WLAN speed Apple TV3 slow?

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11 points

WLAN speed Apple TV3 slow?

Hello!

I have a AVM Fritzbox 7390 and different Apple products attached via WLAN. Here are the speeds (all devices are working in 2,4Ghz band!) I am getting:

device	speed
iMac (2007)	160Mbit/s
Netgear WNCE 3001 (Dual Band WLAN to LAN adapter)	210MBit/s
Netgear WNDA 3100 (Dual Band WLAN USB adapter)	210MBit/s
Apple TV1	160Mbit/s
iPod Touch 3G/4G	65Mbit/s
iPhone 4S	65Mbit/s
Apple TV2/3	65Mbit/s

After asking some friends with other Apple devices and with different WLAN routers, they all told me the same speeds.

So here is my question:

Why has the old Apple TV1 a so fast WLAN connection and all the new Apple devices: iPod Touch, iPhone 4S and Apple TV 2/3 have so slow connections?

It is regardless if the devices are near the WLAN router or far away, the speed is always so slow. And the Apple TV1 is two floors away from the router and inside a wooden cupboard!

Can someone give me some help here?

Thanks in advance!

Carsten

Apple TV (3rd generation), iOS 6.1.1

Posted on Feb 15, 2013 1:10 AM

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Answer 1

Feb 15, 2013 4:11 AM in response to carstenf

They use different wireless aerials.

I'm not really sure what you are worried about, you can do almost anything with 65 Mb per second.

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Answer 2

carstenf Author

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Feb 15, 2013 4:24 AM in response to Winston Churchill

I tried to use AirPlay mirroring from my iPhone 4S to my Apple TV 3 and it is not really working.

It is not working fluently if I eg. play Need for Speed Most wanted. You see only a few frames then it stops and then you see a few frames. This happens also when I use the Apple TV to show my camera roll of the iPhone 4S. It takes really long to display an image.

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Answer 3

Feb 15, 2013 4:25 AM in response to carstenf

Then perhaps your devices are too far apart, your network is suffering from interference or you have some other network problem.

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Answer 4

carstenf Author

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Feb 15, 2013 5:12 AM in response to Winston Churchill

My Apple TV1/3 are in the ground floor, the iPhone 4S too. The WLAN router is placed in the second floor.

The iMac with iTunes is attached directly via gigabit Ethernet to the router.

Streaming content, even HD, from the iMac to the Apple TV3 is working fluently without any drops.

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Answer 5

Feb 15, 2013 5:40 AM in response to carstenf

I'm not sure what it is you are saying.

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Answer 6

carstenf Author

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Feb 15, 2013 5:56 AM in response to Winston Churchill

I am saying that normal traffic like streaming content from my iTunes server (iMac) to my Apple TV 3 is working fine. Only AirPlay mirroring is not working fluently.

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Answer 7

Feb 15, 2013 6:13 AM in response to carstenf

I'm not sure what difference that makes, if AirPlay isn't working you have a network issue.

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Answer 8

Feb 15, 2013 7:14 AM in response to carstenf

i had the same problem with slow (laggy) air play, that was only when like 5,6,7 devices where using WiFi (in my house most Mac's and stuff use WiFi, but when only 1,2 device is on wifi AirPlay works perfect

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Answer 9

carstenf Author

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Feb 16, 2013 7:08 AM in response to Winston Churchill

Ok, maybe.

But who can really tell me how fast the new Apple devices will connect via WLAN?

Why is the old Apple TV1 faster than the new Apple TV3?

That is my question!

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Answer 10

Feb 16, 2013 7:26 AM in response to carstenf

Only AirPlay mirroring is not working fluently.

AirPlay mirroring places more demand on your network than other types of network activity.

Why is the old Apple TV1 faster than the new Apple TV3?

It isn't. I assume you are referring to your earlier table. Whilst the Apple TV 1 may be connected on a 160 Mbps connection, it will only receive data at around 14 Mbps, I've never actually measured the Apple TV 3, but it's likely to be quite a bit faster since it has flash memory. HD movies from the iTunes Store are about 6 Mbps maximum and iMovie (for example) will create video at around 10 Mbps, providing your network can deliver a minimum of these datarates you shouldn't have any problems.

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Answer 11

carstenf Author

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Feb 16, 2013 12:12 PM in response to Juliétte

>but when only 1,2 device is on wifi AirPlay works perfect

I tested this today, but there was no change. I had only the WLAn router, the Apple TV3 and the iPhone 4S active in my WLAN but Airplay mirroring is not really possible. :-(

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Answer 12

Feb 16, 2013 12:39 PM in response to carstenf

carstenf wrote:

>but when only 1,2 device is on wifi AirPlay works perfect

I tested this today, but there was no change. I had only the WLAn router, the Apple TV3 and the iPhone 4S active in my WLAN but Airplay mirroring is not really possible. :-(

Yes, that's your network, it's not related to the maximum datarate possible for each device.

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Answer 13

carstenf Author

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Feb 17, 2013 2:13 AM in response to Winston Churchill

Ok, if it's the "network", what can I do to solve this problem? Why are there problems?

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Answer 14

Feb 17, 2013 6:19 AM in response to carstenf

The following article(s) may help you.

Troubleshooting WiFi Networks

However, I find most issues are related to distance or interference.

Intermittent problems are often a result of interference. Interference can be caused by other networks in the neighbourhood or from household electrical items.

You can download and install iStumbler (NetStumbler for windows users) to help you see which channels are used by neighbouring networks so that you can avoid them, but iStumbler will not see household items.

Refer to your router manual for instructions on changing your wifi channel or adjusting your multicast rate.

There are other types of problems that can affect networks, but this is by far the most common, hence worth mentioning first. Networks that have inherent issues can be seen to work differently with different versions of the same software. You might also try moving the Apple TV away from other electrical equipment.

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