Is this the most ridiculous question of all time?

[Jenny Wang]

I know this is probably the most ridiculous question of all time but I need some help. I've always connected to the internet with wifi. What I'd like to do is connect with ethernet to my desktop computer but use wifi for the rest of the house. How do I do that? My main computer is an imac and it has a better connection when hardwired. But I still need wifi. Am I missing something? How do I do this?

 

[mfox]

Normally you wifi router has Ethernet jacks on it as well.
You just plug a Ethernet cable into it and other end into your computer.

 

[jdogonroad]

Then I reckon you don’t remember dial up? JK

 

[bumble bee]

jd
....ha dial up. terrible but i still laughed.

 

[Gus23J]

All you have to do is connect the iMac to the router through an Ethernet cable. The router won't stop broadcasting because of the computer plugged into it, so the wifi will not be affected.

 

[ant]

You already know your connection is better on your imac when it is hard wired so that means you know how to do that.
When you connect it, are you seeing your wifi stop working? Are you taking the cable from something else to put into your imac?

the typical setup is..
cable modem / ISP termination device ---> wifi-capable router ---> multiple other devices connected by multiple cables / wifi

 

[Jenny Wang]

Thank you people! Okay here's the deal. When I connect direct to the modem my speed is really fast. When I connect to wifi my speed is pretty good. My modem only has one ethernet port. I always have the Apple Airport connected straight to the modem.

If I add another ethernet cable to the Apple Airport and connect it to my computer, my connection is about half the speed. What could cause this to happen?

 

[BlaydeX15]

Hey, I can be useful! I do this for a living.

Is it an older Airport? It probably isn't gigabit (1000mbit speed), it's probably only fast (100mbit), so you plug directly in and are limited by the speed of the Airport (note that those speeds are megabit, not megabyte). It could also be that the ethernet chipset in the Airport isn't very good, I've read mixed reviews.

So, I would pick up a gigabit switch like this one ($35 from Amazon)

And then wire it like this:



Edit: Of course, we could always replace the Airport, and you'll probably want to do that eventually since Apple dropped support for it earlier this year, but that's a whole can of worms I don't want to get in to. Lol. If you're fine with the WiFi on the rest of your devices, stick with the switch. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

Edit 2: Looks like the Airport Extreme (The fat tall one) says it has Gigabit (1000), but will only do 400-500 in the real world, so it's operating at a pretty high loss%. The Airport Express (Short skinny one) only has fast (100). In either case, adding the switch in the middle will give you the same speed as if you were plugging directly into the modem.

 

[Jenny Wang]

Hey, I can be useful! I do this for a living.

Is it an older Airport? It probably isn't gigabit (1000mbit speed), it's probably only fast (100mbit), so you plug directly in and are limited by the speed of the Airport (note that those speeds are megabit, not megabyte). It could also be that the ethernet chipset in the Airport isn't very good, I've read mixed reviews.

So, I would pick up a gigabit switch like this one ($35 from Amazon)

And then wire it like this:

View attachment 9923

Edit: Of course, we could always replace the Airport, and you'll probably want to do that eventually since Apple dropped support for it earlier this year, but that's a whole can of worms I don't want to get in to. Lol. If you're fine with the WiFi on the rest of your devices, stick with the switch. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

This sounds interesting. So as you see if I plug the computer directly into the modem everything is great. The gigabit switch you showed me will be like plugging directly into the modem?

With wifi my download speed is about 140mbps and my upload speed is about 25mbps. When plugged directly into the modem my download speed is about 160mbps but I forget my upload speed. Does that sound like my Apple Airport is not 1000mbit? Really asking I have no idea. My Airport has to be about 5 years old.

 

[BlaydeX15]

This sounds interesting. So as you see if I plug the computer directly into the modem everything is great. The gigabit switch you showed me will be like plugging directly into the modem?

With wifi my download speed is about 140mbps and my upload speed is about 25mbps. When plugged directly into the modem my download speed is about 160mbps but I forget my upload speed. Does that sound like my Apple Airport is not 1000mbit? Really asking I have no idea. My Airport has to be about 5 years old.

You would be hard capped at exactly 100mbit down if it weren't gigabit, so it sounds like the Airport is gigabit, but it's just losing some speed over ethernet. After a few minutes of googling, 20-40% losses over wired seem to be a common problem with the Airport.

Adding the switch into the middle will be almost identical to plugging directly to the modem. You may lose 1-2%, but not noticeable. I've got gig internet, so I get 955 down when connected directly, and still get 955 when going through that same gigabit switch I linked you.

That being said, it's up to you if it's worth it! I personally would go for it, especially since it opens up more room to add wired stuff down the line. I'm more of a computer nerd than a car nerd though, so no expense is spared to eek out that last 1% performance. Lol.

 

[Jenny Wang]

You would be hard capped at exactly 100mbit down if it weren't gigabit, so it sounds like the Airport is gigabit, but it's just losing some speed over ethernet. After a few minutes of googling, 20-40% losses over wired seem to be a common problem with the Airport.

Adding the switch into the middle will be almost identical to plugging directly to the modem. You may lose 1-2%, but not noticeable. I've got gig internet, so I get 955 down when connected directly, and still get 955 when going through that same gigabit switch I linked you.

That being said, it's up to you if it's worth it! I personally would go for it, especially since it opens up more room to add wired stuff down the line. I'm more of a computer nerd than a car nerd though, so no expense is spared to eek out that last 1% performance. Lol.

Thank you! I will buy it and see what happens!

 

[StingMe]

Yes. A switch is the hot ticket.

 

[Volvowith18psi]

This only dumb question is the one you don't ask brother.

 

[Jenny Wang]

Hey, I can be useful! I do this for a living.

Is it an older Airport? It probably isn't gigabit (1000mbit speed), it's probably only fast (100mbit), so you plug directly in and are limited by the speed of the Airport (note that those speeds are megabit, not megabyte). It could also be that the ethernet chipset in the Airport isn't very good, I've read mixed reviews.

So, I would pick up a gigabit switch like this one ($35 from Amazon)

And then wire it like this:

View attachment 9923

Edit: Of course, we could always replace the Airport, and you'll probably want to do that eventually since Apple dropped support for it earlier this year, but that's a whole can of worms I don't want to get in to. Lol. If you're fine with the WiFi on the rest of your devices, stick with the switch. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

Edit 2: Looks like the Airport Extreme (The fat tall one) says it has Gigabit (1000), but will only do 400-500 in the real world, so it's operating at a pretty high loss%. The Airport Express (Short skinny one) only has fast (100). In either case, adding the switch in the middle will give you the same speed as if you were plugging directly into the modem.

Okay so I followed the instructions and connected everything. My network settings say 'self-assigned ip' and I can't get online. What do I need to change? I'm back on wi-fi for now. Thanks!

 

[StingMe]

Okay so I followed the instructions and connected everything. My network settings say 'self-assigned ip' and I can't get online. What do I need to change? I'm back on wi-fi for now. Thanks!

Try this Jenny:

Airport Extreme is not completely compatible with IPv6.

Go into the Advanced Settings in Airport Utility (IPv6 settings) and change "Configure IPv6 - Automatically" to Link-local only.

If no still no Internet, try this:

Check to make sure DHCP is enabled by going to System Preferences > Network > select Wi-Fi / Airport > select Advanced. From here, select TCP/IP, and make sure "Configure IPV6"...set to "Use Automatically"... Then, go to the DNS tab. Clear out any servers you see here by selecting their IP Addresses and clicking the Minus sign.