Really weird connectivity issues with my wifi on my iMac these past 2 weeks. I used to get about 10-15mbps download while on my iMac in my bedroom. I have changed nothing with my internet provider, I have not moved or touched my router (besides a reset I did today to see if that was the issue), but my download is now about 2-5mbps via speedtest dot net. All Mavericks software is update also. Anything I can try? I doubt its a failing wifi card because would it just not connect then? Suggestions?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
WiFi Connectivity Issue 2010 iMac 27
- Thread starter PeteyV
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
How are the other devices on your wifi network? Also experiencing slow speeds?
You said you rebooted the computer... try also restarting the wifi router and/or the cable modem and see if that helps.
It's also possible that your ISP is having issues on their end.
Try a different speed test site and see what happens; could just be the one you're using.
Edit: I misread your post. You did say you reset the router, but make sure to try rebooting your iMac and your cable modem as well.
You said you rebooted the computer... try also restarting the wifi router and/or the cable modem and see if that helps.
It's also possible that your ISP is having issues on their end.
Try a different speed test site and see what happens; could just be the one you're using.
Edit: I misread your post. You did say you reset the router, but make sure to try rebooting your iMac and your cable modem as well.
Run the Wifi diagnostics to see whether your wifi channel conflicts with any other wifi networks present in your neighbourhood. For me I have 1/2 dozen wifi networks in my neighbourhood which pretty much necessitated me to use the 5Ghz channel as to avoid constant stalling and dropping out (my office is around 15 metres from the router.
btw, what type of router do you have - brand, model etc?
Good point. Someone in the OP's neighborhood could have a unit that causing interference.
I have a Netgear R6300 which has been the best router I've ever had (since the Linksys wrt54gs). I tried connecting to the 5Ghz channel as well to see if that changed anything but it did not, same result. All other devices work great on it even when I place them right next to the iMac. Actually my iPhone 5 which had pretty slow connectivity in my bedroom works a lot faster now. May I ask, how exactly do I run the WiFi diagnostics?
Hold down the 'alt/option' key whilst clicking on the wifi icon in the menu bar at the top, click on 'Open Wireless Diagnostics', enter your password then click ok, click on the menu item 'window' followed by 'utilities' then click on 'wifi scan' followed by 'scan now' - that will show you all the visible networks close by and their frequency/channel so that you can configure your router so that your router doesn't conflict with the other wifi routers.
Btw, you might want to check to see whether your router has the latest firmware by going to the netgear site directly.
Thanks, I just ran the diagnostic and it seems like my network is too crowded. I reset the router once again and I did update the firmware. I'm getting about 10mbps right now which is what the norm was. My router is quite far from my iMac. Probably about 32 feet above it from where it is located in the basement of my home so I'm sure that doesn't help my situation much.
The best alternative I can suggest is maybe using 'power line networking' which will give a much more stable connection and faster connection with less problems. My old man has a pair of netgear power line networking devices and the distance is roughly that between the router and his office. IIRC he is connected to his router via the power line networking at around 186Mbps which is fairly respectable when compared to what he was getting back when he used wifi.