Virgin Media 50Mb and MacBook Pro.

Mikeyboy

Mikeyboy

Mikeyboy

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Evening,

Had 50Mb installed today, did a speed test with my Mac plugged into the modem via ethernet and I'm getting the full 50Mb, but when I connect using the supplied Netgear WNR2000 Wireless-N router and do a speed test the speed drops to around 25Mb.

I've searched high and low for information, but unless my Google skills are that crap, I can't seem to find anything.

Has anyone experienced the same problem, or have any ideas?

Thanks.
 
Is the MacBook Pro connecting using a wireless g network card? If so, 25Mbps is pretty much running at full tilt and can be considered normal.
 
What's happening is, the wireless connection between the router and your MBP is forming a bottleneck. Your router is receiving data from "the Internet" at a speed of 50Mbps but can only deliver it at 25Mbps to your laptop over the air. Over the cable, it can transfer it at 100 or even 1000Mbps so you get the full 50Mbps.

At this point you might be thinking "woah I thought 802.11g was 54Mbps?" but in real-world speeds you do get around 22-25Mbps which coincides with what you're seeing.

This is all assuming you're using an 802.11g card in your MBP. If you have a draft 802.11n card then it needs looking in to.
 
Is it actually negotiating an 802.11n connection though?

Open network utility and it will tell you the link speed, if its saying 54mbps then obviously it is only getting a G connection from the router and could point to a compatibility issue.

Probably worth checking out the wifi settings in the router too, when I had a DG834N it was shipped in the "270mbps channel bonded 11n" state, so would not work any faster than G with my MBP, switching it down to the standard 125mbps or whatever it is made it work properly.
 
The newer MacBooks and iMacs all have 802.11n enabled cards.

But to actually enable it you have to buy the software from the MacStore

Crazy I know.

Install the software and you should get your full 50mb over WiFi
 
what a joke

i can't believe all the stick ms seem to take all the time

and apple pull crap like this :p
 
they charge a small fee to enable the n capability, they blame this on the sarbanes oxley act. they have also done this several times for the ipod touch
 
Network Utility shows the link speed as 130Mb.

There is only one setting on the router which when changed from "up to 300Mbps" to "up to 145Mbps" the speed increased slightly and peaked at 35Mb. Other than that, it's pretty basic.

TheMagicPirate said:
The newer MacBooks and iMacs all have 802.11n enabled cards.

But to actually enable it you have to buy the software from the MacStore

Crazy I know.

Install the software and you should get your full 50mb over WiFi
Click to expand...

I thought that too, but Network Utility already shows 802.11a/b/g/n.
 
Yeah, it will say that but above it will be a 'link speed' bit that probably says '54Mb'

You have to pay the £1.25, to unlock the card and the link speed should change to '300Mb'

It tells you everything in the link I posted.

I'm sorry if I sound a bit arsey, if your Mac already says 'Link Speed : 300Mb' then I apologise.
 
Well I tried it, doesn't work. Just comes up with "Your computer does not meet the hardware requirements for this update" even though I have an Intel C2D.

You're not sounding arsey, it's just that link isn't very clear as it mentions nothing about link speed, only that if it shows 802.11a/b/g/n then it's already enabled, which mine is.
 
Just another update, GF just had a brand new MacBook delivered, still have the same problem with it.

Network Utility is showing the link speed as 130Mb on that too. I guess it's this junk router. :confused:
 
No you don't have to pay! That 'issue' was for the first iMac etc to have Draft-N

All others beyond that, which is every mac, are fully Draft-N.

so HA.

:p
 
Its a shame one is not getting the full speed simply because the computer is the problem here. Of course, I have a 50Meg connection and can achieve roughly the same speed you're getting on my laptop which also uses the 802.11g. My other 4 computers are all connected via ethernet so I am happy they can get the full 50Meg no problem. I always said Apple have strange ways of doing things and this thread pretty much confirms it. I hope u get the problem sorted soon and I also hope Apple realise they do in fact have a flaw in their so called 'flawless' Macs...or should I say 'user friendly'? :p lol...
 
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There is nothing wrong with the laptop or the card in it, the problem is more likely to be compatibility with the router or some other reason - rf congestion in your area or some other interference.

Using 802.11n on my MBP with a Netgear DG834N I can get around 65Mbit/sec throughput most of the time from wifi to the lan.
 
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