wireless speed issues

ferritt · Jun 22, 2007

Hi firstly I explain my simple home setup:
I'm based in the UK and I'm on Virgin media 4mb connection.

Broadband modem is connected directly via ethernet to a D-link 614+ router

I have setup my wireless connection with no security only mac filters to allow my MBP, XP notebook and my printer.

Right thats the setup now for the problem. For some reason when accessing the web on my MBP it seems to be rather slow. I've ran speed test on it shows that when connecting wirelessly I only get 1mb - 2mb connection, but when connecting direct to the modem or router via ethernet I always get near the 4mb I pay for. The other XP notebook gets the correct speed when running the same tests. I could understand the "slowness" if I had WEP set up but being as tho theres no security I dont understand the reasons behind this. I know that my router doesnt support WPA 2 which i have been told works best with macs so surely the only way to fix this is to buy another router. I would not have a problem in purchasing a newer router if I wanted better and upto date security but I would have thought the D-link 614+ would be able to allow me to access the net on the speeds that I'm paying for.

any ideas what I can do. Or if anybody has the same router could tell me the correct setup just incase mines wrong.

cheers

cwa107 · Jun 22, 2007

ferritt said:
Hi firstly I explain my simple home setup:
I'm based in the UK and I'm on Virgin media 4mb connection.

Broadband modem is connected directly via ethernet to a D-link 614+ router

I have setup my wireless connection with no security only mac filters to allow my MBP, XP notebook and my printer.

Right thats the setup now for the problem. For some reason when accessing the web on my MBP it seems to be rather slow. I've ran speed test on it shows that when connecting wirelessly I only get 1mb - 2mb connection, but when connecting direct to the modem or router via ethernet I always get near the 4mb I pay for. The other XP notebook gets the correct speed when running the same tests. I could understand the "slowness" if I had WEP set up but being as tho theres no security I dont understand the reasons behind this. I know that my router doesnt support WPA 2 which i have been told works best with macs so surely the only way to fix this is to buy another router. I would not have a problem in purchasing a newer router if I wanted better and upto date security but I would have thought the D-link 614+ would be able to allow me to access the net on the speeds that I'm paying for.

any ideas what I can do. Or if anybody has the same router could tell me the correct setup just incase mines wrong.

cheers

How is the signal strength when you're connected wirelessly?

Also, you may as well disable MAC filtering and go without security altogether. With MAC filtering, you're still sending unencrypted data to be freely intercepted over the airwaves. All an enterprising 13-year-old needs to do is intercept one of those packets, see which MAC it's coming from and then spoof the MAC on their own machine and join the network. Enable WPA if it's available.

See the Wireless Networking FAQ for more details and troubleshooting information.

ferritt · Jun 23, 2007

thanks for the reply mate. I've left mac filters on but just added wep and disabled ssid broadcast. Whats the best router to use with macs? Once i've moved house i'm going to sort out a proper network and invest in a dedcent router. Any ideas? By the way signal strength is 100%

cheers

ferritt · Jun 24, 2007

ok so i've had alittle play around and after adding wep and disabling MAC filters my mbp never connects to my network automaticaly? I alway have to do it myself. any ideas?

cheers

cwa107 · Jun 24, 2007

ferritt said:
ok so i've had alittle play around and after adding wep and disabling MAC filters my mbp never connects to my network automaticaly? I alway have to do it myself. any ideas?

cheers

Set it to WPA instead of WEP.

ferritt · Jun 24, 2007

cwa107 said:
Set it to WPA instead of WEP.

I'm not to sure how to do this? I log into my router setting and select WPA and i need to fill in "RADIUS SERVER IP 1", "PORT", and "SHARED SECRET"???

any ideas

cheers

cwa107 · Jun 24, 2007

ferritt said:
I'm not to sure how to do this? I log into my router setting and select WPA and i need to fill in "RADIUS SERVER IP 1", "PORT", and "SHARED SECRET"???

any ideas

cheers

That's weird. Typically you have a choice of TKIP or PSK. I'm not sure where RADIUS would fit in. Shared secret is probably the password you're supposed to use to connect.

Have you updated the firmware for your router recently?

ferritt · Jun 24, 2007

yeah updated when i bought mbp couple of months back. I have 4 options:

WEP - open key
WEP - shared key
WPA - RADIUS SERVER (option I picked in last post)
WPA - PSK (just have to enter passphrase)

Theres got to be something messing up my signal as I'm now downstairs and my mbp connection is really slow. But i have full strength signal???? when i put mbp next to router it's better. I downloaded afew widgets that show me strength and connection speed. all say 100% strength and show that i'm connected to my router at 11mps plus on on of the widgets (airtraffic control) it show that sometimes my signal drops (no signal every once in a while. This happens when the mbp is next to the router or not. When connected direct to router (ethernet) my mbp connection is quick so it aint my net provider. Also i've also got a xp notebook on and that seems to pick up 3 wireless networks on my rd but mbp airport only finds mine, does this mean airport is weaker than the xp notebook?

cheers

cwa107 · Jun 24, 2007

ferritt said:
yeah updated when i bought mbp couple of months back. I have 4 options:

WEP - open key
WEP - shared key
WPA - RADIUS SERVER (option I picked in last post)
WPA - PSK (just have to enter passphrase)

Theres got to be something messing up my signal as I'm now downstairs and my mbp connection is really slow. But i have full strength signal???? when i put mbp next to router it's better. I downloaded afew widgets that show me strength and connection speed. all say 100% strength and show that i'm connected to my router at 11mps plus on on of the widgets (airtraffic control) it show that sometimes my signal drops (no signal every once in a while. This happens when the mbp is next to the router or not. When connected direct to router (ethernet) my mbp connection is quick so it aint my net provider. Also i've also got a xp notebook on and that seems to pick up 3 wireless networks on my rd but mbp airport only finds mine, does this mean airport is weaker than the xp notebook?

cheers

OK, first off - make sure that any wireless devices (like cordless phones) are away from the router. Also, make sure that the router is not located anywhere near a microwave oven. Additionally, your router should be placed as high up as you can get it and as centrally in your home as it can be.

Then, connect to the router with an ethernet (wired) connection. Choose WPA - PSK and set a password. Then, disconnect the wired connection and connect wirelessly on both machines using WPA-PSK and enter the password you set.

Then use a tool like AirPort Radar to determine what channel the other networks in your area are using. Change the wireless network channel on your router to a different channel from the other networks.

It's possible that your XP notebook's drivers are just better at sorting out interference than the Airport card's drivers. But if you follow these steps, you should be able to weed out any interference from other devices and achieve better signal strength.

ferritt · Jun 24, 2007

ok will try and report findings.

cheers for ya help mate

ferritt · Jun 24, 2007

just changed router over to WPA but know i cant get my mbp to connect at all. I'm typing in the right phrase but just come up problem conncting. I've also tried putting the $ infront of phrase but still nothing.

cheers

cwa107 · Jun 24, 2007

ferritt said:
just changed router over to WPA but know i cant get my mbp to connect at all. I'm typing in the right phrase but just come up problem conncting. I've also tried putting the $ infront of phrase but still nothing.

cheers

It should just be the exact phrase you used when setting it up on the router. It is case sensitive, if that helps. If you have SSID broadcast disabled, that can also cause problems with getting connected.

I would try changing the passphrase to something simple (all lower case, for example) and see if you can connect with that. Make it more complex later if need be.

ferritt · Jun 24, 2007

right changed phrase to something simple but still no good just won't connect. i've also changed the channel as somebody else is using the same channel near me (airport radar says so). Xp comp connects fine. Can only connec to net via ethernet at the moment. SSID is enabled. Not to sure what else i can do???

cheers

EDIT:

i give up just reset router and still no good. Just have wep on now. mac runs fine wired but dailup slow wirelessly??? the only rue way i can test the speeds is over usenet. wired i'm getting 500-600 and wirelessly i'm only getting 20 max!!!! somethings definatly wrong there?

ferritt · Jun 29, 2007

Think I've found the problem? Still havent managed to fix it tho. somebody near me in running a network on channel 11 same as mine. I can set up a wpa network easily (via online router page) but cannot get my mac to connect at all (over an hour trying). So Network only works on wep. Tried changing to a different channel but the signal went to nearly zero! (mbp was next to the router at the time???) Now at the moment I'm getting dailup speeds which is no good at all. Now i've not fully checked my other xp notebook but if that works it my mbp. Theres gotta be something up with airport? Getting really fed up now being as tho i get use my mbp for what i bought it for!!!

cheers