Bluetooth & wifi interferences on Mac mini M1

[gigatoaster]

Hello there

I have a Mac mini M1 that I use to listen to music and download torrent. I am using wifi and before considering Ethernet, I’d like to know if there is anything I should do to avoid the following problem.

My Internet speed from my provider is 300 Mbps, which is 37 MB/s on qBittorent. When Bluetooth is on, I usually get 42 Mbps or less. When I turn it off, I get 300 Mbps.

I called Apple, they made me upgrade to the latest Ventura version, even wipe clean the mini to re-install MacOS and of course they were blaming my ISP. In the end, they want me to go to an Apple Store for further investigations but it’s too far from my place.

Then I called my ISP and we did factory reset, twice. We removed ipv6, turn off all my gadgets (I have 12 and I know it’s a lot), change the channels, activate 2 separate 2.4 & 5 GHz frequencies….but on their side everything is ok. And they are right.

I also move places the mini and when putting it in the bedroom, I get my maximum speed.

I saw there are a lot or worst issues with BT but for my case it’s just a slow Internet. It’s of course usable, except for Torrent.

Is there a way to fix this issues or do you think it is hardware related due to the mini itself? I’m not sure changing the mini will see An improvement.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I also move places the mini and when putting it in the bedroom, I get my maximum speed.

Well there's your problem. When you are right next to your router, you get the expected speeds. This tells me that where you normally use it, there's too much interference in the building. Years ago, I had issues with interference in my living room. The water heater was directly in between the area I sat and the office where the router is. Solution? Wi-fi extenders. I basically had to position a couple around the house strategically to basically pass the signal around areas where I faced high levels of obstruction. Mesh routers are very popular today because they excel at maintaining good network connections in these situations.

 

[gigatoaster]

Thanks for your message. However the mini was in the living room at 5m from the router.

When I moved it in the bedroom, maybe 10m from the router, the speed was better. Weird, no?

 

[Fishrrman]

To fix internet speeds:
Connect to ethernet. Nothing else will work better or faster.

To fix bluetooth problems:
Get an external USB bt adapter and a USB "extension cord". Use that in place of the built-in bt.

The problems with bluetooth v. the Mini are "endemic" -- they cannot be fixed through software, it has to do with the design of the machine and with bt itself (a WEAK radio technology).

 

[thebart]

Since you get good speed with Bluetooth off, the problem is likely interference.

If wiring your room to use Ethernet isn't practical, you could try to a USB wifi adapter. Having an antenna outside of the mini will hopefully overcome the Bluetooth interference

PS: torrent speeds are erratic and not a good gauge; you've tested with something like speedtest.net, right?

PPS: it's terrible that Apple support's go to procedure is to have you reset and reinstall, when it has little chance of helping. Like your time is worth nothing