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wifi v wired

Hi,


I have a macbook pro 2012 w / 802.11n


http://www.cnet.com/products/asus-rt-n53-dual-band-wireless-n600-router/user-rev iews/


Q: question - I get about 85 to 100 down on asus ethernet connection (time warner) and about


- 35 down in 2.4 g wifi signal

- 25 down on 5 g wifi signal (even slower...)


in the macbook w - 802.11n


Is that expected or should wifi be faster / closer to ethernet speed?

another router better or way to improve existing?

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on May 25, 2015 10:35 AM

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Posted on May 25, 2015 10:37 AM

54Mbps is the maximum speed over a G connection (frequency is not relevant) your speeds seem about right.

5 replies

May 25, 2015 4:21 PM in response to revDAVE

While the 2.4GHz 802.11g theoritical speed in 54megabits/second, the effective data transfer speed is more like half that, so mid-20's is what you should expect from 802.11g 2.4GHz.


5GHz 802.11n can do much better, but you need to have a good signal (5GHz does not travel as far as 2.4GHz, and is affected more by walls), and a WiFi router that uses a sufficiently fast CPU in it. Some router models use under powered CPUs which cannot operate at the potential maximum for 5GHz 802.11n connections.


One thing to try (ONLY AS AN EXPERIMENT) is to turn off WiFi encryption for a 5GHz 802.11n connection. Ethernet does not get encrypted, but WiFi is encrypted, so that is extra overhead the router needs to perform for WiFi. If your performance improves, then that is a very good indication your router CPU is under powered. Also make sure your 5GHz connection has a strong signal.


Finally, it is possible there is WiFi interference. While rare, there are some 5GHz cordless phones and baby monitors. It could be a neighbors, especially if you are in an apartment/condo complex. Another WiFi router newer by using the same 5GHz channel or nearby channel (as 802.11n can gange several channels together to get more bandwidth). You can check on conflicting WiFi routers using

Spotlight -> search for: Wireless Diagnostics

Enter your Admin password

Wireless Diagnostics -> Window -> Utilities -> Wi-Fi Scan -> Scan Now

Enlarge the window to see more columns

You are looking for neighbors using the same channel as your router in the 5GHz frequencies (feel free to check out the 2.4GHz conflicts as well)

The lower the negative RSSI number the stronger the signal (something in the -40's is good for you, bad if on the same channel from a neighbor; for example, I have a neighbor with -87 on a different channel and that is great as we do not use the same channels, and his signal is very weak)

The higher the negative Noise number the less interference your router is seeing (something in the -90's is goodness)

May 31, 2015 4:07 PM in response to revDAVE

BTW: I friend said he just got a new airport extreme and has fast cable down load on ethernet and got VERY close to that on his wifi testing... Could that mean that the airport extreme might be faster on 802.11n than my asus?

That would all depend on how powerful the Asus WiFi Router was.

First make sure you do not have interference issues, but doing the various tests and WiFi scanning.


If your friend is willing, ask if he will setup his Airport Extreme at your house for an experiment. Maybe buy your friend dinner or their beverage of choice for their trouble.

wifi v wired

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