Very slow Wifi

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Level 1

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Very slow Wifi

Hi guys,

I've searched the internet for weeks but I couldn't even find an answer on this forum so hereby my question:

The wifi on my Macbookpro Retina (2,6 GHz i5 - 8GB ) is awfully slow. The strange thing is that the wifi on the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C are experiencing perfect connection speeds: almost 80 Mbit to 100 Mbit. the same for a Macbook 2012 (2,5 GHz i5 - 8 GB). All network settings on both Macs are the same as well as the OS which is Yosemite.

The network settings in the modem are setup for 802.11 N-mode only.

The network settings on the macs are the same as well and all apple devices have a fixed IP adress.

The problem is that the MBPr gets a speed approximately about 25 till 30 Mbit. Our provider provides a connection of 120 Mbit which the other devices almost get (Okay it's wifi so it's not a problem that the other devices don't get the speed max).

So, please can someone help me out with this annoying problem. Is there a bug at the moment or maybe are there hidden tricks on the MBPr?

Thanks in advance guys!

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3), null

Posted on Jun 20, 2015 5:50 AM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Jun 20, 2015 6:23 AM in response to LeroyML

Please answer as many of the following questions as you can. You may already have answered some of them; in that case, there's no need to repeat the answers.

Restart the router and the broadband device, if they're separate. Any change?
Are you connected to Ethernet as well as Wi-Fi? If so, disconnect the Ethernet cable or adapter and test.
If possible, connect to the router with an Ethernet cable and turn off Wi-Fi. Any difference?
If you can connect to more than one network, are they all the same?
Are all network applications affected, or only some? If only some, which ones?
Is networking always the same, or is the problem intermittent?
Disconnect all other devices from the network. Any change?
If you're running a MacBook with the lid closed, open the lid. Any difference?
Start up in safe mode and test. Any difference?
Start up in Recovery mode. From the OS X Utilities screen, select Get Help Online. A clean copy of Safari will launch. No plugins, such as Flash, will be available. Any difference?
If possible, turn off Bluetooth and disconnect any USB 3 devices. Any difference?

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Answer 2

LeroyML Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 20, 2015 7:09 AM in response to Linc Davis

Linc Davis wrote:

Please answer as many of the following questions as you can. You may already have answered some of them; in that case, there's no need to repeat the answers.

Restart the router and the broadband device, if they're separate. Any change?

Are you connected to Ethernet as well as Wi-Fi? If so, disconnect the Ethernet cable or adapter and test.

If possible, connect to the router with an Ethernet cable and turn off Wi-Fi. Any difference?

If you can connect to more than one network, are they all the same?

Are all network applications affected, or only some? If only some, which ones?

Is networking always the same, or is the problem intermittent?

Disconnect all other devices from the network. Any change?

If you're running a MacBook with the lid closed, open the lid. Any difference?

Start up in safe mode and test. Any difference?

Start up in Recovery mode. From the OS X Utilities screen, select Get Help Online. A clean copy of Safari will launch. No plugins, such as Flash, will be available. Any difference?

If possible, turn off Bluetooth and disconnect any USB 3 devices. Any difference?

Hi Linc Davis, thanks for your quick reply. The results are as follows:

Restart the router and the broadband device, if they're separate. Any change? Done that already. The MBPr will get a significant speed increase (60-70Mbit), unfortunately after a few minutes there's a drop down to 25 Mbit.
Are you connected to Ethernet as well as Wi-Fi? If so, disconnect the Ethernet cable or adapter and test. No, not connected to Ethernet.
If possible, connect to the router with an Ethernet cable and turn off Wi-Fi. Any difference? On Ethernet I'll get my 120 Mbit on the Macbook 2012, but the MBPr doesn't have an Ethernet port. I don't have a Thunderbolt cable at the moment.
If you can connect to more than one network, are they all the same? No, for example if I connect to a network at my parents house, the speed is much faster.
Are all network applications affected, or only some? If only some, which ones? Just the MBPr
Is networking always the same, or is the problem intermittent? Most of the time it;s the same, it doens't make any sense if there's one device on wifi or all four of them.
Disconnect all other devices from the network. Any change? No, as mentioned above.
If you're running a MacBook with the lid closed, open the lid. Any difference? No.
If possible, turn off Bluetooth and disconnect any USB 3 devices. Any difference? Bluetooth and USB are both not in use.
I didn't try the options below, but I don't think this will make any difference, because the MBPr can get a speed of 120 Mbit, because I tested it somewhere else.
Start up in safe mode and test. Any difference?
Start up in Recovery mode. From the OS X Utilities screen, select Get Help Online. A clean copy of Safari will launch. No plugins, such as Flash, will be available. Any difference?

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Jun 20, 2015 8:02 AM in response to LeroyML

Hold down the option key and select the Wi-Fi menu in the menu bar. What values are shown for the following?

PHY Mode

Channel

Security

Signal/Noise or RSSI

Transmit (or Tx) Rate

Please do not post the BSSID, as that information is private.

Now hold down the option key again and select

 ▹ System Information... ▹ Network ▹ Wi-Fi

Compare the two-letter Country Code with the ISO code for your country. Does it match? The code X0 means that the country couldn't be determined. The code X3 means South America, not otherwise specified.

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Answer 4

LeroyML Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 22, 2015 2:57 AM in response to Linc Davis

These are the values on my MBPr:

PHY mode = 802.11n

Channel = 8 (2,4GHz, 20 MHz) Also, I had fixed the channel several months ago. This is the best channel in my environment.

Security = WPA2 Personal
Signal/Noise -93 dBm
RSSI = -60dBm

Transmit = 145 Mbps

Country code = CA, but I'm from the Netherands so that should be NL I guess?

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Answer 5

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Jun 23, 2015 6:35 AM in response to LeroyML

Each country regulates wireless networking differently. Wi-Fi devices are restricted to certain frequencies and power levels. The client devices try to find out where they are and configure themselves accordingly. Since a wireless access point (WAP) usually does not move across national boundaries, the Wi-Fi regulatory domain (country code) is set by querying the first one to respond when the client initializes itself. You don't have any direct control over it on the client. If your device is picking up the wrong country code, and is therefore locked out of using some Wi-Fi channels or operating at full power, the only lasting solution is to fix or remove the misconfigured WAP.

First check the setting of your own WAP. Change the country code, if applicable. I can't be more specific, because all routers are different. After changing the code, turn Wi-Fi off and back on.

If your WAP doesn't broadcast a country code, you should replace it with one that does.

To find out which other nearby WAP's are broadcasting a wrong country code, hold down the option key and pull down the Wi-Fi menu in the menu bar. Hover the cursor over each of the menu items representing a WAP. A tooltip (small box) will appear after a moment, showing, among other things, the country code being broadcast by that WAP.

Compare the code with the one your Wi-Fi interface has adopted. If a WAP with a wrong code is not under your control, try restarting the computer as close as possible to your own router.

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Answer 6

LeroyML Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 30, 2015 6:23 AM in response to Linc Davis

Well I called my provider yesterday. They sent me a mechanic this morning and after some research he mentioned that there were some issues with my modem. He then gave me a newer version. At this very moment my connection speed is 130Mbit. This newer wifi modem is broadcasting a signal through 2.4GHz and 5GHz at the same time. 5GHz seems to be the best connection speed in my household.

Anyway, thanks Linc Davis for your contribution!

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