Early 2011 MBP + External + Lid Closed = Terrible Wifi

[Standard]

Hi all, I recently upgraded my RAM to 16GBS and my HDD to an SSD. I must say, this computer is like a new machine now.

One problem I am noticing is with my Wifi download speed. With the lid up, I get full 15mbps.

When I hook the laptop to my external and close the lid, I get 1 mbps. It's terrible.

Is this a hardware issue with my machine, or is there anything I can do about this ?

Secondly, if that's just the way it is, will running my laptop and the monitor together be too hard on the machine? I know it has a dedicated video card but I don't want it to work any harder than it has to. Especially in full screen applications, i.e. movies, games, Adobe products.

Cheers,

Standard

 

[billderry]

Hi,

I have the same computer, with an external monitor as well.

To limit the power required to drive the internal and external screen, I kept the lid up on the MBP and placed a magnet below the left speaker. This makes the computer think the lid is closed, and turns off the screen. It works remarkably well. You may have to try different positions for the magnet though. It worked for me with a simple fridge magnet. Plus, it makes cooling easier for the computer.

 

[53kyle]

I think it is because the wifi antennas are in the screen assembly, so I would follow post #2's advice about keeping the lid opened and using a magnet, unless having the lid closed for your setup is required.

 

[Standard]

So I did some research on the Apple forum and yes a magnet works but I don't want to use that. This is something Apple needs to address, for now I keep the lid open just 1 inch and it will disable to screen and the Wifi is good. Very weird..

 

[53kyle]

So I did some research on the Apple forum and yes a magnet works but I don't want to use that. This is something Apple needs to address, for now I keep the lid open just 1 inch and it will disable to screen and the Wifi is good. Very weird..

Just like the possible lines on the back of the iPhone 6, the antenna needs a window for the wifi to travel through, and the only part of the computer where they can have a window like that is in the screen bezel. I guess that when the display is closed, there is nowhere for the waves to travel through or a very small space for that, but apple can't just change that.

EDIT: Never mind, the wifi antenna is actually in the hinge, so I got that mixed up, so I don't know what the problem is. I also just tried the wifi on my cMBP in clamshell mode and the wifi is just fine, so maybe it is the placement of your router or you need to take the computer to an apple store.

 

[happyfrappy]

Maybe the OP is placing it too closely near speakers/monitor, products which give off above 1.0 gauss(EMF) can do weird things with nearby electronics. Whenever I clamshelled my 13" MBP(2010) with an older LCD monitor(pre-LED backlight) my reception would half itself so I had to turn the hinge sideways towards the Airport Extreme but when I moved to a new LED monitor my reception woes ended.

Age wise quite possible one of the antennas got disconnected or is loose, back with the old Aluminum PowerBook G4s owners who had wifi issues found out the wifi cable was loose.

 

[Standard]

Maybe the OP is placing it too closely near speakers/monitor, products which give off above 1.0 gauss(EMF) can do weird things with nearby electronics. Whenever I clamshelled my 13" MBP(2010) with an older LCD monitor(pre-LED backlight) my reception would half itself so I had to turn the hinge sideways towards the Airport Extreme but when I moved to a new LED monitor my reception woes ended.

Age wise quite possible one of the antennas got disconnected or is loose, back with the old Aluminum PowerBook G4s owners who had wifi issues found out the wifi cable was loose.

This is quite possible, thank you. My MBP sits 1 inch to the left of my monitor. I will try to move it and see if there is a difference.

 

[catean]

Just as an ideea : buy a cheap netgear WIFI bridge and connect it by cable to your Macbook or TB display.