Am I Running at WiFi "n"?

mac57 · May 1, 2008

This will sound like a really silly question, but I have just purchased and set up an Airport Express base station. It is WiFi "n" capable. I checked my MBP, and it is set up for WiFi a/b/g/n. So, all the hardware capability seems to be there.

My MBP picks up the WiFi from my Airport Express just fine and I am off surfing the web.

The question is, am I running in WiFi "n"? Is there a simple way to tell? I opened Network Utility and it declares that my link speed is 130 Mbps, which I know is faster than WiFi "g" 's maximum 54 Mbps. So, it would appear that I am running WiFi "n". However, is there any place I can look that directly tells me which 802.11 variant the machine is using? Thanks!

a4 abt · May 1, 2008

hold "Option" while clicking on your Wireless icon on the top bar. If your transmit rate is 130, then it's n.

harveydov · May 1, 2008

I would say the fact it says 130Mbps is enough to tell you it must be using N. From my experience I have not seen another way to find it. Net Util is the place I would check.

Unless there is a 3rd Party app that will tell you.

NPuter · May 1, 2008

Not sure if there is something that will tell you "you are using 802.11n."

But, I know for sure that I am running on "n" and my link speed is 130Mbps in network monitor...

EDIT:
Wow.. all three of us posted at the same time...
when I option click airport in the menubar, my transmit rate is around 100

harveydov · May 1, 2008

nputer: very true! as long as it is above 54mbps your on. It will be less the further away you get from your wireless router

MMMII · May 2, 2008

Mine bounces between 117 and 130 what's up with that?

a4 abt · May 2, 2008

MMMII said:
Mine bounces between 117 and 130 what's up with that?

probably due to interference (cordless phones, microwave...). Keep in mind the frequency wireless network runs at is susceptible to interference and it decreases performances. Try switching channel if it gets really bad, but 117-130Mbps is good!

youthpastor · May 2, 2008

mac57 said:
This will sound like a really silly question, but I have just purchased and set up an Airport Express base station. It is WiFi "n" capable. I checked my MBP, and it is set up for WiFi a/b/g/n. So, all the hardware capability seems to be there.

My MBP picks up the WiFi from my Airport Express just fine and I am off surfing the web.

The question is, am I running in WiFi "n"? Is there a simple way to tell? I opened Network Utility and it declares that my link speed is 130 Mbps, which I know is faster than WiFi "g" 's maximum 54 Mbps. So, it would appear that I am running WiFi "n". However, is there any place I can look that directly tells me which 802.11 variant the machine is using? Thanks!

Got a question for you as I am considering purchasing a "N" wireless router. Did you notice a big speed increase in web surfing? I've heard quite a few folks say there is not a big difference, but was just wondering your experience thus far....

Dysfunction · May 2, 2008

Or in my case, I'm hovering between 78 and 117.. but there's a brick wall between me and the base station

CL33Zero · May 2, 2008

Mine is between 48 and 54.

But thats g for you. Anyone want to donate an n to my "cause" then feel free. ;D

But I have the same question. I am getting an backup HD soon. And I just dont know if I should get just the drive, and save money, or if there is a big enough difference, get the TC.

bobtomay · May 2, 2008

Been on 'n' for a year now. Haven't found anyplace that shows 'n' specifically, just the link speed which you've found.

I am curious, since I'm considering purchasing the TC.
Does the Apple Airport Extreme/Express allow you to go into it's settings via it's IP address and manually configure the settings - or does it only have that wizard everybody talks about?

mac57 · May 2, 2008

youthpastor said:
Got a question for you as I am considering purchasing a "N" wireless router. Did you notice a big speed increase in web surfing? I've heard quite a few folks say there is not a big difference, but was just wondering your experience thus far....

Thanks everyone. With Apple's rep for a user friendly interface, I am surprised that it doesn't tell you directly. Oh well, no worries.

youthpastor, I didn't notice any big speed increase. 54 Mbps is pretty fast already, quite a bit faster than most people's internet link. Hence, it should not be noticeable.

I have "n" simply because I got an Airport Express, and it happens to provide "n". I wanted the portability of the Airport Express, not the "n"... I am delighted to have "n" - as an engineer, I always like better specs! - but what I really wanted was the ability to have a portable WiFi base station.

GroovyLinuxGuy · May 2, 2008

youthpastor said:
Got a question for you as I am considering purchasing a "N" wireless router. Did you notice a big speed increase in web surfing? I've heard quite a few folks say there is not a big difference, but was just wondering your experience thus far....

You might not notice a big difference between g and n if you are surfing your average web page. You will notice it if you are doing multiple downloads or a big download. Think of it as the difference between a garden hose and a firefighters hose. If you were to have a litre of water pour out of each, you wouldn't notice much change but change that litre to 100 litres and you would notice that it would take longer to get it through the garden hose (g) than the firehose

Cheers

kgeier82 · May 2, 2008

I like the look of the APE personally, looks better than anything out there.

Dysfunction · May 2, 2008

bobtomay said:
Been on 'n' for a year now. Haven't found anyplace that shows 'n' specifically, just the link speed which you've found.

I am curious, since I'm considering purchasing the TC.
Does the Apple Airport Extreme/Express allow you to go into it's settings via it's IP address and manually configure the settings - or does it only have that wizard everybody talks about?

You can configure it manually. In fact, thats where you can view logs and current connections.

kgeier82 · May 2, 2008

GroovyLinuxGuy said:
You might not notice a big difference between g and n if you are surfing your average web page. You will notice it if you are doing multiple downloads or a big download. Think of it as the difference between a garden hose and a firefighters hose. If you were to have a litre of water pour out of each, you wouldn't notice much change but change that litre to 100 litres and you would notice that it would take longer to get it through the garden hose (g) than the firehose

Cheers

how is this accurate? I mean:

i have a 6000kb/s connection at home. FIOS has up to 50Mb/s in the states...

now, if you have a G network vs an N network...realworld speeds of each we will say are around 26Mb/s for G, and 80 Mb/s for N.

i would assume for anyone with 25Mb/s or less connection, WIFI-N has nothing to offer internet browsing? Your not gonna get downloads faster just because you have N over a G, unless your bandwidth, and real world numbers exceed the average of what a G network offers, right?

Only file transfering betweem PCs, and range are beneficial at this point?

some confusion here i guess, i just wanna understand it right if im not already

mac57 · May 2, 2008

GroovyLinuxGuy said:
You might not notice a big difference between g and n if you are surfing your average web page. You will notice it if you are doing multiple downloads or a big download. Think of it as the difference between a garden hose and a firefighters hose. If you were to have a litre of water pour out of each, you wouldn't notice much change but change that litre to 100 litres and you would notice that it would take longer to get it through the garden hose (g) than the firehose

Cheers

I am not sure I agree. The limiting factor will be your internet link speed. Using your analogy above, it is the garden house. 802.11g and 802.11n are both firehoses compared to most people's internet link. Hence, no matter how fast you run your WiFi, I doubt you will notice any increase in browsing speed.

What you WILL notice a difference in as things like computer to computer file copies and the like... anything that is contained within your own home network. As soon as you involve the Internet though, it becomes the limiting factor (at least for most people anyway).

kgeier82 · May 2, 2008

mac57 said:
I am not sure I agree. The limiting factor will be your internet link speed. Using your analogy above, it is the garden house. 802.11g and 802.11n are both firehoses compared to most people's internet link. Hence, no matter how fast you run your WiFi, I doubt you will notice any increase in browsing speed.

What you WILL notice a difference in as things like computer to computer file copies and the like... anything that is contained within your own home network. As soon as you involve the Internet though, it becomes the limiting factor (at least for most people anyway).

i didnt think i was alone.

still that APE is super sex

GroovyLinuxGuy · May 2, 2008

mac57 said:
I am not sure I agree. The limiting factor will be your internet link speed. Using your analogy above, it is the garden house. 802.11g and 802.11n are both firehoses compared to most people's internet link. Hence, no matter how fast you run your WiFi, I doubt you will notice any increase in browsing speed.

What you WILL notice a difference in as things like computer to computer file copies and the like... anything that is contained within your own home network. As soon as you involve the Internet though, it becomes the limiting factor (at least for most people anyway).

Your right of course. I was basically pointing out the differences between the two. I probably could have used a much better example than internet downloads/average surfing. The computer to computer transfer is a much more realistic scenario. The theory still stands tho :Oops:

Dysfunction · May 2, 2008

There is typically more latency due to interference on wireless connections too.