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User profile for user: Brent D.
Brent D. Author
User level: Level 1
29 points

One MacBook Pro slower internet than two others (and an iPhone)

I noticed yesterday that the reason my kids were complaining about the games they were playing being "slow" was a legitimate slowness of internet on the MacBook Pro they were using. I am seeking advice on what I can do to determine the cause and fix the problem.


How do I know there is a problem?

I ran a few tests, putting the devices in the same place (about 1' away from an Airport Express that's plugged into Ethernet).


(Ping / Download / Upload / Model or Device / OS)

  • 17ms / 2.58 Mbps / 0.75 Mbps / MacBook Pro (Late 2016 13-inch) / 10.14.6
  • 14 ms / 92.21 Mbps / 27.86 Mbps / MacBook Pro (Mid 2012, 13-inch) / 10.12.1
  • 11ms / 88.64 Mbps / 41.80 Mbps / MacBook Pro (2017 15-inch) / 10.14.6
  • 19ms / 45.9 Mbps / 32.1 Mbps / iPhone 8 / iOS 12.4.1


Comment: when a 7 year old MacBook Pro beats a three year old one, 35 times faster, there might be a problem, right?


I have already tried the following:

  1. Updated to the latest updates for 10.14.16 (not upgrading to Catalina yet)
  2. Tested from a newly created user account on the slow MacBook Pro
  3. Reinstalled MacOS (Mojave) over the existing installation
  4. Checking the internet speed when plugged in via network adapter / 10BaseT to Ethernet (faster, but only half as fast as the other laptop in the same place)
  5. Reset the PRAM


At times, I've seen it as high as 7 or 8 Mbps (Download) but it is very often just piddling along in a range of 1 to 2 Mbps.


What do you all think I should look at next?

MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.14

Posted on Nov 10, 2019 4:01 PM

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User profile for user: Matthew.S81
Matthew.S81
User level: Community Specialist

Posted on Nov 16, 2019 6:00 AM

Hey Brent D.,


Thanks for the update. You can use Network Utility to see the Link Speed of the connection types. See if the Wi-Fi environment shows any problems. Since it affects both Wi-Fi and ethernet, reset the SMC.


Check your network connection using Network Utility on Mac


If your Mac doesn't connect to the Internet over Wi-Fi


How to reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac


Have a good one.

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User profile for user: Matthew.S81
Matthew.S81
User level: Community Specialist

Nov 16, 2019 6:00 AM in response to Brent D.

Hey Brent D.,


Thanks for the update. You can use Network Utility to see the Link Speed of the connection types. See if the Wi-Fi environment shows any problems. Since it affects both Wi-Fi and ethernet, reset the SMC.


Check your network connection using Network Utility on Mac


If your Mac doesn't connect to the Internet over Wi-Fi


How to reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac


Have a good one.

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User profile for user: i_rina
i_rina
User level: Community Specialist

Nov 14, 2019 8:42 AM in response to Brent D.

Hello Brent D.,


After reviewing your post, it sounds like the MacBook Pro is connecting to Wi-Fi, but it is running at a slower speed than expected. Since you mention multiple other devices connecting to the same network, there may be some wireless interference. I would recommend you use this article to help troubleshoot the issue.


Resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference


Please don't hesitate to let us know if the steps resolved your issue or if you need additional assistance.


Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. Have a nice day.

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User profile for user: Brent D.
Brent D. Author
User level: Level 1
29 points

Nov 14, 2019 9:57 AM in response to i_rina

Hello. Thanks for that perspective. Maybe if I outlined my test methodology you'll see why I don't think that's the right direction to take.


I have a little bookcase that's about 1 foot away from the nearest, Ethernet-wired Airport Express. I put the laptops in the exact same spot, and ran the same test, one after the other. When one laptop was being tested, the others were not running.


Given that the three laptops were in the same place at the time of the test, and given how this test is repeatable, I don't understand how network interference could explain why one laptop is 35x slower than another. Wouldn't external variables affect all three laptops?

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User profile for user: Brent D.
Brent D. Author
User level: Level 1
29 points

Nov 16, 2019 3:58 PM in response to Matthew.S81

Bingo!


Resetting the SMC did the trick.


First, I did check the Network Utility on both the "slow internet" MacBook Pro and the 2012 MacBook Pro. The former showed a link speed of 144 Mbit/s, where the latter showed 300.


After resetting the SMC, the link speed went up to 300 Mbit/s, and Speedtest now shows:

14 ms ping / 93.6 Mbps Down / 41.5 Mbps Up

... which is right in the range of the 2017 MacBook Pro I tested before.


Fixed!


Thanks for that help. I completely forgot to try that. I guess I stopped short after zapping the PRAM.

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One MacBook Pro slower internet than two others (and an iPhone)

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