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Mac Studio poor wifi reception at a distance ...

S

studio673

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 11, 2006
7
1
I bought a Mac Studio (MS) to replace my 2015 iMac and set it up next to the iMac. The iMac gets full Mps downloads from my Airport Extreme which is 25 meters away in the house yet when I set up the MS I couldn't get a signal. After calling Apple support to no avail, going thru all the troubleshooting checks, reinstalling my OSX etc still nothing.
When the MS is in the house a couple of meters from the router there's no issue but in the office 25 meters away its a dud wifi wise.
After some reading and searching for answers I came across the fact that the antenna of the MS is underneath it and so I tried to place the MS on it's side and what do you think? It started to get a signal. Not full strength like my iMac but still. So the issue is that the antenna being underneath the MS is a major design fault. Has anyone else had similar experiences and is there a solution that doesn't involve flipping the MS upside down?
 
studio673 said:
Airport Extreme which is 25 meters away in the house
Click to expand...

Since AirPort Extreme is a dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz router, you can have separate Wi-Fi band names to manually connect to one of the bands. You could try to force the Mac Studio to connect to the 5Ghz band since it might be automatically switching to the slower but stronger 2.4GHz band.

A 2.4GHz band can reach a maximum of around 50 meters indoors on average, while 5 GHz Wi-Fi band can only reach 1/3 to 1/2 the distance, but should be faster.

You may be at the limit for the 5Ghz signal, but the antenna in the iMac may be good enough to connect to it, while the Mac Studio is struggling at the end of the 5GHz range, so you need to set up or boost your Wi-Fi so you are not operating on the fringe.
 
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WiFI isn’t directional like that so placing it on its side, upside down or whatever won’t work so please don’t go calling it a design flaw or every weirdo will run with it.

Substantially elevating it would help since WiFI signals are more of a blanket but that’s usually not realistic. My advice would have been to take some of that MS money and invest in a more recent router. AirPort routers were hit or miss to begin with and depending on the version it could be old tech.

Lastly, being 25 meters away is also an issue. The 2.4GHz band can roughly go 45 meters and the signal degrades the closer you are to 45. The 5GHz band is approx half the 2.4 distance. Add walls (brick, stone, wood) and you’re asking a lot from any device.

TLDR; your WiFI setup isn’t optimal
 
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If there's any way possible at all...
... run an ethernet cable and connect that way.

If not...
... perhaps it's time to install a new wifi setup. Have you considered "mesh" ...?
 
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I've been having wifi connection issues with my Mac Studio as well. I have an Orbi system with 3 satellites and no issues with any other products. Been experimenting with placement and now having less issues with connections. My house is only 2700 square feet but have several metal and concrete obstacles. The main router is in the basement near heating ducts which is my biggest issue i believe.
 
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I noticed this, too. My 2017 27" iMac could pull 500Mbps from my LinkSys Velop mesh (the nearest node is about 25 feet away but with two walls in between) and my service is 980Mbps. My Studio is getting half of that at best. While 200Mbps is just fine for my needs, I'm wondering which booster is compatible with the Velop mesh for those times when I do need high bandwidth?
 
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Short 2 part advice:

1. 25m is doable like you can see with your iMac, maybe the antenna is indeed stronger via the iMac. To get some information about Wifi do a OPTION-click on the wifi symbol in the upper right corner and post the image here.
I would recommend to get a newer wifi setup, in Germany we have fritz.box and I have two additional booster antennas to build up a mesh wifi so I can walk around with my phone through the whole building without losing any connection.

2. The Mac Studio's fan system is based on the airflow from below. I would not try to setup the Mac studio to the side, but ask Apple about that setup.
 
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Sheepish-Lord said:
TLDR; your WiFI setup isn’t optimal
Click to expand...

It was. This is the point. But what I have done is connect an even older Airport Extreme - the flat one that came out at the time when they combined them with an internal HD, mine hasn't got the HD - and plugged it in and set it up to extend the wireless network of the tall AE in the house sitting 25 mts away and it has bolstered my wifi and today is providing the full Mbps speed on my plan. Here is Australia we have to pay thru the nose for high speed internet and a popular plan is 50Mbps download and approx 20Mbps upload - which is what I am getting now with this set up. So I am using fairly outdated routers and it would seem optimising my wifi in a way I couldn't before. Pretty amazing.

I was looking at the Linksys mesh system Apple are currently selling on their site but it would seem that I don't need to?
 
Random_Matt said:
Wired possible?
Click to expand...
My property is 55 mts long. The NBN router is at the very front of the house and the studio all the way at the back. I have thought many times about running a Cat 6x cable out over the roof, along the garden to the back but it would cost more than buying, let's say, the 3 pack Linksys Velop system. So, I've tried not to cable it.
And it has worked and seems to work now with my second Airport extreme in an extension of the network mode.
 
Sheepish-Lord said:
WiFI isn’t directional like that so placing it on its side, upside down or whatever won’t work so please don’t go calling it a design flaw or every weirdo will run with it.

Substantially elevating it would help since WiFI signals are more of a blanket but that’s usually not realistic. My advice would have been to take some of that MS money and invest in a more recent router. AirPort routers were hit or miss to begin with and depending on the version it could be old tech.

Lastly, being 25 meters away is also an issue. The 2.4GHz band can roughly go 45 meters and the signal degrades the closer you are to 45. The 5GHz band is approx half the 2.4 distance. Add walls (brick, stone, wood) and you’re asking a lot from any device.

TLDR; your WiFI setup isn’t optimal
Click to expand...
This is just a lot of misinformation, particularly the bolded line. WiFi antennas, even omnidirectional, are still somewhat directional. Look no further than FCC paperwork from companies like Ubiquiti to see radiation patters from their access points. While OP's router should be designed to operate optimally in a vertical orientation, that may not be the reality. Depending on the radiation pattern and shielding in the router, elevating it could make the issue worse instead of improving it.

OP, do you have a coax outlet in both rooms? You could look into MoCa, which basically allows you to use coax as an ethernet cable. It's more akin to a media converter but uses coax instead of fiber.
 
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Have to agree with others on this. 25 meters is a BIG ask for wi-fi if you want good performance.

Is the Studio perhaps sitting on a metal desktop?

You have a great computer that deserves a good signal. First choice - Ethernet. Second choice - a mesh router with a node in your office.
 
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kbright1892 said:
OP, do you have a coax outlet in both rooms? You could look into MoCa, which basically allows you to use coax as an ethernet cable. It's more akin to a media converter but uses coax instead of fiber.
Click to expand...

I actually do have a coax cable from the house to the office - It was used to use for the broadband internet and Foxtel before the NBN. What is MoCa perchance?

thanks
 
StudioMacs said:
www.electronicshub.org

10 Best MOCA Adapters For Your Home Reviews

Discover the top MOCA adapters for your home with reviews. Enhance your network performance today!
www.electronicshub.org www.electronicshub.org
Click to expand...
Thank you - this has opened up a can of worms.
I did a search and found that you can repurpose coaxial cable for internet connections. Like POE. I live in Australia and using an existing and idle coaxial cable that was used for broadband is an option. For anyone's information here are the details from a Brisbane company:

Thank you for the call today regarding using Foxtel coax to extend your internet. You will need the following to get this to work per cable:
Qty 1: Ethernet Over Coax Tx / Rx Bundle the VSEOC-ARX goes at the router end and the VSEOC-ATX goes at the far end.
Qty 1: 30W Power Over Ethernet Injector – VSPOE-IN30 Note that this will need access to mains power so will probably be close to the router unless you have power somewhere else between the router and the coax that you can use.
Qty 2: BNC Plug to F Jack Connector Adaptors between the Foxtel F Connectors and the BNC connectors on the VSEOC-ATX and ARX

The Power Over Ethernet Injector is in the line between your router and the first device in the bundle – the VSEOC-ARX. This inserts power on some unused wires within the ethernet patch cable. That power is used for the ARX and ATX at the far end of the coax.
Note that the cable length between the PoE injector and the ARX cannot be more than about 90m to safely power the ARX. I suspect this will not be a problem and only mention it in case there is a long cable run.

Active Online
M: +61 419 641686
P: +61 7 55510306
www.activeonline.com.au
ABN 21 077 211 657
 
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I have seen this problem first hand. I pose a simple explanation - The wifi antennae for my iMac was at the top of the display. Just a better location for grabbing signal no matter what it had to bounce off of to get in here. Mac Studio - around the bottom - really limiting. Indeed my wifi performance plummeted. I'm in the process of both relocating my router and getting a direct cable installed, this is going to fix it either way.
Apple could have put the antennae in the top of the studio - I think it would have made a sizable difference for most.
 
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Moonlight said:
The airport extreme is the problem. The minute I replaced mine with a current gen router, ALL of my WIFI issues were solved. The airport extreme is trash IMHO.
Click to expand...
Definitely - the extreme was good back in the day but its way outdated now.
 
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Moonlight said:
The airport extreme is the problem. The minute I replaced mine with a current gen router, ALL of my WIFI issues were solved. The airport extreme is trash IMHO.
Click to expand...
It turns out the Airport Extreme is not the problem. After trying the Coaxial route I finally bought a TP Link extender 650 and viola, full strength wifi from 30 meters of the Airport Extreme that has been going strong for the last 10 years. No doubt the newer routers should be pretty good but old tech is not necessarily the issue, everytime.
 
My problem with an M2 Mac Studio Ultra and a Mac Studio Max is in our summer home the WiFi is HOA provided and I have no access to the router. The wifi reception is fine for our iMacs and MacBook Pros, just not the Studios. Apple apparently removed support for USB WiFi antennas in the latest macOS versions. I am at. I am at a loss as to how to get a working signal on the Studios.

UPDATE. I turned my M2 Mac Studio Ultra completely upside-down the improved the reception dramatically.
 
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studio673 said:
It turns out the Airport Extreme is not the problem. After trying the Coaxial route I finally bought a TP Link extender 650 and viola, full strength wifi from 30 meters of the Airport Extreme that has been going strong for the last 10 years. No doubt the newer routers should be pretty good but old tech is not necessarily the issue, everytime.
Click to expand...
That has nothing to do with the AirPort Extreme but everything to do with the TP-Link RE650 which uses more modern technology like 802.11ac (WiFi5) and supports 4×4 MU-MIMO.

You can safely disable the dated WiFi4 (802.11n) that the AirPort Extreme broadcasts now and just use it as a router.
 
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If you're still using an AirPort Extreme I'd suggest upgrading to something more modern, the newer wifi standards (and access points) are MUCH better, even with devices that don't necessarily support wifi 6.

I went from 2x AirPort Extreme to an Orbi mesh setup and speed is MUCH better. Your new Mac Studio (which does support wifi 6) wifi is being held back by your AirPort Extreme significantly.
 
studio673 said:
It turns out the Airport Extreme is not the problem. After trying the Coaxial route I finally bought a TP Link extender 650 and viola, full strength wifi from 30 meters of the Airport Extreme that has been going strong for the last 10 years. No doubt the newer routers should be pretty good but old tech is not necessarily the issue, everytime.
Click to expand...
You band-aided it. The old tech isn't bad for what it is, but you'll get much better performance with later wifi standards.
 
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