4th gen wifi issue

[dphershman]

I have a 4th generation Apple TV in my family room downstairs that seems to get extremely poor download speeds from my Airport Extreme router located upstairs. I'm finding that the Apple TV frequently downgrades its resolution or simply freezes.

I've run a series of Speedtests on the device and I typically find download speeds of only 2 to 5 mbps. Restarting the Apple TV helps slightly, bumping the download speeds up to 5 or 6 mbps but only for a short time.

I thought at first that perhaps the distance from my router or some kind of interference was the issue, but I've run some tests using my iPad sitting right next to the Apple TV where I get downloads of 50-80 mbps on the iPad but only 2 or 3 mbps on the Apple TV.

Anyone have any suggestions?

thanks

 

[techwarrior]

For a test, and maybe permanent, name the 5Ghz SSID something different (NETWORK\NETWORK5G). Then, connect to the 5G SSID and see if that improves things.

5Ghz is generally faster, but if distance is a problem, many clients will prefer 2.4Ghz. Yet, 2.4 suffers from a lot of interference (microwave, radar, wireless devices, other networks). So, while the signal strength might appear a better fit, the interference may yield poor results. Most devices are not smart enough to connect to the fastest network, only the strongest signal.

If it persists, consider hard wire connecting the ATV to the Extreme. If running Cat5e\Cat6 cables to the ATV are a challenge, consider a Powerline ethernet adapter to run ethernet over your power lines to the ATV location. Something like this.

 

[cynics]

I think the easiest thing to try is moving the AppleTV closer to the router (just as a test) and see if its due to range/interference or a problem with the AppleTV.

Due to different technologies used 2 wifi devices next to each other (your AppleTV and iPad depending on iPad model) can give very different results even if they are on the same band and using the same protocol. Side by side my ATV 4k is faster than my 4th gen while both on wifi AC not that either data rate is ever realized (868 Mbps vs 585 Mbps).

 

[dphershman]

thanks for the suggestions. I've taken techwarrior's advice regarding connecting the the 5Ghz and it appeared to double the overall download speed, at least for one night's viewing. Moving the router or ATV is a bit of a challenge, but I'll try that if the 5Ghz switch doesn't pan out for the long run. The ATV is the only apple device in our house that seems to be stuck with slow download speeds. I've considered replacing it with the 4k but I don't want to drop extra $$ on something that might have the same problems.

 

[George Dawes]

i ended up connecting via ethernet , so many wifi issues

mind blowing !

went from 13 mbpsec to 70 can now watch all those lovely 4k films