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Help troubleshoot network connection

#1
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11/2/09 at 4:03pm
  • Joined: March 2001
  • Location: Rochester, NY
  • Post Count: 6,864
My network speed on my MacBook Pro has plummeted in the past week. I did a Speedtest.net on my wife's iMac, connected by ethernet cable to our AX, and got the usual 10 / 0.3 Mbps speeds. On my MBP, I'm not getting 1 / 0.2 Mbps speeds, connected by n (b/g) wireless.

I'm out of my depth on wireless issues. I can't think of any change in the past week that would affect this. I've got a few crude ideas to troubleshoot, but before I start a potential wild goose chase, I'm hoping for some savvier ideas.
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#2
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11/2/09 at 6:43pm
  • Joined: March 2001
  • Location: Rochester, NY
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I'll update my own post :)

It's a wireless thing and an Airport Extreme thing.
Both computers have normal throughput via ethernet.
"802.11n (b/g compatible)" has poor performance
"802.11n only (2.4 GHz)" has marginally better performance
"802.11n only (5 GHz)" restores full throughput. But this is not a solution since I have a TivoHD, requiring 802.11g

The Airport listings don't show new wifi networks crowding up spectrum. I'm unaware of new RF noise sources screwing up my 2.4 GHz frequency.

I guess I'll call AppleCare and ask if it could be a hardware failure.
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#3
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11/2/09 at 7:21pm
  • Joined: December 2006
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Have you tried resetting the router by pressing the button on the back?  I have had issues with mine from time to time. Mostly all I have to do is power it off for 5 minutes and let it clear its memory.  1 time I had to reset the entire thing.  A trick I learned a while back is to give your wireless network a new name.  It makes the computer set everything up brand new. Also, make sure you go into your wireless settings and remove the old network from the list.  If you call Apple, they are going to have you reset the router anyway and check to see if the firmware has been updated.  When you go into Airport Utilities and select your router, it will look to see if you need to update the firmware.

Hope this helps.

Don 
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#4
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11/2/09 at 8:21pm
  • Joined: March 2001
  • Location: Rochester, NY
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Don, you're a miracle worker! I pressed the reset button...and everything is back to normal.
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#5
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11/3/09 at 4:49am
  • Joined: December 2006
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 Excellent!!

Don
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#6
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11/3/09 at 7:37am
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Sometimes the most basic fixes are the best ones! 
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#7
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11/3/09 at 8:31am
  • Joined: March 2001
  • Location: Rochester, NY
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If I knew about that reset button when I bought it two years ago, I'd since forgotten about it. And this was a new problem with my network. So I'm glad Don could point me to the trivial debug option, that I wouldn't have found for a while. :)
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