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Is there a way to augment the new MacPro internal Wifi antenna?

i am using OS X Yosemite on a one year old MacPro. It's WiFi reception is very poor as compared to my Mac Book Pro. Is there an internal antenna fix for this problem? If not, what about an external fix?

Posted on Jun 20, 2015 5:06 PM

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15 replies

Jun 22, 2015 3:41 AM in response to rbenator

There are apparently some WiFi issues in the current Yosemite 10.10.3 and earlier versions but I don't think this is a specific signal strength issue. See http://osxdaily.com/2015/01/30/os-x-10-10-2-yosemite-wi-fi-problems/


These issues might finally be addressed with 10.10.4 when it is officially released. It might therefore be worth waiting until then and seeing if that helps you.

Jun 22, 2015 7:43 AM in response to rbenator

Your MacPro shows as receiving a stronger signal and lower background noise than your MacBookPro (the dBm values and remember they are negative so -44 > -61) so if anything it should work better. -44 is not a bad signal strength by the way. However, there are also a lot of other wi-fi stations in your area and I bet some of them are causing interference. Even if you have a strong signal and low background it is like having somebody next to you shouting, and you can hear them, but if there are a bunch of other people shouting a few feet away it still gets lost. I see this a lot where I live, particularly since I am using a w-fi Internet provider and I get cut off for hours at a time by people streaming Netflix and AppleTVs and Airplay and....


I see also you are on channel 8. Although in the USA there are 11 wi-fi channels they overlap a lot. In reality there are only 3 that do not, channels 1, 6, and 11. Most people assign routers to one of those 3. If you are using channel 8 you are getting interference from users of both channels 6 and 11. You are best off exploring those other routers and see which ones have the strongest signal, then use one of those channels with the least competition in terms of numbers of users and signal strength. Even then you may experience problems and unfortunately the trend towards wireless everything isn't going to make it better.

Jun 22, 2015 7:52 AM in response to rbenator

See my edited previous post or use wired connections. I know in my case I have no alternative unless I want to pay $400 a year more for Internet service. Whenever a new person moves into the apartment complex across the street I post a polite request on the complex door that they set up wi-fi not using channel 6 (locked by my ISP) but there is nothing I can do to stop them. Recently somebody moved in and set up 4 devices all using channel 7 which makes me think AppleTV and Airplay, etc. Channel 7 interferes strongly with channel 6 and I get cut off from the Internet from about 9pm - midnight every night and sometimes during the day on weekends which makes me suspect they are streaming. There is nothing I can do about it since my ISP has their antenna about a block away from me and everybody has to share the same few channels. I asked nicely but if they don't change and I can't reconfigure then I am stuck.

Jun 22, 2015 8:07 AM in response to Limnos

As I recall the problem is on the Mac Pro which is using the 5GHz range not the 2.4Ghz range. The MacBook Pro is using the 2.4GHz range.


The channels for 802.11ac on 5GHz as used by the Mac Pro are different numbers and in this case channel 149 is being used. Typically 5GHz is less congested than 2.4GHz as there are still fewer 5GHz capable devices around, also 2.4GHz can be affected by non-WiFi devices like garage door openers, etc.


I still suspect Apple Yosemite bugs are part of the problem and waiting until the next version to see if this helps would be worth while but looking at the channel numbers in use and maybe picking a different one costs nothing to try.


The following utility helps you find out what channels are in use in your location. You need to run it on the Mac Pro so it can test both 5GHz as well as 2.4GHz.

https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/10133/kismac


There are other similar tools, not all of them are free.

Jun 22, 2015 8:34 AM in response to John Lockwood

Good point John Lockwood. Isn't the 5Ghz range also shorter-range than the 2.4 so if the router is in another room it may not be any stronger signal than one in the neighbor's room on the other side of the wall? I don't know how many channels are available on the 5GHz band.


Congestion also depends upon the amount of use. I used to have fewer problems with the many other users in my area on channel 6 because I suspect they were doing things like web browsing and e-mail where use is for a few seconds at a time. I could always manage to squeeze in my ASC browing between their use. A garage door opener is only going to be in service for a second or so (unless you sit on it 🙂 ). Now that Mr. Channel 7 has moved in with a car load of devices (I don't know what they are) and I get cut off for 90% of the time between 9 and 12 pm I am presuming it is streaming where service demand is continuous.


Aren't a lot of new wireless home phones now on 5GHz?

Jun 22, 2015 8:44 AM in response to Limnos

Yes 5GHz is generally a shorter range and that would be more of an issue for 802.11n but your Mac Pro is using 802.11ac which typically means you also have 3 antenna vs 2 used typically for 802.11n. (More antenna is better.)


I find that 5GHz is less congested in my location both at home and work. DECT cordless phones work in the 1.9GHz range, older analogue cordless phones will be different.

Jun 22, 2015 1:00 PM in response to rbenator

I agree with what others have already observed.


Your Mac Pro is achieving an adjusted (for interference) transmit rate of 585M bits/sec, which is very good.


I do not see any problems there. It is using 80MHz in the faster 5GHz band, where there is less interference. If it seems slow, then problems other than Wi-Fi antennas are likely to blame.


Your MacBook Pro, on the other hand, appears to be stuck on the 2.4GHz band, where most of those other Networks are likely to be. Net -26Db (-87-61) is good signal strength, so extended antenna would probably not help you any. Using 20MHz channel and being only able to hit 78 M bits/sec means you are seeing interference on that channel.


I do not know why it did not pick up the 5GHz channel, unless you are too far away from your Router (5GHZ falls off faster with distance).


If your Router channel is set to "automatic", and you cycle the Power on your Router (or Restart it) it will scan the airwaves and choose the channel (on each band) that is least busy at the moment. That is one reason why every debugging procedure starts with "Cycle the power on your Router")

Is there a way to augment the new MacPro internal Wifi antenna?

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