OSX wifi connectivity issues.

September 15, 2011 3:46 PM

OSX 10.6.8 on MBP doesn't seem to be playing well with Motorola SurfBoard SBG901.

I've got Comcast cable and my own modem/router. The iPhone is connected to the wifi too and doesn't have the same issues as the computer. It hangs up a lot on sending requests, and tends to do so in spurts. Sometimes it's one-ff and refreshing or re-clicking a link will make it go through fine. Pinging the MBP from the router configuration doesn't show any dropped data. It's always been like this (about six months).

Any ideas?

posted by cmoj to computers & internet (4 answers total)

Also, it'll frequently hand on "uploading 0%."
posted by cmoj at 3:48 PM on September 15, 2011

Just a suggestion, you might try running namebench, a DNS benchmark utility to see what kind of results you get from other servers. Doing so would likely at least eliminate a DNS issue, and narrow your problem to your own network setup. Namebench is a free, open source utility (for Mac & Windows) that is very easy to use. You simply download , install and launch the program and let it run to check your speed on several public nameservers. My test returned results in about 20 minutes; YMMV. In the resulting report page (pops up automatically following completion of tests), you will be given the IPs of a primary, secondary and tertiary servers that will provide you with your best (fastest) results. You can also run tests based on server health. Once you have the IPs, you can then plug them into your DNS settings in Network preferences. Then, recheck your connection speed. It made a world of difference for me. Good luck!
posted by konig at 8:08 PM on September 15, 2011

Slightly different model of Surfboard but I came across this recently while doing research on what cable modem to purchase:

Amazon.com reviewer recommends disabling "Flood Detection" setting on Motorola Surfboard modems.

Untested by me. YMMV.
posted by stoic at 12:25 AM on September 16, 2011

Wow. I didn't get a chance to try namebench, but that setting appears to have done it. I guess it's a lot harder to "flood" the router from the phone.

Way to include a default-on break-the-internet feature, Motorola.
posted by cmoj at 10:34 AM on September 16, 2011