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Forum Discussion
VerneArase
Nov 17, 2023Apprentice
2020 iMac 5K and new Xfinity service
Recently, I've upgraded my Xfinity service to 1.2gb/70mb from 1gb. My iMac has a local 10gb ethernet port which is tied to a private 10gb network which includes a Synology NAS (replacing a dead T...
plemans
Nov 17, 2023Guru - Experienced User
I just want to clarify so I'm reading this right.
How is the satellite wired in? IS it hardwired in for a wired backhaul? I'm not sure if that's what you're referring to or if you're just stating that's how those devices are connected.
- VerneAraseNov 22, 2023Apprentice
The satellites use a wifi 5ghz backhaul - the iMac connects wired via Thunderbolt to a Thunderbolt hub, then the 1gb ethernet port of the TB hub goes to a satellite LAN port.
Used to be that the wired path always won - but now the wifi iMac connection to the satellite wins.
The Xfinity service was 1gb which meant that the RBR850 speed test saw about 1.2gb/40mb, but now the service is 1.2gb so the RBR850 sees about 1.5gb/85mb.
The office satellite is on the same desk as the iMac and TB hub - just having a difficult time wrapping my mind around the fact that the wifi connection to the satellite is outpacing the wired path.
- CrimpOnNov 22, 2023Guru - Experienced User
As FURRYe38 pointed out, the Orbi 850 series features WiFi6 (802.11ax) with 4x4 MIMO. The wired pathway is limited to 1Gbps (which is about 950MBps in practice) because it is connected through gigabit Ethernet.
If the iMac has 4x4MIMO, then its theoretical maximum is 2,400MBps (which also cannot be achieved in the real world).
The first step would be to determine exactly what WiFi capability is in the iMac.