why is my internet so slow
February 5, 2012 6:57 AM Subscribe
Why does my wireless internet work perfectly until I open my MacBook, and then grind to a near-total halt?
Last weekend my partner and I got rid of our AT&T broadband internet, which was hooked up to a Linksys wireless router, because it was too slow. We replaced it with a Motorola SURFboard Cable Modem Gateway. I called Linksys technical support and they helped me reconfigure the router's settings for the new modem. We set up the new wireless network and everything appeared to be great.
Except here's the problem: When my partner is using his Dell laptop and my MacBook is turned off or asleep, everything works fine (he gets 17.5Mbps). But as soon as I open up my Mac, the speed goes way, way down, to the point where it takes several minutes for a page to load, and forget about watching video. If his Dell is off and I just try to use my Mac by itself, same problem -- it's slow as molasses.
We called Comcast tech support, who told us to clear our cookies and browsing history. This did not solve the problem. Comcast sent out a technician, who saw the problem, said he didn't know how to fix it, and left.
Does anyone have any thoughts about what could be causing this problem and what I can do to fix it?
Last weekend my partner and I got rid of our AT&T broadband internet, which was hooked up to a Linksys wireless router, because it was too slow. We replaced it with a Motorola SURFboard Cable Modem Gateway. I called Linksys technical support and they helped me reconfigure the router's settings for the new modem. We set up the new wireless network and everything appeared to be great.
Except here's the problem: When my partner is using his Dell laptop and my MacBook is turned off or asleep, everything works fine (he gets 17.5Mbps). But as soon as I open up my Mac, the speed goes way, way down, to the point where it takes several minutes for a page to load, and forget about watching video. If his Dell is off and I just try to use my Mac by itself, same problem -- it's slow as molasses.
We called Comcast tech support, who told us to clear our cookies and browsing history. This did not solve the problem. Comcast sent out a technician, who saw the problem, said he didn't know how to fix it, and left.
Does anyone have any thoughts about what could be causing this problem and what I can do to fix it?
First guess: is the Mac running BitTorrent? Is so, quit it (Apple-Q. Don't just close the window!) or reduce the upload speed limit in your BitTorrent settings.
If not (or you don't know what BitTorrent is) then logout on the Mac (under the Apple Menu) in the top left corner. Does internet access speed up then? If not, try restarting the Mac. Does internet access speed up then?
If trying either of these things fixes the problem, then a program or update running on your Mac is the problem. If not then it may be a more subtle networking issue. It is unlikely to be a physical hardware problem.
posted by caek at 7:13 AM on February 5, 2012
If not (or you don't know what BitTorrent is) then logout on the Mac (under the Apple Menu) in the top left corner. Does internet access speed up then? If not, try restarting the Mac. Does internet access speed up then?
If trying either of these things fixes the problem, then a program or update running on your Mac is the problem. If not then it may be a more subtle networking issue. It is unlikely to be a physical hardware problem.
posted by caek at 7:13 AM on February 5, 2012
Is your Mac running photostream? You need to figure out what program on your Mac is using all your bandwidth.
posted by fings at 7:52 AM on February 5, 2012
posted by fings at 7:52 AM on February 5, 2012
Response by poster: I am not running BitTorrent or Photostream. Looking at the activity monitor per the instructions in the linked thread, the highest peak I'm seeing is less than 5 KB/sec. Logging out on the Mac does not solve the problem (the Dell is still slow as long as the Mac is connected to the network).
I am not sure how to check if there's an IP address conflict, but if that were the problem, shouldn't the Mac work fine when it is the only computer on the network?
posted by southern_sky at 8:46 AM on February 5, 2012
I am not sure how to check if there's an IP address conflict, but if that were the problem, shouldn't the Mac work fine when it is the only computer on the network?
posted by southern_sky at 8:46 AM on February 5, 2012
I've seen people report this problem before, and it's always suggested that your router might be incompatible in some way with your MacBook Pro. (I have a mild issue with my own MBP/router combination, but it's not nearly as bad as what you're describing.) I would suggest trying the MBP on a different wireless network to see if it has the same problem there.
(In case you're curious: the kind of encryption my router uses doesn't play well with my MBP, which can make reconnecting from sleep a bit fiddly at times. I have no idea if the same issue could be the problem here, but it might be worth investigating.)
posted by anaximander at 9:56 AM on February 5, 2012
(In case you're curious: the kind of encryption my router uses doesn't play well with my MBP, which can make reconnecting from sleep a bit fiddly at times. I have no idea if the same issue could be the problem here, but it might be worth investigating.)
posted by anaximander at 9:56 AM on February 5, 2012
I am not sure how to check if there's an IP address conflict, but if that were the problem, shouldn't the Mac work fine when it is the only computer on the network?
Not if it is set to the same IP as the router. To check the IP on the Mac, go to System Prefs, Network, Advanced, TCP/IP. Note the IP. Then, close the Mac, and open the Dell. Go to the Control Panel, Networking, and find the IP address (I can't remember exactly how to do it under Windows). Also, on the Dell, note the gateway address you're connected to. This is likely the router's IP address. If any of these three numbers (router IP, Mac IP, and Dell IP) are the same, you've found the problem.
posted by Philosopher Dirtbike at 10:32 AM on February 5, 2012
Not if it is set to the same IP as the router. To check the IP on the Mac, go to System Prefs, Network, Advanced, TCP/IP. Note the IP. Then, close the Mac, and open the Dell. Go to the Control Panel, Networking, and find the IP address (I can't remember exactly how to do it under Windows). Also, on the Dell, note the gateway address you're connected to. This is likely the router's IP address. If any of these three numbers (router IP, Mac IP, and Dell IP) are the same, you've found the problem.
posted by Philosopher Dirtbike at 10:32 AM on February 5, 2012
this was just sidebarred last week
posted by elizardbits at 10:55 AM on February 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by elizardbits at 10:55 AM on February 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
In addition to the ideas in the linked-to thread:
Do you have a skin or case on your MacBook? If you do, take it off. Some skins affect the WiFi reception.
Does it make a difference whether you're on battery or plugged in to the mains? Power-saving settings can affect things.
Try turning QoS off on your router. Some versions of OS X do not like this, with some routers.
Does your Mac dual-boot? If it does, boot into Windows or Linux. Does the problem still occur? That will tell us whether it's a hardware problem, or a Mac OS X problem.
It would be helpful if you can tell us which version of Mac OS X you are running.
posted by HastyDave at 12:08 PM on February 5, 2012
Do you have a skin or case on your MacBook? If you do, take it off. Some skins affect the WiFi reception.
Does it make a difference whether you're on battery or plugged in to the mains? Power-saving settings can affect things.
Try turning QoS off on your router. Some versions of OS X do not like this, with some routers.
Does your Mac dual-boot? If it does, boot into Windows or Linux. Does the problem still occur? That will tell us whether it's a hardware problem, or a Mac OS X problem.
It would be helpful if you can tell us which version of Mac OS X you are running.
posted by HastyDave at 12:08 PM on February 5, 2012
Response by poster: Thanks for these suggestions. Further research suggests that there's a problem with Motorola modems and Macs, or at least there used to be. I'll try another brand of modem and see if that solves the problem.
posted by southern_sky at 12:36 PM on February 5, 2012
posted by southern_sky at 12:36 PM on February 5, 2012
Response by poster: Oh, and I am running OS X version 10.5.8.
posted by southern_sky at 12:37 PM on February 5, 2012
posted by southern_sky at 12:37 PM on February 5, 2012
Do you still have the linksys router? Can you put the motorola modem in bridge mode, and use the linksys router as the router, making your internet wifi through linksys ->internet setup info -> motorola (bridge mode instructions)
posted by defcom1 at 3:56 PM on February 5, 2012
posted by defcom1 at 3:56 PM on February 5, 2012
Best answer: I have the Motorola SBG901 SURFboard Wireless Cable Modem Gateway. I had intermittent network connectivity when I got my new MacBook Pro. After a bunch of googling, I finally solved the problem. By default, "IP Flood Detection" is enabled on the firewall. Unchecking that box completely resolved the issue.
posted by funkiwan at 12:28 AM on February 6, 2012
posted by funkiwan at 12:28 AM on February 6, 2012
Response by poster: I think that fixed it, funkiwan. Thank you!!
posted by southern_sky at 5:18 AM on February 7, 2012
posted by southern_sky at 5:18 AM on February 7, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
I have no idea as to a solution, but I do suspect it is something to do with the Linksys router. We've exhausted every possible solution except buying a new router, and we're planning on it soon enough. Comcast also said they showed NO down time on the internet connections at all, despite our good 3 hours of down time over a 24-hour period when working to try and fix all this nonsense.
We are planning on purchasing a new router in the near future, I will update you if that does/does not fix the problem (unless an awesome MeFite fixes it for us! =D)
posted by PeppahCat at 7:05 AM on February 5, 2012