Time Capsule internet speed

[jordand321]

Hi,

Today I had my internet upgraded from 15Mbps to 100Mbps. When they installed the new modem they supplied a wireless router. After they had left I did a few speed tests with the new router and was getting consistent 100Mbps up / 10Mbps down, the quoted speeds. However when I switched back to my Time Capsule the speeds dropped quite a bit. Using 5ghz I get around 65 Mbps down / 10 up and 2.4ghz I get around 85Mbps down / 10Mbps up.

I have a second generation Time Capsule and late 2013 15 inch rMBP.

My MacBook says the transmit rate is 270 at most, all tests done sitting next to the router. I would expect the Time Capsule to be able to deliver well over 85Mbps max when sitting right next to it!

Anyone know what the issue could be or is this normal for a 2nd gen Time Capsule?

Thanks.

 

[opinio]

Hi,

Today I had my internet upgraded from 15Mbps to 100Mbps. When they installed the new modem they supplied a wireless router. After they had left I did a few speed tests with the new router and was getting consistent 100Mbps up / 10Mbps down, the quoted speeds. However when I switched back to my Time Capsule the speeds dropped quite a bit. Using 5ghz I get around 65 Mbps down / 10 up and 2.4ghz I get around 85Mbps down / 10Mbps up.

I have a second generation Time Capsule and late 2013 15 inch rMBP.

My MacBook says the transmit rate is 270 at most, all tests done sitting next to the router. I would expect the Time Capsule to be able to deliver well over 85Mbps max when sitting right next to it!

Anyone know what the issue could be or is this normal for a 2nd gen Time Capsule?

Thanks.

When you say you get around 65Mbps etc, you mean that's what you get on speediest.net?

The TC and Extreme can deliver gigabit speeds. The WAN throughput can run gigabit speeds. I saw a review where they tested the Extreme the WAN throughput was 900Mbps+. Unfortunately I cannot find the link. Digital dream did the review.

I run a TC on the Australian NBN where the internet is rated at 100Mbps down and 40Mbps up. I get 96 and 38 respectively on speediest.net.

BUT... that can be slower if I run the test on wifi because the wifi can be a bottleneck. Depends on the wifi link.

Anyway, the TC/Extreme is very capable of gigabit WAN throughput. The bottle neck must be your internet or your wifi link is a little weak.

 

[Altemose]

The transmit rate is how fast the router can communicate with your wireless adapter (AirPort Card). However, that does not take into consideration the WAN to LAN speed. I would first verify by using a Cat 5e or Cat 6 cable connected from the new router is getting those speeds. If so then plug that into the WAN port on the Time Capsule. Now use another cable connected to the LAN port on the Time Capsule and test again. That should tell you if you are experiencing a problem somewhere between one of the routers or the cables.

The 2nd generation Time Capsule came out in 2009. While that may not be old by regular time, in technology that is eons. I am not sure of the WAN to LAN speed on that model, but I know the new models are pretty fast. It maybe that your router is outdated. Check the latest firmware and report back!

Altemose

 

[MUrhino]

Older post I see, but I'll chime in as I've done quite a few intensive tests lately. I've got the 2nd Gen Time Capsule from 2009 (model MB765LL/A) plugged into an Arris SB6141 modem (rated at 343Mbps down w/ 8 ch downstream and 4 ch upstream); and I'm on a 100Mbps internet plan. I've been frustrated w/ speeds for some time, more so from the Apple TV connected to the TC via ethernet, so finally ran some tests to make sure I'm actually getting what I'm paying for. I'm still trying to figure out where the problem is, but believe it may be the older (2009) hardware and/or older devices on the network throttling speed back. I don't understand why a hardline speed would be reduced though, so I'm wondering if the LAN aspect of the TC is slowing down the traffic. I'm using WPA2 security as well. All tests done via speedtest.net with a 2013 rMBP, my provider is Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum), and I also have an Airport Extreme to extend the network setup in the office about 41' away. The MBP usually connects to that over 5Ghz as it's closer with a 270-300Mbps txfr rate shown.

MBP direct to cable modem via ethernet = 115 Mbps down / 7 Mbps up (okay...I'm getting what I'm paying for here)
MBP direct to TC via ethernet = 80-106 down / 7-12 up (So, the router may be slowing it down a little but not bad)
Apple TV to TC via ethernet = 20-62 down / 5-11 up (Big difference here...speed is cut in half for some reason)

MBP WAN sitting 6' from TC = 33-52 down / 2-11 up (getting 1/2 the speed of a LAN connection)
MBP WAN in office 41' from TC = 32-49 down / 1-6 up (getting about 1/3 - 1/2 the speed)

The Time Capsule sits on top of my Media Console by the TV and has to pass through the kitchen and 1 wall to get to my normal MBP position (about 41 ft). I know interference from the electronic equipment could be causing an issue, I'm just trying to isolate the problem. My modem is connected near my TV so it's convenient to leave the modem and TC there.

I can live w/ 1/2 the speed I'm paying for to work in the office as my laptop is mobile, but I don't understand why the Apple TV and even an Xbox are slowed down so much w/ hardline connections to the Time Capsule. Thoughts?

I've got about 8-9 wireless devices on the network total, but usually no more than 1-3 being actively used by me (otherwise they may ping occasionally...but that's getting into the weeds for my knowledge base.
----------------------------

Update after upgrading to a refurb latest Gen (5) Time Capsule. Hardline and WiFi Network speeds are completely fixed. I'm now getting 115ish Mbps from my 100Mbps internet plan over ethernet and AC WiFi to my rMBP. Even though it's 3+ yr old technology in the time capsule, nothing new is really out there except a box with more antennas, so this works for me.

 

[danielwsmithee]

When you say you get around 65Mbps etc, you mean that's what you get on speediest.net?

The TC and Extreme can deliver gigabit speeds. The WAN throughput can run gigabit speeds. I saw a review where they tested the Extreme the WAN throughput was 900Mbps+. Unfortunately I cannot find the link. Digital dream did the review.

I run a TC on the Australian NBN where the internet is rated at 100Mbps down and 40Mbps up. I get 96 and 38 respectively on speediest.net.

BUT... that can be slower if I run the test on wifi because the wifi can be a bottleneck. Depends on the wifi link.

Anyway, the TC/Extreme is very capable of gigabit WAN throughput. The bottle neck must be your internet or your wifi link is a little weak.

I don't think this is accurate at all. Our whole neighborhood was just upgraded to municipal gigabit fiber. Nearly everyone that had Airport Extreme or Time Capsules replaced them because the LAN to WAN and WAN to LAN speed couldn't keep up. Nearly everyone who had an Airport Extreme or Time Capsule saw their speeds capped at ~300mbps up and ~650mbps down over gigabit ethernet. The processor in the Airport base stations just wasn't fast enough to keep up with NAT at true gigabit speeds. Performance gets even worse once you enable features like Time Caspsule etc.

This corresponds with the extensive testing performed by smallnetbuilder.com
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...ort-extreme-80211ac-reviewed?showall=&start=1

If I owned a Time Capsule, I'd just assign it to TimeMachine only functionality, and get a better performing router for the DHCP/NAT etc.

 

[Trippy Bear]

The transmit rate is how fast the router can communicate with your wireless adapter (AirPort Card). However, that does not take into consideration the WAN to LAN speed. I would first verify by using a Cat 5e or Cat 6 cable connected from the new router is getting those speeds. If so then plug that into the WAN port on the Time Capsule. Now use another cable connected to the LAN port on the Time Capsule and test again. That should tell you if you are experiencing a problem somewhere between one of the routers or the cables.

The 2nd generation Time Capsule came out in 2009. While that may not be old by regular time, in technology that is eons. I am not sure of the WAN to LAN speed on that model, but I know the new models are pretty fast. It maybe that your router is outdated. Check the latest firmware and report back!

Altemose

Bringing an old thread back from the dead. I just had Frontier FIOS installed. I had Spectrum and was paying like $80/month and was only getting around 50Mbps down, and 25Mbps up. Frontier gives me 200/200 for $50/month, so I couldn't pass up the deal.

When I connected my 2nd Gen Time Capsule though, I was only getting like 80Mbps speeds connected to the Frontier modem/router. At first I thought something was wrong, like settings, and then when I couldn't figure out why i wasn't getting higher speeds, I was thinking it was a limitation on the TC, but I looked up the specs and it should have been giving me faster speeds. As I was looking at my desk, the new LAN cable was sitting there as I was reading your reply about Cat5 and Cat6 cables, and sure enough, the cable I was using was Cat5. I took the new Cat6 cable, plugged it in, and VOILA! getting those 200/200 speeds!