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how to fix slow wifi on new M1 iMac

My new iMac M1 is slow using WiFi.


When using Speedtest on a WiFi 6 wireless network speed is 209-211 Mbps on a 500 Mbps service. Direct connect to the cable modem via Ethernet yields 513Mbps downloads.


Why? My iPhone 13mini in same location relative to the wireless router as the iMac gets double the speed of the iMac.

Posted on Feb 20, 2023 6:47 AM

Reply
4 replies

Feb 22, 2023 3:06 AM in response to Chris_D13

Every day is learning day...


We use a dual band AX WiFi 6 router.


It turns out that the M1 iMac radio didn't work well with two of the settings on the 5G band:

  1. channel width setting was 160Mhz
  2. Multi-user MIMO was set to "enable"


I changed the Channel Width setting to "Auto" and Disabled MIMO and the speed measured by the Speedtest app for the M1 iMac matched the speeds of iPad Air and iPhone 13.


Problem solved.


Thank you for your help.

Feb 21, 2023 1:49 PM in response to Joseph Carbonaro

Hello Joseph Carbonaro,


Ensure macOS is updated to help troubleshoot possible software issues causing the slow Wi-Fi behavior. Check out how to update here: Update macOS on Mac - Apple Support


If the issue continues, further isolate the behavior by seeing if the issue is system-wide with your Mac. To do so, test the issue with a different macOS user account: Add a user or group on Mac - Apple Support


Add a user
1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Settings, then click Users & Groups  in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)
2. Click the Add Account button below the list of users on the right (you may be asked to enter your password.)
3. Click the New Account pop-up menu, then choose a type of user.
4. Enter a full name for the new user. An account name is generated automatically. To use a different account name, enter it now—you can’t change it later.
5. Enter a password for the user, then enter it again to verify. Enter a password hint to help the user remember their password.
6. Click Create User.


Kind regards.

how to fix slow wifi on new M1 iMac

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