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Internet browsing slows when connecting cinema display

ar25801

ar25801

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 6, 2008
7
0
After months of an incredibly slow internet connection @ home I finally discovered the problem.

I have a MacBook Air 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. It can connect to any wireless network at home, school, office, etc. However, when at home I connect my Macbook Air to a 23" Apple Cinema Display (ACD) the internet goes from 1500 Kbps to 60 Kbps. Not believing the reason I have tried it several times and there is no other factor. At home I use a 2701HG-T 2Wire router. :confused:

Any idea what to do?

Updates:
1) I do not have a network adapter so I can't know if the same would happen with Ethernet.
2) The problem exists whether with my MBA is opened or closed.
3) I do not change the location of my MBA when I connect it to the ACD.
 
Does the same happen with ethernet? This will tell us if its a problem with airport or something else.
 
no adaptor

I do not have a network adaptor so I can't know if the same would happen with an Ethernet connection.
 
Opened or closed

I usually have both displays working. I had a hard, very hard, time managing to have my MBA closed and running with the Cinema Display. Either it froze, or I would only get a blank blue screen in the CD. Still, I managed to have the MBA closed and usind the CD. The internet would not work. Now detached again it works flawlessly.
 
There could be nearby objects interfering with the wireless reception. Perhaps you ONLY use your MBA in that location while connected to your Cinema Display, and so the issue could be a weak signal in that area, rather than it having anything to do with being connected to the screen.

Look around your house for things which might interfere with the signal, for example other wireless devices, microwaves, things like that. Also metal girders in your house could interfere with the signal. If you live in a metal framed house, this could be an issue. In my house we once had an issue as we have an extension and had a steel girder put in, which interfered with the wifi signal when we had the router underneath it. The signal quality was only impaired for devices connecting in the room right above the girder, while everything on the ground floor worked perfectly. Moving the router in that case solved the issue, and it only had to be moved about 1-2 metres for the problem to be solved

Try moving your MBA or router around if you think something similar is obstructing the signal.
 
Same location different browsing speed

Sorry for not specifying. I have my MBA on my desk, not connected to my Apple Cinema Display (ACM) but connected to all my other peripherals. I can browse the internet fast.
I connect the ACM, and it slows to 1/10 of the speed.
:confused:

seb-opp said:
There could be nearby objects interfering with the wireless reception. Perhaps you ONLY use your MBA in that location while connected to your Cinema Display, and so the issue could be a weak signal in that area, rather than it having anything to do with being connected to the screen.

Look around your house for things which might interfere with the signal, for example other wireless devices, microwaves, things like that. Also metal girders in your house could interfere with the signal. If you live in a metal framed house, this could be an issue. In my house we once had an issue as we have an extension and had a steel girder put in, which interfered with the wifi signal when we had the router underneath it. The signal quality was only impaired for devices connecting in the room right above the girder, while everything on the ground floor worked perfectly. Moving the router in that case solved the issue, and it only had to be moved about 1-2 metres for the problem to be solved

Try moving your MBA or router around if you think something similar is obstructing the signal.
Click to expand...
 
wireless bandwidth slows when connecting cinema display

Did you find any resolution to this problem? I have the same problem with a Macbook Pro. I searched various Apple support forums and found suggestions to change the wireless router channel, remove possible wireless interference such as CFLs, etc. None of these helped, altho they did help the computer maintain a consistent wireless signal.

So when the cinema display gets this problem, the network bandwidth slows from 6 Mbps to 500 Kbps. But the MBP has 4 bars on the airport wireless signal. And the network bandwidth is reduced for both the Time capsule and the web browser.

The problem is intermittent but seems to occur most often when I boot up the MBP with the cinema display connected. If I attach the display after the MBP is already running, the bandwidth problem is less frequent.
 
ar25801 said:
Sorry for not specifying. I have my MBA on my desk, not connected to my Apple Cinema Display (ACM) but connected to all my other peripherals. I can browse the internet fast.
I connect the ACM, and it slows to 1/10 of the speed.
:confused:
Click to expand...


I have the EXACT same issue. Interestingly, when I almost close the MBA screen, I get signal again. I think the wifi antenna (which I believe is built into the display bezel) is getting some sort of bad interference from the Apple Cinema Display and moving the antenna (like on old TVs!) by almost closing the screen helps.

Does changing router channels work for anyone? Is there any kind of shielding one can do on these displays?
 
possible solution to wifi bandwith drop when plugged into cinema display

I posted this possible solution the Apple Support Discussion forum at
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=13222310#13222310
Apple.com > Support > Discussions > MacBook Pro (Original) > Internet and Networking on the MacBook Pro

I tried changing wifi channels on my Apple Airport Time Capsule but it didn't help.

-mj


- - - - - - - -
SOLUTION TO: wireless bandwidth drop when plugging into Mac display
Posted: Mar 14, 2011 6:36 PM in response to: mjlee

I might have found a solution to the bandwidth drop that occurs when plugging in a new MacBook Pro to a new 27" LED cinema display. I was able to eliminate the problem by changing both the keyboard and the mouse that were plugged into the MBP.

The wifi in my house runs at 12Mbps via an Airport Time Capsule. But connected to the cinema display, the MBP was running at only 1 Mbps. I had an Apple USB keyboard plugged into the MBP. When I swapped out this keyboard for a new Apple A1313 wireless bluetooth keyboard, the bandwidth increased to 8 Mbps. Then, I swapped out the old Kensington USB corded trackball mouse for a new Logitech USB cordless mouse, and the bandwidth increased to 11 Mbps. When I plugged the old devices back in, the bandwidth dropped back to 1 MBps, whether they were plugged into the display or directly into the MBP.

Another curious aspect of this problem is that appears to also be related to signal strength. It first cropped up after we moved the MBP further away from the Time Capsule, from a distance of around 25 feet to a distance of 120 feet plus going through 2 walls.

Hope this helps.

MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.6.2)
 
OMG! Finally an answer!

I have been having the same problem with my MBP for several weeks. I went through over a dozen "fixes" which proved to be useless.

Now, what can be done to fix this? I need my ACD for photo/video work.

Some research suggested it was brought on by the update to 10.6.8 which parallels my experience.
 
Anyone have any luck getting this to work yet?

My MBA internet speeds slow to near zero when it is connected to Apple 22 inch Cinema display. Someone must have a solution by now?
Shielding? Software update? Positioning of the MBA in relation to the display somehow?
 
Please, try to add a couple of aluminium foils between the keyboard and the screen before closing you MBP.
I konw, it seems crazy, but for me it works!!
 
this happened to me when i connected my wacom cintiq display to my macbook pro. I could go to speedtest.net and take tests both while connected and while not and network bandwidth would drop like a stone when the cintiq was connected. changing channels and running speedtest worked for me. it took me 4 or 5 channels but i finally figured out with the speed test that channel 7 worked best for me. if channel set to auto i would get less then 1 Mbps. channel 7 - 35 Mbps
 
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