WiFi 7 AP slow connection to NAS

butbut · June 25

Hello I am experience some slow file transfer speed to my local NAS when using my new U7 Pro XGS. From my understanding (correct me if I am wrong), WiFi 7 with 6Ghz support should be able to achieve similar result compare to using lan connection? The speed i am getting with WiFi is not even half of what I got with wired connection.

AP: Unifi U7 Pro XGS

Switch: Unifi Pro XG 8 PoE
NAS: 10GBE NIC

Computer: MacBook Pro with WiFi 6E

Blackmagic Design Speed Test Result

WiFi (Connected via 6 Ghz) : Read: 60~ MB/s Write: 47~ MB/s

Wired: (2.5 GBE connection to switch) Read: 200+ MB/s Write: 200~ MB/s

Thomas53 · June 25

A couple of things about WiFi that most people don't know.

1. Walls between transmitter and receiver are your enemy.

2. Distance is your enemy.

3. Anything that has a motor is your enemy, because of the electronic interference that all electric motors generate

4. Microwaves, when in use are your enemy.

All of these thing cause interference causing the speed to slow or other types of interference, so look aroud and see what's between the two and if possible move one or both to better locations.

Eigenvektor · June 25

A lot can go wrong with a wireless connection. E.g. are there any other wireless networks in the vicinity the could interfere with your transfer? Do you have "line of sight" to the router, or are there obstacles like walls or big metal objects that could interfere with the transfer? The higher the frequency, the less range it'll have and the more susceptible to interference from walls and other things it gets, so it might fall back to a slower connection to compensate.

Keep in mind that Wi-Fi is a shared medium. The wireless bandwidth provided by the router is shared between all devices currently transferring data. Older devices on the network might not support some of the bandwidth sharing features of Wi-Fi 6+

Otherwise, how is the router connected to the NAS, is that also 2.5 GbE or something slower?

butbut · June 25

Sorry I forgot to mention, the AP is literally next to me while I make the transfer. Unifi Network shows that there is no interference in 5ghz & 6ghz band. the NAS has a 10gbe nic and is connected to 10gb switch.

esCaPade1 · June 25

SMB does not work well over Wi-Fi - something to do with timings.

Honestly, I think you're lucky to get the speed you are getting.

Is doing an NFS share an option for you? It might be quicker.

butbut · June 25

5 hours ago, esCaPade1 said:

SMB does not work well over Wi-Fi - something to do with timings.

Honestly, I think you're lucky to get the speed you are getting.

Is doing an NFS share an option for you? It might be quicker.

Omg that's it! I switched to NFS and i get around 150 MB/s. Thanks for the suggestion.

frankreebig · July 5

Hey there,

You're not wrong in thinking that WiFi 7 with 6GHz should offer faster speeds — in ideal conditions, it can come close to wired connections. But in real-world use, especially with current device support, it rarely matches wired speeds, especially for large sustained transfers like to a NAS.

A few things to consider:

Your MacBook Pro only supports WiFi 6E, not WiFi 7. That means you're not getting the full benefit of the U7 Pro's capabilities. WiFi 6E on 6GHz is good, but it's still going to fall behind a 2.5GbE wired connection, especially for heavy file transfers.

WiFi is more prone to interference and latency, and actual speeds often depend on factors like signal quality, range, congestion, and driver optimization.

The read/write speeds you’re seeing over WiFi (60MB/s read, 47MB/s write) are fairly typical for WiFi 6E. Wired is just much more stable and consistent for NAS use.

If file transfers are a priority, sticking with wired is still the way to go. WiFi 7 may help once you upgrade the MacBook, but even then, wired will usually win on reliability and speed.