wacom intuos 4 tablet in the USB 3 port of Mac Mini. Noise was lower than the HD plugged in... bouncing between 11% and 25%. That is with the HD's plugged into the Thunderbolt Display ports...

I put in a disc of pictures and video and played a video clip from a camera. the noise jumped up...

Just unplugged all usb devices from ports... noise still bouncing around... 7% to 31%.

There seems to be some correlation between USB ports and external devices plugged in, but there does not seem to be a consistent cause that I can put my finger on...

Oh, the modem I use for internet is the Motorola SURFboard SBG900 DOCSIS 2.0 Wireless Cable Modem. I use Shentel as my Cable ISP. The Modem/wireless router in in the basement and my computer is on the second floor of house. But my signal still comes in around the low 70% numbers...

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Answer 3

Jan 6, 2013 3:26 PM in response to Forestron

You may find this article interesting, too.

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Answer 4

keithred

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15 points

Jul 1, 2015 6:41 AM in response to VikingOSX

Your experience is interesting and mirrors mine with a 20141 Mac mini and a Freecom external USB 3 HD. After nine months of trial and error, two separate weeks away with a technician and countless conversations with helpful AppleCare supervisors, the problem is down to the HD. Without the HD the mini runs download speeds of 38+ through my fibre system, but as soon as the HD is plugged in, the speeds come racing down till I can't open an internet page and the downlooad speed is <10.

It was your article which gave me the initial clue to this and I am grateful to you for that. The questions now are: would the same problem exist with other USB 3 devices? how do I connect my HD up to a Thunderbolt port? I am unable to find a suitable cable for this purpose.

I am reduced to plugging in the HD each evening just to back up. That works, but it's tiresome.

Any ideas out there?

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Answer 5

LinhNhat

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4 points

Aug 18, 2016 1:29 AM in response to keithred

I can confirm that other USB 3.0 devices are causing interference, at least with my Macbook Pro. I recently started using USB 3.0 devices including HDD docking station, ethernet device and USB hub (all 3.0 USB) and they all cause interference, raising noise level to 30%-40% making my WIFI miserable. Especially if I use the right side USB on my Mac (I only have two, one on each side). I am researching on how to shield the cables since I am moving all my devices away from the laptop so the only this left is the cable.

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Answer 6

ludx

Level 1

9 points

Nov 27, 2016 2:06 PM in response to Forestron

Hi,

can confirm on Late 2014. I'm an EE and there is plenty reports about USB3.0 interfering with BT or WIFI. This is really ugly.

My tests included swapping the USB3.0 leads, swapping drives, hubs until I came to the conclusion the USB spec needs dramatic change.

Kind regards

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