Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Will my internet run faster if I have both ethernet plugged in + WIFI on? (Time Caps)

L

lip5016

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 11, 2014
173
26
Hey guys! I'm operating a MacBook Pro with Apple Time Capsule as my router. I have the 2 positioned right next to each other. I currently have the Time Capsule plugged into my MacBook Pro via Ethernet, but was wondering if I should keep my WIFI (on my MacBook Pro) enabled? I wasn't sure if OSX favored one or the other when it comes to ethernet vs. WIFI, and wanted to make sure it didn't just connect to websites via WIFI-only, if there was ethernet available, and vice versa.

If I have my Apple Time Capsule plugged into my MacBook Pro via Ethernet, would it be more wise to keep WIFI enabled on my MacBook Pro as well? Is there any sort of "synergistic" effects (aka.. more speed) by having both of them enabled? Thanks!
 
SandboxGeneral

SandboxGeneral

Moderator emeritus
Sep 8, 2010
26,482
10,051
Detroit
You can leave wifi on if you want, it won't hurt anything, but your computer should default to Ethernet when it detects both active.
 
D

drambuie

macrumors 6502a
Feb 16, 2010
751
1
The Ethernet speed of newer routers is a gigabit/s, and older routers are 100 megabit/s, so even if you have an older router, your internet speed would have to approach 100 Mbps for the Ethernet to saturate. Except for premium plans I don't think many ISPs even reach 100 Mbps, let alone 1000 Mbps.
 
L

lip5016

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 11, 2014
173
26
drambuie said:
The Ethernet speed of newer routers is a gigabit/s, and older routers are 100 megabit/s, so even if you have an older router, your internet speed would have to approach 100 Mbps for the Ethernet to saturate. Except for premium plans I don't think many ISPs even reach 100 Mbps, let alone 1000 Mbps.
Click to expand...

that's a lot of bits
 
P

pragmatous

macrumors 65816
May 23, 2012
1,378
99
It actually defaults to whatever is the network priority. Meaning if wifi is priority and you plug in the ethernet cable it will still use the wifi. It's best practice to turn off the wifi and then plug in the ethernet cable. The order doesn't matter.

:apple:

lip5016 said:
Hey guys! I'm operating a MacBook Pro with Apple Time Capsule as my router. I have the 2 positioned right next to each other. I currently have the Time Capsule plugged into my MacBook Pro via Ethernet, but was wondering if I should keep my WIFI (on my MacBook Pro) enabled? I wasn't sure if OSX favored one or the other when it comes to ethernet vs. WIFI, and wanted to make sure it didn't just connect to websites via WIFI-only, if there was ethernet available, and vice versa.

If I have my Apple Time Capsule plugged into my MacBook Pro via Ethernet, would it be more wise to keep WIFI enabled on my MacBook Pro as well? Is there any sort of "synergistic" effects (aka.. more speed) by having both of them enabled? Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom