Why is my new M5 Max MacBook Pro getting worse WiFi performance than my M3 MacBook Air?

[Henry762]

It surprises me that Apple hasn't optimised its new chip well for routers like my one, considering that it is still pretty much what more than half of UK homes are using. I think the US (where the chip was designed/programmed) has been a bit ahead of the UK in WiFi 6/7 uptake, though I think a significant minority there are still using WiFi 5 routers as well. The slower than optimal performance may not be an issue with WiFi 5 itself but more likely a problem between the N1 chip and the specific configuration of my router model.

My phone (a Nokia X10, which came out in 2021 but which I got in 2023) also has difficulties on my home router which it doesn't have on other networks. These manifest a bit differently to my new MacBook - on it I get random DNS style timeouts where a page hangs for 10-30 seconds before then loading instantly. My new MacBook Pro maintains a consistent connection and has no problem with timeouts, but is simply getting slower/less consistent speeds than my MacBook Air which has no issues with my home router at all. Interestingly if I use my phone as a WiFi relay on my home network to another device, it doesn't suffer these timeout problems.

LOL I mean this with respect to you, but definitely with sarcasm aimed at apple, but that sounds like a VERY "apple" thing to do. 😑 😐 🙄

I mean; you're talking about the company that CONSTANTLY rolls out useless, asinine new emojis & wallpapers, meanwhle core, basic functionality remains broken / seriously problematic for tens of thousands (prob hundreds of thousands if not millions more) of users.

I'm not an "Apple hater" by any means; I've had an iPhone since the 3GS, iPad since 2010....very first one...... and I've even been forcing myself to use an older MacBook for a while. 🙂

Its just I've seen what they do & how they do it for so long & I see many of their actions as a giant middle finger aimed at the general population.


Also; again; no offense; but it does not make sense for companies like apple to design for compatibility with such old hardware.

We're on WiFi 7 right now (generally) and you said your router only supports WiFi 5? WiFi 5 was generally publicly available in 2013...... I really hope your router isn't that old, but if its even half that age......it's ancient. Sorry but yes; a 5 year old router is ancient.🤷‍♂️

Time for an upgrade & I promise, your whole house will see an improvement & will be much happier with it.
😎

 

[Henry762]

@Gourlish
Re; your trackpad issue; I can't really see the problem from your photos.
Is there an apple store near you? Wouldn't hurt to run it by them & see what they think.

Apple definitely does excel at warranty service & support & for issues like this.
🙂

 

[Henry762]

Is it likely that Apple will patch the performance issues between the N1 and certain older router models in future releases of MacOS?

IMHO; highly unlikely. Sorry.

 

[conmee]

I'll add my experience.

I have a Netgear WiFi 6 Router+cable modem. I'm in my home office about as far away from the router as possible (not by choice), and currently my 2019 15" Intel MBP running Mojave gets Tx Rate of 351Mbps and my 2026 16" M5 Pro MBP gets Tx Rate of 130Mbps. Both machines are sitting right next to each other. When I take both machines and place them next to the router the 2019 Intel MBP gets Tx Rate of 1,300Mbps (RSSI: -18, Noise: -92, MCS: 9) and the 2026 M5 Pro MBP gets Tx Rate of 866Mbps (RSSI: -19, Noise: -97, MCS: 0). So regardless of location, my 2019 MBP wifi consistently outperforms my new 2026 MBP.