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MBP M1 not getting gigabit wifi speeds?

Piepod

Piepod

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 6, 2020
6
2
Hey guys - trying to troubleshoot why my M1 MBP isn't pulling the gigabit speeds my router is supposed to put out. On an ethernet connection it gets there (~900mbps) but am getting ~400mbps sitting next to it on wifi.

Not that 400mbps is a big deal, but just would like to understand why considering the MBP supports 802.11ax which should support 1,300mbps?

Thanks!
 
Because your 802.11ac Wi-Fi router can't transmit at that speed. 2x2 antennas on a Wi-Fi router/access point will max at 866Mbps, with overhead that robs 40-60%, that translates to about 400Mbps.
 
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BeatCrazy said:
Because your 802.11ac Wi-Fi router can't transmit at that speed. 2x2 antennas on a Wi-Fi router/access point will max at 866Mbps, with overhead that robs 40-60%, that translates to about 400Mbps.
Click to expand...
I'm using the Verizon Fios router which uses 4x4 and 802.11ax - would it be on my MBP's side?
 
BeatCrazy said:
M1 MBP is only 2x2 IIRC, so you're still stuck at 866Mbps theoretical max, 400Mbps real world.
Click to expand...
Gotcha makes sense. Is there anything I can do to get closer to the theoretical max / what's the bottleneck there?
 
I thought that M1 Apple products (MBA, MBP, Mac mini) were all WiFi 6(802.11ax)? I don't know about the whole 2x2 MIMO part, but up above it was mentioned that the MBP is 802.11ac(WiFi 5)? I have a Mac mini M1, thats what I'm asking.

Edit: BeatCrazy was referencing the router, not the MBP....I shouldn't read so quickly.lol
 
I suspect it's your router or it's config. I'm using Eero pro 6 on an M1 MBP and I can get almost 600Mbps over Wifi.

edit: On a good day I can get a lot closer to 600 down.
Screen Shot 2021-04-06 at 8.03.56 PM.png
 
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BeatCrazy said:
M1 MBP is only 2x2 IIRC, so you're still stuck at 866Mbps theoretical max, 400Mbps real world.
Click to expand...
M1 Macs are 2x2, but with 1024-QAM they negotiate as high as 1200Mbps. OP should be able to get higher speeds as long as signal isn't too low and noise isn't too high.

@Piepod I suggest checking to make sure your router is using 80Mhz channels.
 
thatsthequy said:
M1 Macs are 2x2, but with 1024-QAM they negotiate as high as 1200Mbps. OP should be able to get higher speeds as long as signal isn't too low and noise isn't too high.

@Piepod I suggest checking to make sure your router is using 80Mhz channels.
Click to expand...
5GHz 80MHz channels have their own issues. Like reducing the number of non-overlaping channels down to 5
 
cclarke99 said:
I suspect it's your router or it's config. I'm using Eero pro 6 on an M1 MBP and I can get almost 600Mbps over Wifi.

edit: On a good day I can get a lot closer to 600 down.
View attachment 1754684
Click to expand...
530Mbit is pretty darn good over wifi. I use an Apple Airport AC wifi router and get about 275Mbit (real-world speed) versus over 900Mbit via ethernet.
I keep thinking about switching to something faster for my wifi network, but all my devices are so super stable as currently configured, so I'm very hesitant to change anything.
Often, the enemy of good is better.
 
Over a certain point, the speed numbers are nothing more than academic. It's not like you can visually tell the working difference between 100 - 400 Mbps

Using an Apple Airport Extreme, I can get 5 - 600 Mbps on Wifi. The only time I even look at numbers is when I think U-Verse may be down.
 
jerryk said:
5GHz 80MHz channels have their own issues. Like reducing the number of non-overlaping channels down to 5
Click to expand...
More like 2 actual usable channel blocks. DFS isn't widely supported on clients, can take longer to connect/roam to, and can be knocked offline at any moment by a DFS strike.

That all being said, using DFS on one 5Ghz radio of a try-band AP should be mostly OK. 80Mhz channels are mostly usable too even in congested environments, as long as your hardware can notch out loud tones within the modulation scheme.
 
xraydoc said:
530Mbit is pretty darn good over wifi. I use an Apple Airport AC wifi router and get about 275Mbit (real-world speed) versus over 900Mbit via ethernet.
I keep thinking about switching to something faster for my wifi network, but all my devices are so super stable as currently configured, so I'm very hesitant to change anything.
Often, the enemy of good is better.
Click to expand...
Apple_Robert said:
Over a certain point, the speed numbers are nothing more than academic. It's not like you can visually tell the working difference between 100 - 400 Mbps

Using an Apple Airport Extreme, I can get 5 - 600 Mbps on Wifi. The only time I even look at numbers is when I think U-Verse may be down.
Click to expand...
This exactly. Latency is an easily overlooked factor that is way more relevant in day-to-day usage. 100Mbps with low latency = Great experience. 700Mbps with high latency = almost unusable.
 
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Piepod said:
Hey guys - trying to troubleshoot why my M1 MBP isn't pulling the gigabit speeds my router is supposed to put out. On an ethernet connection it gets there (~900mbps) but am getting ~400mbps sitting next to it on wifi.

Not that 400mbps is a big deal, but just would like to understand why considering the MBP supports 802.11ax which should support 1,300mbps?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
What does "opt" clicking the WiFi icon show your connection mode and Tx Rate as?

1618391732312.png
 
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xraydoc said:
530Mbit is pretty darn good over wifi. I use an Apple Airport AC wifi router and get about 275Mbit (real-world speed) versus over 900Mbit via ethernet.
I keep thinking about switching to something faster for my wifi network, but all my devices are so super stable as currently configured, so I'm very hesitant to change anything.
Often, the enemy of good is better.
Click to expand...

Sounds like me. I'd stick with what I've got currently for our wifi and ethernet solution, but others in the house would like to get all of that 1 GB we are paying for!
 
My M1 MacBook Air on the 1st floor is getting on average 650Mbit from a Netgear Orbi router (no satellite) on the 3rd floor. My Spectrum internet plan is 1000Mbps down/30 up
 
xraydoc said:
Nice. What are you using for wifi equipment?
Click to expand...
Nothing fancy, just cheap and cheerful Tp-Link Deco X20 3 node mesh with wired GigE backbone. They are fairly basic feature wise but are doing the job and provide excellent signal strength and coverage across the property (two story, long and narrow site). I use to obsess about features and performance but these are frankly good enough especially as the M1 is the only WiFi6 device I have. My MBP 15" late 2019 on 802.11ac doesnt perform nearly as well but usually maintains 650+Mbps TX rate so cant complain. Multiple mesh units & improved signal strength is the bomb!
Unfortunately the X20 only supports AX1800 and doesnt have dedicated wireless backhaul.
 
Ningj said:
Nothing fancy, just cheap and cheerful Tp-Link Deco X20 3 node mesh with wired GigE backbone. They are fairly basic feature wise but are doing the job and provide excellent signal strength and coverage across the property (two story, long and narrow site). I use to obsess about features and performance but these are frankly good enough especially as the M1 is the only WiFi6 device I have. My MBP 15" late 2019 on 802.11ac doesnt perform nearly as well but usually maintains 650+Mbps TX rate so cant complain. Multiple mesh units & improved signal strength is the bomb!
Unfortunately the X20 only supports AX1800 and doesnt have dedicated wireless backhaul.
Click to expand...
Nice. I’m currently using a few Apple AirPort Extreme AC units, each with a gigabit ethernet backhaul. After shutting down my guest network, which really never got used, I can get up to 450Mbit/sec over wifi (1.2Gbit service to the house).

That’s actually improved from ~300Mbit I was getting with the guest network active. I’m thinking it was causing some channel crowding or something.
 
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