Not getting GB ethernet from M2 MacBook Air

[madeirabhoy]

bit weird and wonder if im missing something simple.

Got a M2 MacBook to replace my struggling 2017 iMac.

I pay for 500Mbps internet. did speediest on my iPhone and I ge 631 Mbps. Just tested my MBA on wifi only and got 612 Mbps.

Originally I was happy with it on wifi, but for some reason Plex struggled and buffered. I went to the local computer shop and bought an usb-c to ethernet adaptor that didn't specify how fast it was, and I got 100 Mbps so figured that was an old tech 100 Mbps ethernet adaptor. However Plex didn't stutter so the idea was good.

I then ordered a 6 in 1 adaptor from amazon that specified that it was 1tb ethernet and just got it. and I test and again I only get 100Mbps. so a 6th of what I get from wifi. I havent tested my 2017 iMac since, but when it was my main computer I got 500Mbps through ethernet.

what am I missing?

I notice when I go into settings, network, it says USB 10/100/1000 Lan. However when I click on details, hardware. it says Configure, automatically, speed 100base TX. I can change that to manual and then 1000baseT and hit save but it doesn't change it.

 

[arw]

Is your ethernet cable directly plugged into the router or via a (100 Mbit/s) switch in between?
Some routers also require to manually set the speed of the ethernet ports from 'Eco' (100 Mbit/s) to 1 Gbit/s.

(That being said, with the identical setup, your 2017 iMac should have also been limited in the same way.)

 

[Bigwaff]

Check your ethernet cable. What type of cable? If it's CAT5, you'll get 100Mbps. If it's CAT 5e or 6, you'll get 1000Mbps (or as fast as your router/switch LAN ports).
Check your router's or switch's LAN ports. Are they 100Mbps or 1000Mbps ports?

 

[madeirabhoy]

thanks to both of you. My iMac was fine so I don't think its the router settings, but ill find a different cable in the morning in case its that. thanks for answering.

 

[xboxbml]

thanks to both of you. My iMac was fine so I don't think its the router settings, but ill find a different cable in the morning in case its that. thanks for answering.

Yeah you have to look at the cable as well.. some old cat5 cable vendors would cheap out on the cable and only wire pins 1-2/3-6.. that would only get you 100mb. You need all 4 pairs to get 1gb. Standard cat5e does that. Don't waste money with cat6/6a unless you're ok with it.

 

[theorist9]

From your description, it could be the ethernet adapter. I ran into a problem with one before.

Besides, any company that claims to offer a "1tb ethernet" adapter is making up their specs (unless that was a typo).

Thus, if upgrading the cables doesn't work, I'd suggest getting an adapter from a reputable company like CableMatters. I can confirm this one works without issue on an M1 Pro MBP.

The reason I chose CableMatters is they are one of the few companies that have their TB/USB/HDMI/DP cables officially certified (by the respective governing bodies for those standards), indicating they care about adhering to official standards (I didn't see a certification for this particular product, likely because there are no cert standards for ethernet adapters). In addition, they are Mac-aware, so products like ethernet adapters should have been tested to work on Macs as well as PC's:

Cable Matters Plug & Play USB C to Ethernet Adapter with PXE, MAC Address Clone (Thunderbolt to Ethernet Adapter, Gigabit Ethernet to USB C) in Black - Compatible with MacBook Pro, XPS, Surface Pro

Cable Matters Plug & Play USB C to Ethernet Adapter with PXE, MAC Address Clone (Thunderbolt to Ethernet Adapter, Gigabit Ethernet to USB C) in Black - Compatible with MacBook Pro, XPS, Surface Pro

www.amazon.com

 

[raythompsontn]

It’s your ethernet adapter. MacOs does not have the proper drivers for some USB-C to Ethernet adapters. Even the one Apple sells does not work at full speed. Get an adapter from Anker and you will get full speed. I type from experience.

 

[BeatCrazy]

It’s your ethernet adapter. MacOs does not have the proper drivers for some USB-C to Ethernet adapters. Even the one Apple sells does not work at full speed. Get an adapter from Anker and you will get full speed. I type from experience.

It can be a driver and a chipset issue with these adapters.

I recommend Belkin, as they seem to have a better/closer technology interaction with Apple hardware than other brands.

 

[AL2TEACH]

I pay for 500Mbps internet. did speediest on my iPhone and I ge 631 Mbps. Just tested my MBA on wifi only and got 612 Mbps.

Unless I'm missing something, to me your speeds are fantastic because you're getting better than what you are paying for.
In order to get 1GB speed, I thought you had to pay for it. Again my bad for possibly misunderstanding.

 

[Bigwaff]

It’s your ethernet adapter. MacOs does not have the proper drivers for some USB-C to Ethernet adapters. Even the one Apple sells does not work at full speed. Get an adapter from Anker and you will get full speed. I type from experience.

Which ethernet adapter sold by Apple "does not work at full speed"? I have several Apple Thunderbolt 2 ethernet adapters which are used w/ Apple TB3>TB2 adapters w/ M1 / M2 / Intel MacBook Pros and we get well over 950+ Mbps wired. Apple doesn't make any USB ethernet adapters.

Third-party USB-based ethernet adapters can be hit or miss. Stay away from adapters w/ RelTek chipsets as a rule and you should be ok.

 

[halledise]

Unless I'm missing something, to me your speeds are fantastic because you're getting better than what you are paying for.
In order to get 1GB speed, I thought you had to pay for it. Again my bad for possibly misunderstanding.

i pay for 100mbps down/25 up and that's what all speed tests tells me i'm getting on mac or iphone.
you get what you pay for and OP is doing somewhat better.
unless, as mentioned, there's a cable issue.
yet, with a wireless setup on both devices, why the need for cabling?

 

[Bigwaff]

I think OP needs to clarify whether the speeds are WAN (ISP service) or LAN (local computer-to-computer) network speeds at issue here. I assumed LAN network speeds. Of course, if you have 100Mbps internet service, you'll only get 100Mbps speeds from your 1Gbps ethernet adapter over the WAN connection.

 

[MacProFCP]

bit weird and wonder if im missing something simple.

Got a M2 MacBook to replace my struggling 2017 iMac.

I pay for 500Mbps internet. did speediest on my iPhone and I ge 631 Mbps. Just tested my MBA on wifi only and got 612 Mbps.

Originally I was happy with it on wifi, but for some reason Plex struggled and buffered. I went to the local computer shop and bought an usb-c to ethernet adaptor that didn't specify how fast it was, and I got 100 Mbps so figured that was an old tech 100 Mbps ethernet adaptor. However Plex didn't stutter so the idea was good.

I then ordered a 6 in 1 adaptor from amazon that specified that it was 1tb ethernet and just got it. and I test and again I only get 100Mbps. so a 6th of what I get from wifi. I havent tested my 2017 iMac since, but when it was my main computer I got 500Mbps through ethernet.

what am I missing?

I notice when I go into settings, network, it says USB 10/100/1000 Lan. However when I click on details, hardware. it says Configure, automatically, speed 100base TX. I can change that to manual and then 1000baseT and hit save but it doesn't change it.

I have seen this type of issue in the forums before.

1. Run the test via WiFi for comparison. I bet you get very similar numbers.

2. Run the test with the same adapter and cable. I bet you get very similar numbers.

3. Get CAT 6 cable and this adapter:

https://www.amazon.com/uni-Ethernet-Adapter-Charging-MacBook/dp/B0983JMKPS

 

[raythompsontn]

Which ethernet adapter sold by Apple "does not work at full speed"?

This one.

The Belkin USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter

The Belkin USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter provides internet connectivity when wireless is unreliable or inconsistent. Buy online now from apple.com.

www.apple.com

I was incorrect about it being made by Apple. I thought it was an Apple product as I purchased it from Apple. I was never able to get more than about 95 Mbps with my M2 MacBook Air. I purchased an Anker adapter and the speeds were about 500 Mbps which is about what I expected with my internet connection. Same cable, same router port, so no problems with the physical connection. I was running the latest version of Sonoma at the time. The problem was within the adapter I purchased from Apple. I threw the Belkin/Apple adapter away.

And the Anker adapter has pretty lights, is cheaper, so a better option in my opinion.

 

[AL2TEACH]

you get what you pay for and OP is doing somewhat better.

that IP could have the most customers in the history of that market but sadly, Bigwaff is most likely right.

 

[theorist9]

.

 

[theorist9]

i pay for 100mbps down/25 up and that's what all speed tests tells me i'm getting on mac or iphone.
you get what you pay for and OP is doing somewhat better.
unless, as mentioned, there's a cable issue.
yet, with a wireless setup on both devices, why the need for cabling?

I think OP needs to clarify whether the speeds are WAN (ISP service) or LAN (local computer-to-computer) network speeds at issue here. I assumed LAN network speeds. Of course, if you have 100Mbps internet service, you'll only get 100Mbps speeds from your 1Gbps ethernet adapter over the WAN connection.

Unless I'm missing something, to me your speeds are fantastic because you're getting better than what you are paying for.
In order to get 1GB speed, I thought you had to pay for it. Again my bad for possibly misunderstanding.

If you re-read the first post, you'll see the the OP is saying they get >600 Mbps over WiFi, but they were seeing buffering issues with something called "Plex". Thus they tried switching to a hardwired Ethernet connection; that eliminated the buffering issues, but they were getting only 100 Mbps over that.

Their goal is to get the same speeds with Ethernet that they get over WiFi, which is entirely reasonable, since a hardwired Ethernet connection should be as fast or faster.

 

[madeirabhoy]

thank you all for your answers, I feel incredibly stupid both for posting on here and also for buying two ethernet adaptors when the first one was likely fine, but more importantly happy its fixed.

it was as simple as the cable. I was using the wrong cable, and I feel doubly stupid as when I was unplugging it I could tell as it feels like a telephone cable, but it was the ethernet cable that came with the Philips hue and at some stage I must have unplugged everything and plugged them in the wrong ones and not noticed. swapped them over and all fine. in fact I was wrong (again) thinking it was 500Mbs internet I had as with ethernet im getting 936 download and 119 upload.

thanks to bigwaff and xboxmbl.

 

[jorikc]

Yes the Hue bridge itself is limited to 100Mbps, so they put a cable with similar capabilities in the box. 👍 that it’s resolved now.
Always good to check cables, these days with usb-c/Thunderbolt even more complicated than with Ethernet, but still… 😉

 

[LuisN]

bit weird and wonder if im missing something simple.

Got a M2 MacBook to replace my struggling 2017 iMac.

I pay for 500Mbps internet. did speediest on my iPhone and I ge 631 Mbps. Just tested my MBA on wifi only and got 612 Mbps.

Originally I was happy with it on wifi, but for some reason Plex struggled and buffered. I went to the local computer shop and bought an usb-c to ethernet adaptor that didn't specify how fast it was, and I got 100 Mbps so figured that was an old tech 100 Mbps ethernet adaptor. However Plex didn't stutter so the idea was good.

I then ordered a 6 in 1 adaptor from amazon that specified that it was 1tb ethernet and just got it. and I test and again I only get 100Mbps. so a 6th of what I get from wifi. I havent tested my 2017 iMac since, but when it was my main computer I got 500Mbps through ethernet.

what am I missing?

I notice when I go into settings, network, it says USB 10/100/1000 Lan. However when I click on details, hardware. it says Configure, automatically, speed 100base TX. I can change that to manual and then 1000baseT and hit save but it doesn't change it.

Probably bad cable. Try with a Known good cable.

 

[AL2TEACH]

If you re-read the first post, you'll see the the OP is saying they get >600 Mbps over WiFi

I still get stuck on speed paid for and getting but happy as one of those birds when things work out

I pay for 500Mbps internet. did speediest on my iPhone and I ge 631 Mbps. Just tested my MBA on wifi only and got 612 Mbps.

 

[xboxbml]

thank you all for your answers, I feel incredibly stupid both for posting on here and also for buying two ethernet adaptors when the first one was likely fine, but more importantly happy its fixed.

it was as simple as the cable. I was using the wrong cable, and I feel doubly stupid as when I was unplugging it I could tell as it feels like a telephone cable, but it was the ethernet cable that came with the Philips hue and at some stage I must have unplugged everything and plugged them in the wrong ones and not noticed. swapped them over and all fine. in fact I was wrong (again) thinking it was 500Mbs internet I had as with ethernet im getting 936 download and 119 upload.

thanks to bigwaff and xboxbml.

No prob!