Dont be a Mac noob like me and suffer(SLOW internet)

SAWYER

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
16,745
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My mac running Lion has been super slow on the internet but then I noticed on wifi my Galaxy was just fine. So I did a google and found a thread where people recommended changing the dns servers, I did that and it worked. I used 4.2.2.2 and noticed an immediate improvement, I cant believe I didnt think of this earlier. I just thought I would make this thread for others who might be experiencing the same thing as me.
 

ChAoTiCpInOy

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2006
6,446
1
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So what you're saying is that your ISP DNS servers, which the Mac would be using, unless you changed them previously, is what made your internet super slow. But you think it was because you are a "Mac noob"?
 

SAWYER

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
16,745
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I'm guessing it was the Mac default settings because my phone and other devices were faster
 
Last edited:

JavaMomma

Senior member
Oct 19, 2000
701
0
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I'm guessing it was the Mac default settings because my phone and other devices were faster

Pretty sure...
Default setting on your Mac would be to use your ISP DNS.
Your phone was using the carriers DNS.

Which means, your ISP DNS isn't very good. 4.2.2.2 is Verizon I believe. Another decent DNS is 8.8.8.8 (Google).
 

Zaap

Diamond Member
Jun 12, 2008
7,162
424
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I'm not understanding this fully. If your Galaxy was using Wifi- then it was using the same DNS server (via your router NOT the carrier) as your Mac. So any perceived slowdown on any device sharing the same connection shouldn't be related to DNS unless its across the board.

I'm assuming you meant you switched the DNS at the router level, correct?
 

SAWYER

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
16,745
42
91
No my devices were all using wifi and changed it on my Mac, not sure what my phone was using
 

Zaap

Diamond Member
Jun 12, 2008
7,162
424
126
Okay, so each device must be passing its own DNS request through the router, rather than the router handling DNS for all devices.

I'm just trying to understand because I've never really looked into it too much what setup is best.

Myself, I really like OpenDNS, and all the DNS speed tests I've used indicate that it's the fastest for my location, and it does seem to speed up my internet speeds. (If you haven't already, you might want to try namebench and see what it recommends for fastest DNS server.)

I configure my router to handle DNS rather than each device. (I guess at some point I'll have to look into if it's best to do it that way or by individual device, or if it really matters. No idea.)
 

SAWYER

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
16,745
42
91
I downloaded that and am running it, it has been waiting on the wild card cache for about 10-15 minutes and still at 0/22