macbook slow wireless

[papermongoose]

Hi all,

I was having the same problem as all of you...flakey internet, especially on streaming video (like youtube).

I tried nearly everything, but following the advice of one poster, I put my router in WPA2 mode. It is working better than it ever has been.

Thanks for the thread! I hope I helped

[DoctorEvil8]

I just installed Parallels and Windows2000 on my macbook. Using IE inside the Windows2000 VM, the internet flys with no signs of lag. So there must be a setting of some sort to change for the wireless to work better using OSX.

[wireless_crap]

This is ridiculous. I went against my better judgement and bought my first Mac using my work budget (thankfully) and the wireless on this MacBook pro is terrible. I have a Dell running Windows XP and IE and I get page loads in 2-3 seconds, yet this MB Pro takes 25-30 seconds to load a freakin web page. This is absolutely ridiculous. I read all these posters saying check for interference....aren't they reading where the side by side comparisons show there is no problem with interference. It's with this OSX crap. I didn't pay three grand to have this kind of crap, I expected much more. You shouldn't have to pay more and sacrifice performance. I hope someone gets some concrete answers and a fix from MAC soon.

[DoctorEvil8]

IT'S WORKING!!! IT'S WORKING!!!

I finally solved my problem. Tossed the D-Link router and went with something new. Grabbed a Belkin Wirless G Router and I am flying. My D-Link router was the DI-614+ model, and nothing but problems with the macbook. I couldn't even get the WPA working on it, just the WEP. On my new Belkin, I have WPA enabled and everything is working perfectly!!!

Thank you for everyone's help.

[halfshaft]

Thats Great, I will take a look at the Belkin as well!

Thanks

Quote: Originally Posted by DoctorEvil8 IT'S WORKING!!! IT'S WORKING!!! I finally solved my problem. Tossed the D-Link router and went with something new. Grabbed a Belkin Wirless G Router and I am flying. My D-Link router was the DI-614+ model, and nothing but problems with the macbook. I couldn't even get the WPA working on it, just the WEP. On my new Belkin, I have WPA enabled and everything is working perfectly!!!

[webzila]

Like some previous posters mentioned I really think its a problem with the D-Link 614+ router. I have a Macbook and was also having problems with Airport wireless connection only where it would connect but the transmission is extremely slow. None of my other Windows laptops had this issue and it would work fine when you use an ethernet cable.

There is (was) nothing wrong with my wireless network as all the Windows clients worked just fine. I have 3 wireless routers. The primary is Airlink 101 325W. The other routers are connected (hardwired) to the gateway throughout the house (using some switches along the way) and act like Wireless AP/Repeater/Switch. Ofcourse they all use diff. channel but same SSID and the 2 other routers have DHCP disabled..

Well anyways...one of the "other" routers that acted like a switch was a D-Link 614+. It was not even in the same vicinity where the Macbook is and my Macbook is sitting right next to the Airlink router. I was only using the D-Link as a wired switch but still had wireless enabled in it. Well..I disabled the wireless in D-Link and my wireless network speed on the Macbook increased immediately. No more lag at all.

The weird thing is that the Macbook wasnt even picking up the signal from Dlink...it was connected via Airlink...and also the weird thing is that Windows computers dont seem to be affected. Its cool though..D-Link 614+ is not a 802.11G router anyways (whereas all my other routers are)...I think Dlink calls it super 802.11b or something like that?

So if you have a Dlink router, especially 614+ ... that could be a problem.

[hayne]

Quote: Originally Posted by webzila D-Link 614+ is not a 802.11G router anyways (whereas all my other routers are)...I think Dlink calls it super 802.11b or something like that?

Maybe it's "Super-G" like discussed in this "Tom's Networking" article:
http://www.tomsnetworking.com/2003/11/30/atheros_super/
and this Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_G..._networking%29
This has been reported to cause problems with neighbouring wireless networks since its signals overlap in frequency with those of other channels.

[webzila]

Quote: Originally Posted by hayne Maybe it's "Super-G" like discussed in this "Tom's Networking" article: http://www.tomsnetworking.com/2003/11/30/atheros_super/ and this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_G..._networking%29 This has been reported to cause problems with neighbouring wireless networks since its signals overlap in frequency with those of other channels.

I dont think its Super G
They call it Enhanced 2.4 Ghz - its like 802.11b but speeds can reach 22Mbps

[fourmsg]

Got a new macbook pro on Friday & it's been driving me nuts all weekend with broadband speeds of less than 100kb/s through my D-link DSL-604+. I've now been able to fix this by turning off the 'Turbo' option in wireless settings on the router as suggested by:

www.expansys.ie/ft.aspx?i=104294&thread=1244

[aventure]

Ok.. after reading this thread, I remembered, the D-LINK 614 has a 4x mode... I have a Mac book and a Powerbook. The Powerbook has been perfect. The Macbook has been totally dying on the wireless. I just turned off the 4x mode.. and everything seems to be running perfectly on the Macbook. I will let everyone know if it acts up again.

[aventure]

Nevermind.

[GavinBKK]

FWIW, after reading the earlier post regarding CoconutWifi, I have removed it and I do detect a better speed.

No idea why, mind....
Gavin

[cenna]

Hi
For me everything was solved this way.
i connect to internet like this >macbook pro c2d/airport express/belkin router/adsl modem/internet>.
By setting the airport express unit to 802.11g mode only the problem with veeeeery slow networking was fixed.

_______________________

cenna

[davidhoytsimpson]

I just purchased this MacBook and I am experiencing slow web page loading and definite lags before the page loads. My other computers have no problem what so ever. I just can't believe it would be my wireless router - I have even plugged ethernet directly into my cable modem and I am still experiencing 25 - 30 second web page downloads . When I try the curl program:
% Total % Received % Xferd Average Speed Time Time Time Current
Dload Upload Total Spent Left Speed
100 3604 0 3604 0 0 464 0 --:--:-- 0:00:07 --:--:-- 1211k
71-12-161-67:~ davidhoytsimpson$ curl www.apple.com -o /dev/null

Here is the info on my MacBook

Machine Name: MacBook
Machine Model: MacBook1,1
Processor Name: Intel Core Duo
Processor Speed: 1.83 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per processor): 2 MB
Memory: 512 MB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MB11.005F.B00
SMC Version: 1.4f12

Has anyone figred out how to correct the problem without buying a new router?

[SivuGamak]

I just downloaded iStumbler and it shows 47/11 signal/noise, freq 16 with one other network showing. What does the signal/noise mean?

[VinnyTheFish]

Thank everyone for their inputs. It helps a lot.

I just got a Black MacBook (Core Duo) and am experiencing exactly the same problem. The Apple home page (www.apple.com) loads painfully slow in both Safari and FireFox (over 20 seconds) with either Airport connection or direct ethernet connection to my DSL modem/router by Actiontec (Qwest is the provider).

On the other hand, my Dell desktop loads this page just fine (under e seconds). The strange thing is that if I ran a download speed test I can always get 1.2 Mbit so the connection speed appears to be a non-issue. Then I checked the DHCP client list on my router and cannot not find my MacBook on the client list. Just for the kick, I restarted my router and then woola! My new MacBook flies! In the mean time, my MacBook shows up in the DHCP's client list.

I'm guessing what happened is that although I set up my Airport card properly (I do have a 128bit WEP key set up in my router), somehow the my MB needs to authenticate itself every time it needs to pull something through my DSL modem/router. Resetting and restarting the router apparently took care of this problem. For someone experiencing the similar problem, this may be a viable solution.

Cheers!

[Fang]

Happy new year everyone and i hope i'm not too late to this thread. I also experienced slow wireless but the cause of my problem is a little different.

I also recently purchased a macbook with Intel Core 2 duo.
It connects to my wireless network with WPA encryption straight away and went thru software update and .MAC setup etc.. All went well until i started Safari and try surfing.

The speed is dead slow. It felt more like dial-up than adsl broadband (which is what i have). I went to check the internet connection on my PC and it was lightning fast and i went back to the MAC to see what was wrong.

First thing i checked was the TCPIP setting and realised there was no DNS IP assigned to the macbook. Without knowing why, i specified the DNS IP (provided by ISP) manually and internet sped up instantly. I tried taking it off and it slowed right down. I'm sure my DHCP is configured corrently and my other PC (also on wireless) is receiving the whole set of IP addresses just fine.

Is there some config i missed on the macbook that is causing this? I've read stuff on creating a network from System Preferences but i'm not sure if that helps.

[hayne]

Quote: Originally Posted by Fang there was no DNS IP assigned to the macbook. Without knowing why, i specified the DNS IP (provided by ISP) manually and internet sped up instantly. I tried taking it off and it slowed right down

So it sounds like your DHCP server (presumably in your router) is not working properly to supply the DNS server addresses to your Mac.

You can check what DNS servers are currently being used by your Mac via the following command (in a Terminal window):

cat /etc/resolv.conf

Check to see if there is a firmware update for your router.

[Fang]

I have made some discoveries. I went through the Network Assistant from System Preferences and reconnects the laptop to the wireless. The internet performs as good as it should be this time even without DNS IP.

And i also ran the the command 'cat /etc/resolv.conf ' on the terminal and it did return the 2 DNS IP specified on my router.

Thanks.

[FrenchT]

Looks like a number of individuals, including myself, are having the same problem with their Macbook. Internet on my wireless network used to be fine for months and degraded in speed sometime during the past month or two, whereas my other laptop (a Dell) saw none of this problem. I have nothing to back this theory, but I would not be surprised that a recent firmware update or software update triggered the behavior.

In any event, after trying a number of things (network assistant, reset modem,...), the simple fix for me was to manually specify the IPs of my DNS servers. Why is it now necessary for me to specify those beats me. In any event, for those that are unsure where to get the DNS server settings, they are provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and should be on the paperwork you received when you signed up with your ISP. If you don't have any trace of it, call your ISP and ask for a complete network configuration document. Once you have the DNS server names or IPs, follow these steps:

Apple menu >> System Preferences...
Click on Network
Double click on "Airport"
Go to the TCP/IP section
Enter the name(s)/IP(s) of your DNS server(s) (If you have multiple IPs/Names to enter, remember to enter each one on a separate line)
Click the Apply Now button
Go on the internet and see if the speed improved. For me it was obvious and immediate.

I hope this will help some of you!

T.