Internet speed test slow on MacBook Pro

Question

Level 1

10 points

Internet speed test slow on MacBook Pro

I just moved into a new house and signed up for internet service with 100 mbps download speed. Sounds great! Except my newish (refurb purchased in Aug 14) MacBook Pro is only running a speed test with results between 2.92 mbps - 7.89 mbps. We've checked it against my husband's work computer which is an HP zBook which is getting results over 60 mbps. He also plugged in his computer directly to the modem and got 125 mbps!! His computer is lightning fast. Pages are loading in the blink of an eye. My MacBook is sluggish and taking a much longer time to load.

So, it's not our internet service. The problem is definitely with my MacBook Pro. It's even slower than my iPad. I've tried googling but I can't find anything about it and not sure where to start with fixing it. I'm not sure what specs I should include but my computer was advertised as having "the latest 802.11ac Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology".

Any suggestions?

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.7)

Posted on Mar 28, 2015 2:10 PM

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Answer 1

a brody

Level 10

82,941 points

Mar 28, 2015 2:32 PM in response to HollyB47

802ac is the wireless WiFi. WiFi issues may exist if you use 802.11g or 802.11b. G is only 33 Mbps. B is only 11 Mbps and is insecure.

MacBooks with a CoreDuo and or CoreSolo only supported 802.11g. You needed a Core2Duo to support 802.11n. If you have a Core2Duo Mac, make sure the 8011n patch was applied to it. Go to Apple menu -> About This Mac -> More Info or System Information to determine what sort of WiFi is your connection.

Note internet speed tests are not very reliable. And Mac OS X 10.6.7, if that's what you have is not able to run the latest Java, so its results could be skewed by the lack of the latest Java support. It doesn't mean you can't get the speed though. See this article about internet speed:

kad: Testing your internet connection speed

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Answer 2

a brody

Level 10

82,941 points

Mar 28, 2015 2:33 PM in response to HollyB47

I might also add, to get the latest Java, you need Mac OS X 10.7.3 Upgrading though requires you follow these steps:

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6271

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Mar 28, 2015 3:17 PM in response to HollyB47

Please check the speed of your connection on this site.

Then start up in Recovery mode. In the OS X Utilities screen, select Get Help Online. A clean copy of Safari will launch. No plugins, such as Flash, will be available. Check again. Then restart as usual and post the results.

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