Why is my core i7's wifi so slow? Tried multiple fixes

[DoFoT9]

I have a core I7 iMac with airport express. Guess what.

It works as fast as my Internet connection and more.

I work in the industry and it performs to spec.

You guys are obviously doing something wrong.

mmnnn yes indeed. its funny how external entities come into play in these scenarios.

 

[mindquest]

Even if your speed tests are on target, read through this article

http://www.macworld.com/article/146064/2010/02/troubleshootdns.html?t=234

and try Namebench to test your DNS response time.

http://code.google.com/p/namebench/


Hard coding my DNS ramped up my response time, then after running namebench it suggested a better FREE DNs server alternative which bumped up my response time again.

Hope this helps!

 

[aliensporebomb]

Guys...

All:

I just wanted to pop in here and let you know that this may be the cause of a recent "scourge of the industry" that both Qwest and Comcast have foisted on
their end users, a thing called "DNS Helper" that ends up causing more problems that it fixes.

It's basically a feature for clueless end users (think your grandma or someone else who might mistype a url) and it allegedly offers helpful suggestions.

I've seen this domain helper service do things like prevent Microsoft Outlook from communicating over a VPN connection to just outright preventing proper DNS functioning.

Some of your dns related issues may be related to that.

There is hope - you can opt out of these services but I've seen these services get re-applied because I believe these ISPs are profiting somehow by these services.

FYI.

Another issue is: if you have 2.4 ghz cordless telephones in your residence it WILL interfere with your wireless functioning no matter what kind of computer you have. I recommend moving to 5 ghz models.

 

[Tec972]

I have a core I7 iMac with airport express. Guess what.

It works as fast as my Internet connection and more.

I work in the industry and it performs to spec.

You guys are obviously doing something wrong.

Yeah i must be doing something wrong when every other device in my house on wireless runs flawlessly with steady thruoughput but the imac doesnt.

 

[DoFoT9]

Yeah i must be doing something wrong when every other device in my house on wireless runs flawlessly with steady thruoughput but the imac doesnt.

you must be - there are so many configuration options to choose from, and it doesnt sound like you have trialed them all.

 

[daneoni]

Have you guys tried a PRAM/SMC reset?

That said when i had a 2007 iMac it also had this issue.

 

[Keefbc]

New iMac core i3

Same issue with very slow wireless speeds. Tried several of the fixes on this thread but no joy.

There are several macs (G4, G5, core 2 duo) on the same connection all working at lightning speeds.

When testing the i3 on speedtest, noticed very erratic speeds, jumping all over the place - interference?

Netgear router was on channel 5 - no other local router sharing channel 5.

Changed router to channel 10 - i3 now working at lightning speed. Also checked it back on channel 5 - repeatable slow speeds again.

System Profiler shows Airport Firmware as Atheros 9280: 2.1.14.5

Hope this helps for some of you!

 

[MikeQuinn]

I was having major issues with m macbook and my time machine.

This is what I did to fix it.

Turn off Airport on your imac. Go to "open network preferences" click in advanced and delete all of the networks in the list once done click o.k and apply.

Leave airport turned off.

Go into your keychain in utilities.

once key chain is open, type "airport" into the keychain search box. Delete everything in the keychain to do with airport.

Once done close keychain.

Open a finder window.

Go to your mac's HD.

Find the library folder and enter it.
Then find preferences and enter it.
Find "systemconfiguration" and enter it.

you will now have 7 files in this folder.

delete the following (don't worry they rebuild when you reboot the mac)

com.apple.airport.preferences.plist
com.apple.network.identification.plist
networkinterfaces.plist

once these are deleted. reboot the Mac.

Once rebooted switch on airport and find your network.

This worked for me, hope it does for you.

xSPRINTERx Thanks this suggestion fixed my issue. I migrated over from my old macbook and your suggestion to clear settings made sense, I had previously assumed that the migration may have confused the new macbookpro but did not know how to rectify, following your procedure (or whome ever you copied it from) I cleared out all the settings as you suggested and now do not need ot purchase an extra long ethernet cable! I just need to ask for wifi keys again when I visit other offices that I work at! Thanks again.

 

[MikeQuinn]

xSPRINTERx Thanks this suggestion fixed my issue. I migrated over from my old macbook and your suggestion to clear settings made sense, I had previously assumed that the migration may have confused the new macbookpro but did not know how to rectify, following your procedure (or whome ever you copied it from) I cleared out all the settings as you suggested and now do not need ot purchase an extra long ethernet cable! I just need to ask for wifi keys again when I visit other offices that I work at! Thanks again.

I think my joy was a little premature! The thanks for the advice still stands but unfortunately after a few hours of glorious average wifi connectivity yesterday, today the old wifi connectivity issues have returned. 802.11N wifi to my macbook, Sony and Dell over a distance of about 70 feet is fine and speedy, yet the macpro keeps dropping connectivity even though the airport icon is registering a full four bar strong connection. It is frustrating.