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ltitle · Jul 11, 2003, 08:33 PM

I have a 17" and a second generation (white) Airport base and a sympatico DSL internet connection. I wasn't sure why, but for the last few months I felt as though my broadband internet connection was unusually slow at home when using Airport. This seemed to be a new problem. That is, I noticed that it is taking too long for photographs to appear when graphic webpages load using Safari. Then, tonight I repeatedly was trying to download the beta iChatAV software, but the download would time out each time. It would start off with 60 to 60 KB/s (i.e. pretty slow to start) and then it would grind to a halt. Finally, I was able to download it at a snail's pace.
Then, I got my 15" TiBook (667) out and downloaded the iChatAV software in a fraction of the time. The download was averaging > 150KB/sec. Hey, what gives. Then, I tried loading some of the webpages full of photographs and noticed that they appeared almost instantly on the 15". This didn't make sense, Safari was faster on my 667 15" compared to the 17".

So, after reading the Apple discussion forum, I tried turning off my bluetooth on the 17". And suddenly the Airport performance improved dramatically on the 17". Downloads are faster, graphics load instantly. etc.

So, make sure Bluetooth is off to optimize your Airport performance !!!! on the 17".

Eug Wanker · Jul 11, 2003, 08:59 PM

Yeah I always wondered about this.

BlueTooth and 802.11b operate on the same frequency and initially were reported to interfere with each other. I had thought this had largely been corrected but maybe not.

The Godfather · Jul 11, 2003, 10:05 PM

(*#! I took it for granted that Apple thought of this already!

mrmister · Jul 11, 2003, 11:17 PM

By thought of it you mean, "magically make these two frequencies not conflict?"

icruise · Jul 11, 2003, 11:56 PM

This certainly isn't a universal problem, though. I haven't noticed any difference when bluetooth is on or off on my 12".

retroneo · Jul 12, 2003, 08:12 AM

Originally posted by mrmister:
By thought of it you mean, "magically make these two frequencies not conflict?"

Well, there are some very smart chipsets that schedule bluetooth and 802.11 transmissions so as not to conflict. Perhaps one day Apple may add this in a future combined AirPort Extreme/Bluetooth card.

Eug · Jul 12, 2003, 08:20 AM

Originally posted by retroneo:
Well, there are some very smart chipsets that schedule bluetooth and 802.11 transmissions so as not to conflict. Perhaps one day Apple may add this in a future combined AirPort Extreme/Bluetooth card.

Yeah, but wouldn't that still slow things down?

Karim · Jul 12, 2003, 09:48 AM

I get around 2+ Megabytes/Sec transfer to a server with a 17" & Airport Extreme Base. My bluetooth is on the whole time.

This works out to be almost the theoretical maximum (half duplex) of the 802.11g spec.

My range is around 150' at that speed through walls & floors.

jsiburt · Jul 12, 2003, 11:00 AM

After the last Airport update my connection did slow down considerably while Bluetooth was on. Prior to that is was fine. Now with the newest Bluetooth update I am not having any slow downs.

djjava · Jul 12, 2003, 11:32 AM

have you installed the bluetooth and airport software updates????

ltitle · Jul 12, 2003, 12:56 PM

Thank you. I have just installed latest updates for Airport and Bluetooth and I will see if that picks up performance when both are on.

geekwagon · Jul 12, 2003, 03:12 PM

I also use Airport Extreme with Bluetooth on all the time and experience no slowdowns. And yes, I have timed it. However, if you have a program open that is actively seeking for a bluetooth device and not finding it, then AE gets so slow that it basically becomes unusable.

None of the software that Apple provides will ever run into this though. The ones that usually cause the problem are Salling Clicker and Romeo when they are searching for your phone which is out of range for the proximity feature. I haven't tested this since the latest AE update came out, but it definitely was still there after the last Bluetooth update.

The Godfather · Jul 14, 2003, 04:01 PM

The 2.4 GHz frequency is more like a range of frequencies, given by the FCC. This range is partitioned in several ways by different technologies. Cordless phones split it in 9 channels. The X-10 camera splits the range in 4 channels. The 802.11b standard makes 11 partitions. I don't know about Bluetooth and others.

Theoretically, two different 2.4GHz communication forms can coexist if the frequency bands are apart from each other. The information, analog or digital, should fly by without any interference.