Time Capsule Wifi slowing down over time...

[rmeulen]

Hi all, I have a Time Capsule that is working great just after a reboot however in the cause of time (few days) slows down a lot. With my max. speed on the internet of 40Gb/s it initially reaches that speed easily but after a few days it only gets up to 5Gb/s. After a reboot all back to high speeds.

The capsule is running its own wireless network, 5Gb NW is currently disabled.
The version of the software is 7.7.3 (latest). The capsule is the latest model.
Found on the web that a previous version of the SW caused such issues but apparently that seems resolved as I don't see much comments on that anymore in the various forums.

Any idea what is causing this issue?

 

[satcomer]

How old is your Time Capsule? What is the speed if you hold down the option key+clicking on the Finder Menu Airport symbol? Plus what channel on the router are you using?

 

[rmeulen]

How old is your Time Capsule? What is the speed if you hold down the option key+clicking on the Finder Menu Airport symbol? Plus what channel on the router are you using?

Thanks for your response.
The TC is about one year old, a bit older I believe. It is the one having a column high instead of flat case. 3TB disk size. Cannot check the speed as you request at this moment, not at home yet... The channel the router is on is currently on automatic, I already experimented with manual channels which did not help.

 

[satcomer]

Thanks for your response.
The TC is about one year old, a bit older I believe. It is the one having a column high instead of flat case. 3TB disk size. Cannot check the speed as you request at this moment, not at home yet... The channel the router is on is currently on automatic, I already experimented with manual channels which did not help.

Then check it when you get home!

 

[rmeulen]

Then check it when you get home!

Checked and while currently the speed issue is not yet there (did a reboot this weekend) the Time Capsule shows up quick after pushing the option key+clicking on the Finder Menu Airport symbol. Will redo that when the speed drops.

 

[MH01]

Is the HDD by chance almost full?

 

[h9826790]

Is the HDD by chance almost full?

I think OP is talking about the internet connection speed, not the backup speed. So, should be independent to the HDD's free space available.

 

[rmeulen]

I think OP is talking about the internet connection speed, not the backup speed. So, should be independent to the HDD's free space available.

Indeed. No issues (as far as I can see) with backups. The disk is far from full. Don't think that is the issue.

 

[rmeulen]

Then check it when you get home!

Now the Time Capsule is slow. Speednet.net shows only a speed of 3Mbps up- and down while I am 3 meters away from the Capsule.
Did the option-click in the finder window and the capsule folder is shown relatively quick. Not really slower than when I do not experience network slowness.
Strange. Was a good test. Points to issues towards the external network.

Time Capsule is connected through another router to the internet. Time Capsule is doing the Wifi while the other router is doing the rest (Ip addressing etc.). Maybe there I need to find the solution.
Any advise is appreciated.

After a restart of the Time Capsule all is fine. 40Mbps up- and down. So somehow the TC gets corrupted during the cause of some days.

 

[satcomer]

Now the Time Capsule is slow. Speednet.net shows only a speed of 3Mbps up- and down while I am 3 meters away from the Capsule.
Did the option-click in the finder window and the capsule folder is shown relatively quick. Not really slower than when I do not experience network slowness.
Strange. Was a good test. Points to issues towards the external network.

Time Capsule is connected through another router to the internet. Time Capsule is doing the Wifi while the other router is doing the rest (Ip addressing etc.). Maybe there I need to find the solution.
Any advise is appreciated.

After a restart of the Time Capsule all is fine. 40Mbps up- and down. So somehow the TC gets corrupted during the cause of some days.

If the time Capsule is behind the another router doing NAT then turn off NAT in an Apple router by putting it in "Bridged Mode".

 

[rmeulen]

If the time Capsule is behind the another router doing NAT then turn off NAT in an Apple router by putting it in "Bridged Mode".

Hi Satcomer, I have it on Bridged Mode already so that is not the cause of the problems. What was the exact reason for the 'option-click TC in finder menu' check? Can you tell me what you wanted to see doing that? What is it different to the click TC in finder menu without the option key pressed?
Thanks for your feedback so far.

 

[satcomer]

Hi Satcomer, I have it on Bridged Mode already so that is not the cause of the problems. What was the exact reason for the 'option-click TC in finder menu' check? Can you tell me what you wanted to see doing that? What is it different to the click TC in finder menu without the option key pressed?
Thanks for your feedback so far.

The option click is so you can check with no additional software the connection to the Capsule. This way you can see the connection speed at the time of slowness.

 

[rmeulen]

The option click is so you can check with no additional software the connection to the Capsule. This way you can see the connection speed at the time of slowness.

Ah. Ok. Got you. Never to late to learn

 

[satcomer]

I smarting to wonder if you are seeing this drop while your Mac is doing it's backup.

 

[rmeulen]

I smarting to wonder if you are seeing this drop while your Mac is doing it's backup.

Hi Satcomer, I am afraid thats not the issue. The mac is not busy overloading the wifi network. What I might need to do is separate the issue between Internet and Intranet speeds. It might be that in the house communication stays at a right level while the traffic to outside the house (speedtest.net) slows down.
What can I use to measure the local speed somewhat reliable? I will see if the application Wifi Signal can provide some answers here.

 

[rmeulen]

Now my Time Capsule received the firmware update a few weeks ago I have not witnessed any slow-down. Feel like I have finally a router that continues to work ok.

 

[Altemose]

@rmeulen I would also investigate if the problem persists whether it is possible to put the modem into bridge mode and the Time Capsule into DHCP & NAT mode.

 

[rmeulen]

So far with the latest firmware the issue did not re-appear so I guess something was wrong with the previous firmware @Altemose . Anyway thanks for the suggestion. Will keep it in mind might it happen again.

 

[Altemose]

@rmeulen Report back with any issues!