jallaire28

Q: Ethernet Port Slower than Wifi?

So I just recently purchased a Mac Mini (2014 2.6 Ghz i5 Model). It was bought to replace my late 2008 unibody Macbook, which I was primarily using in clamshell mode as a desktop anyway.

 

For some reason, the ethernet on my new mac is much slower than if I connect via wifi- and this is not the case on any other device in my home, including the above referenced macbook. I have no problem with my wifi connection, but the primary use of my mac is for work from home purposes, which are HEAVILY Skype reliant and I really prefer the consistency of the hardwired connection.

 

Is this possibly a defect in my model? I purchased it through Best Buy and really don't want to have to deal with returning it. It works perfectly in every other respect. I am hoping there is something I am doing wrong or maybe not understanding about the ethernet port that would cause this? Please help!

 

Thank you all for your time.

Mac mini, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5), Late 2014 Model

Posted on May 24, 2016 5:43 PM

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Q: Ethernet Port Slower than Wifi?

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  • by jonty_b,

    jonty_b jonty_b May 24, 2016 6:08 PM in response to jallaire28
    Level 2 (192 points)
    iPhone
    May 24, 2016 6:08 PM in response to jallaire28

    Hi jallaire28,

     

    Make sure you are using a proper quality cable to plug your router/switch into your Mac. Also what is on the other end of your ethernet cable? Is it a router, a switch or something else?

     

    Hope this helps!

     

    Jonty

  • by jallaire28,

    jallaire28 jallaire28 May 24, 2016 6:53 PM in response to jonty_b
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    May 24, 2016 6:53 PM in response to jonty_b

    Thanks for replying!

     

    How do I know it is a proper quality cable? It is the yellow ethernet cable that comes standard with the router- same I have always seen packaged with routers. And I am connected to a net-gear router/modem combo. I am inclined to think its not the cable because I get much faster speeds on the exact same cable when I connect it to my macbook.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis May 24, 2016 6:55 PM in response to jallaire28
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    May 24, 2016 6:55 PM in response to jallaire28

    The warranty entitles you to complimentary phone support for the first 90 days of ownership.

    If you bought the product in the U.S. directly from Apple (not from a reseller), you have 14 days from the date of delivery in which to exchange or return it for a refund. In other countries, the return policy may be different. If you bought from a reseller, its return policy applies.

  • by jonty_b,

    jonty_b jonty_b May 24, 2016 6:56 PM in response to jallaire28
    Level 2 (192 points)
    iPhone
    May 24, 2016 6:56 PM in response to jallaire28

    Hi,

     

    Have you tried deleting the ethernet service in the services pane in network settings and creating the ethernet service again. This has worked for me before.

     

    Hope this helps!

     

    Jonty

  • by jallaire28,

    jallaire28 jallaire28 May 24, 2016 7:03 PM in response to jonty_b
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    May 24, 2016 7:03 PM in response to jonty_b

    I just did that as suggested, unfortunately It didn't resolve the issue. I may to try calling the phone support as another commenter mentioned above. I was hoping it would be a common experience but it doesn't seem to be the case, I really hope I don't have to exchange it.

  • by John Lockwood,

    John Lockwood John Lockwood May 26, 2016 2:32 AM in response to jallaire28
    Level 6 (9,230 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    May 26, 2016 2:32 AM in response to jallaire28

    Your Mac mini should be able to do 1Gbps Ethernet, 100Mbps Ethernet and 10Mbps Ethernet. Some internet routers may only have 100Mbps Ethernet ports and actually support WiFi speeds faster than this, however if your MacBook on Ethernet was faster then this is unlikely to be the case for you.

     

    You can run a built-in tool on your Mac mini called 'Network Utility', the easiest way to do this is to use Spotlight to search for this utility. It will list what speed of Ethernet it is running at.

     

    1Gbps Ethernet requires all eight wires in an Ethernet cable be connected properly, and also that the cable is at least Cat5 in specification. 100Mbps Ethernet will work with just four wires, and older less capable Cat3 cable. I last year had to get part of the office building I work in rewired to replace old Cat3 cable with newer Cat5e cable so as to enable the use of 1Gbps Ethernet.

     

    It is possible to have a computer i.e. your Mac able to do 1Gbps, a network switch i.e. your Router also do 1Gbps Ethernet but if the cable in between them is say Cat3 this will result in the computer and switch repeatedly attempting to do 1Gbps and failing back to 100Mbps and resulting in a very poor performance - worse than even 100Mbps.