Mac Mini Late 2012 Wi-Fi Question

[SoCalDave]

Hi all, I've had to move this mac mini to a different location in the house and the Wi-Fi is flaky. I'm wondering if I got something like this:

TP-Link USB WiFi Adapter for Desktop PC, AC1300 USB 3.0 Wireless Dual Band Network Adapter with High Gain Antenna(Archer T3U Plus), MU-MIMO, Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP, Mac OS 10.9-10.15​

I'm on Catalina 10.15..7 so assume it's compatible. If so would I get better performance attaching it to the back of the mini or using my powered USB hub? My wireless router is a t-mobile KVD21 which supports wi-fi 6 so I think this might solve the issue.

Thanks,

David

 

[MacInWin]

The WiFI is probably flaky because the signal is weak, or interfered with. That dongle won't make the signal stronger. What may be better is a WiFi extender that will provide a stronger signal in that location, or to move the router closer to that location (if possible), or to install a mesh network to provide a better signal.

 

[SoCalDave]

The WiFI is probably flaky because the signal is weak, or interfered with. That dongle won't make the signal stronger. What may be better is a WiFi extender that will provide a stronger signal in that location, or to move the router closer to that location (if possible), or to install a mesh network to provide a better signal.

I thought the whole idea of Wi-Fi improvements (say Wi-Fi 6) was faster throughput and improved range and reliability. If my router is sending a better signal through Wi-Fi 6 and the mac can't take advantage of it, seems logical that adding that capability to the mac would at least put them on a level playing field.

I get your point about the mesh network. Might have to do that as well.

Thanks!

 

[MacInWin]

WiFi 6 adds a new band at 6gHz in addition to 2.4 and 5 gHz already included. That band will increase throughput, but not range and won't be very much more useful than the 5gHz. It does boost through-put over short range. You can get it if you want, but don't be surprised if it makes little difference in your situation.

 

[SoCalDave]

WiFi 6 adds a new band at 6gHz in addition to 2.4 and 5 gHz already included. That band will increase throughput, but not range and won't be very much more useful than the 5gHz. It does boost through-put over short range. You can get it if you want, but don't be surprised if it makes little difference in your situation.

Went ahead and got both; wifi extender and the usb adaptor. Thanks for your advice!

Dave

 

[MacInWin]

Put the extender where it can get a good signal from the original router rather than close to your new location for the Mac. It needs to receive a good signal to repeat. I would start roughly half way in between the router and Mac, with as few walls in between as possible.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Hi all, I've had to move this mac mini to a different location in the house and the Wi-Fi is flaky.

Before you do anything, you should use your Mac's built-in Wi-Fi diagnostics to check your Wi-Fi reception.

https://osxdaily.com/2012/07/31/wi-fi-scanner-mac-os-x-mountain-lion/

https://support.apple.com/en-us/101588

You will be surprised by how much of a difference it can make to move your Mac around a bit, change its orientation, or move it away from other office devices that might be interfering with a good signal.

In the case of a Mac mini, I recommend that you try setting it on your desktop UPSIDE DOWN. The Wi-Fi antenna in your mini is ON THE BOTTOM of the case. Mounting your mini upside down might greatly increase your Wi-Fi signal.

I have to warn you that I've used a bunch of brands of Wi-Fi extenders. Most of them, for some unknown reason, could never be made to work with a Macintosh. I"ve had good luck with D-Link extenders though. But I've had even better luck with powerline adapters.

 

[Slydude]

I have to warn you that I've used a bunch of brands of Wi-Fi extenders. Most of them, for some unknown reason, could never be made to work with a Macintosh. I"ve had good luck with D-Link extenders though. But I've had even better luck with powerline adapters.

I hate to be channeling Randy (again( but that has been my experience. I used one of these things several years ago on a Mac Pro, I was careful to choose one with a chipset that worked with the Mac and things were fine -- until they weren't.

At some point, after an OS upgrade, the device suddenly stopped working. I suspect it was a driver issue. Something changed in the OS and there was no compatible driver offered. IIRC no special driver had been needed before.

 

[MacInWin]

Randy and Sly, are you talking about the dongle WiFi adapter or a WiFi-extender/hotspot? I can see why a dongle may stop working because of software changes, but I have never had an extender/hotspot not work as long as it was where it could receive a strong enough signal to then repeat. I just want to be clear about what we are talking about.

 

[Slydude]

Thanks for catching that Jake. In my case it was a WiFi dongle. The adapter mentioned in post #1 may have the same issue though since it seems to be a dongle rather than a range extender.

That wouldn't likely be an issue with range extenders/mesh networks.

 

[MacInWin]

Thanks, Sly. I would agree that a range extender should work. I have used several brands, including tp-link, Netgear, and now I have an Eero Mesh network.

 

[Slydude]

Thanks, Sly. I would agree that a range extender should work. I have used several brands, including tp-link, Netgear, and now I have an Eero Mesh network.

That wasn't any particular brilliance on my part. It never occurred to me to make the distinction that you did until you asked whether I was using a range extender or a dongle.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Randy and Sly, are you talking about the dongle WiFi adapter or a WiFi-extender/hotspot?

I was talking abuot a Wii-Fi extender. A device that you set up somewhere in your building between where your router is, and where your remote device is.

I've tried half a dozen brands. Some wouldn't pair at all. Others would pair and work for a while, but then they would soon lose the signal and have to re-paired again. Very annoying.

Eventually I gave up on Wi-Fi extenders for clients, and trying to avoid the ridiculous prices for setting up a mesh network, I gave powerline adapters a try. Powerline adapters sound like snake oil. But they work wonderfully (with a few caveats). All the advantages of a wired connection without having to run wire.

 

[Slydude]

I read a bit about those power line adapters several years ago because I was thinking about using them instead of running a long ethernet cable in an apartment.

I gave up on the idea because some of the reviews suggested that in buildings with older power lines the performance wasn't great. It might be time to revisit that. I don't need them but I often get asked about things like this.

 

[MacInWin]

I was talking abuot a Wii-Fi extender. A device that you set up somewhere in your building between where your router is, and where your remote device is.

I've tried half a dozen brands. Some wouldn't pair at all. Others would pair and work for a while, but then they would soon lose the signal and have to re-paired again. Very annoying.

Eventually I gave up on Wi-Fi extenders for clients, and trying to avoid the ridiculous prices for setting up a mesh network, I gave powerline adapters a try. Powerline adapters sound like snake oil. But they work wonderfully (with a few caveats). All the advantages of a wired connection without having to run wire.

I have used the powerline adapters before and for the most part they worked, kind of. Not great performance, but they did provide connectivity.

The key to using wifi extenders is that they need to have a clear signal receiving from the main router to be able to then re-transmit to the computer. Mesh networks have intelligence that negotiates the signal balancing to reduce any conflicts among the various transmitter/receivers in the mesh. Repeaters lack that backchannel process and can sometimes have issues with conflicts between the main router and the extender. When I have seen that, I just moved the extender closer to the target Mac to have the Mac "prefer" the extender over the main Mac. Sometimes it only took a few feet closer to clear up the connection.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

I read a bit about those power line adapters several years ago because I was thinking about using them instead of running a long ethernet cable in an apartment.

I gave up on the idea because some of the reviews suggested that in buildings with older power lines the performance wasn't great. It might be time to revisit that. I don't need them but I often get asked about things like this.

I've never had a problem installing them for a client.

The only instance that I've heard of where someone had a problem was if the router was on a different electrical circuit than the receiving device.

Powerline adapters come with different speed ratings. So your speed is going to vary depending on which one you choose, and presumably how much you pay.

Of course, this sort of gear is best purchased from someplace like Amazon, where, if it doesn't work, you can just send it back for a full refund.

 

[Jimmysb]

I read a bit about those power line adapters several years ago because I was thinking about using them instead of running a long ethernet cable in an apartment.

I gave up on the idea because some of the reviews suggested that in buildings with older power lines the performance wasn't great. It might be time to revisit that. I don't need them but I often get asked about things like this.

I have had 2 lot of TP Link adaptors (about 10 years apart (in two different houses)), and never had consistent results with either, and in both cases moving to a hard wired ethernet cable, and the differences were quite noticable.