mac vs my home router

[mtnbiker]

Since I'm in the connectivity mindset (reference my Windows 10 vs cougarstadium.com thread), I've got a question to ask the hardware/connectivity gurus.

My wife's work computer was upgraded to a new mac a few months ago. It originally had the Yosemite OS on it, but was lately upgraded to El Capitan. Every time she opens the computer (with either OS) and does any work on it at home, my router craps out and creeps along at 1Mbps. Once she closes down the mac, I reboot the router and it goes back happily to its normal speed. Has anyone else had this happen? Any ideas or suggestions of how to fix it? The computer reports that it is 802.11 b/g/n compatible, as is the router. It's a Linksys E1000 router, which is a few years old but has not given any problems until now. No other wifi items in the house generate the problem: other laptops, desktop computers, an Android tablet, wifi-capable tvs, etc.

Any suggestions? I know I could get a newer router, but that doesn't seem like it should be the problem.

[wuapinmon]

I've got nothing against your home router.

[Uncle Ted]

There is an app called wifi explorer that might give you some idea on what is going on. One option is to look at the channel use by signal strength:





Some routers are good at finding the best frequency or channel to use dynamically. Others not so much. By rebooting the router I am guessing it is causing the router to find a better channel to use. You can also use this app to determine where are the "wifi dead spots" in your house.

The other thing to check is the network activity on her mac with activity monitor. Maybe she has something running (like a backup) that is killing the bandwidth for the other apps.

[mtnbiker]

I've got nothing against your home router.

Ha! I wondered if you'd say anything about the thread title.

[mtnbiker]

There is an app called wifi explorer that might give you some idea on what is going on. One option is to look at the channel use by signal strength:


Some routers are good at finding the best frequency or channel to use dynamically. Others not so much. By rebooting the router I am guessing it is causing the router to find a better channel to use. You can also use this app to determine where are the "wifi dead spots" in your house.

The other thing to check is the network activity on her mac with activity monitor. Maybe she has something running (like a backup) that is killing the bandwidth for the other apps.

That looks like quite the app. It would be interesting to try, but they've got the computer locked down pretty tight, and I'm not sure if I'd even be able to install anything on it. I'll see what I can do.

I do remember having issues between the router and a computer before, but after assigning a fixed IP address to the computer, everything was ok. I've tried the same thing in this case without success. I guess I should re-verify the MAC (not wuap) address for the umpteenth time.