NWA50AX: MacBook Pro M5 Pro (WiFi 7 chip) limited to ~90 Mbps, M3 Pro gets 300+ Mbps on same SSID

cenadros

Hi Zyxel team,

I'm experiencing a significant throughput limitation with my NWA50AX when connecting a MacBook Pro with the new Apple M5 Pro chip (WiFi 7, chip id: 0x11).

SETUP:
- AP: NWA50AX (Nebula managed)
- Firmware: V7.10(ABYW.4) — latest available
- (For safety, the MAC info has been removed)
- S/N: S221817015630
- Radio: 5 GHz, 80 MHz channel width, 30 dBm
- No rate limiting, no airtime fairness, no smart steering

ISSUE:
- MacBook Pro M5 Pro: capped at ~90 Mbps (confirmed with curl speed tests)
- MacBook Pro M3 Pro: 300+ Mbps on the SAME SSID, same location, same time
- Both devices connect at 802.11ax on 5 GHz

DIAGNOSTICS PERFORMED:
- WiFi link on M5 Pro shows: 960 Mbps, MCS 9, 2 NSS, 80 MHz, RSSI -42 dBm — excellent signal
- Zero TCP errors or retransmissions
- Tested disabling ECN, TSO, increasing TCP buffers — no change
- 8 parallel connections still cap at ~100 Mbps total — confirms aggregate limit
- No VPN, no proxy, no iCloud Private Relay active
- The M5 Pro works fine (300+ Mbps) when connected directly to a different AP (Movistar router)

CONCLUSION:
The NWA50AX firmware appears to have a compatibility issue with the new Apple WiFi 7 chipset (chip id 0x11). The PHY layer negotiates correctly at 960 Mbps but actual data throughput is limited to ~90 Mbps. This affects only the M5 Pro; the M3 Pro (WiFi 6E chip) works perfectly.

Could you please investigate and consider a firmware fix for compatibility with Apple's new WiFi 7 clients?

Thank you.

Zyxel_Tina

Hi @cenadros ,

Welcome to the Zyxel Community!

To help us further clarify the issue, could you please confirm whether other client devices connected to the NWA50AX are working normally in terms of throughput?

Since the Apple M5 Pro (WiFi 7) is very new, it may also be related to early-stage compatibility. We suggest monitoring if Apple releases any related updates, and we will also continue to observe and collect more cases on our side.

For further analysis, please help with the following:

• Enable Zyxel Support Access and provide your Organization and Site name
• Collect and share the diagnostic info file from the AP

This will help us investigate the issue more effectively.

Thank you for your cooperation!

cenadros

Hi Zyxel_Tina,

Thank you for looking into this.

To confirm: all other devices on the network (phones, laptops, tablets) connected to the NWA50AX perform normally. The throughput limitation is strictly isolated to the MacBook Pro M5 Pro (WiFi 7 chip id 0x11) — no other client is affected.

As my M5 Pro is my primary work machine, I have upgraded to a Zyxel NWA90BE PRO in the meantime. The M5 Pro now achieves 894 Mbps down / 815 Mbps up (Speedtest by Ookla, Result ID: 19009960276) on the NWA90BE PRO with zero configuration changes, which may be a useful data point for your investigation.

Happy to provide any additional diagnostics if it helps. Thank you.

Zyxel_Judy

Hi @cenadros ,

We will check whether there is a compatibility issue between the new Apple Wi-Fi 7 chipset (chip ID: 0x11) and the NWA50AX.

By the way, to have further investigation, could we schedule a remote session to your M5 Pro while it is connected to the NWA50AX, so we can investigate the issue further?

If you are available, please send us your AnyDesk or TeamViewer ID along with your preferred time by reaching out through the community inbox — simply click on your account icon and select "Messages."

If not, please try the following steps on the NWA50AX and provide the requested information below:

• Fix the 5 GHz radio to a non-DFS channel (e.g., channel 36 or 40) and check whether the result differs.
• Capture wireless packets using the NWA90BE Pro while the Apple M5 Pro is connected to the NWA50AX and run a throughput test. Note: Please set the 5 GHz radio mode on the NWA90BE Pro to AX mode before capturing.
• Enable Zyxel Support Access and provide your Organization and Site name
• Collect and share the diagnostic info file from the AP before test, during test and after test
• Share the MAC address of the M5 Pro and the time it connected to the NWA50AX
• Share the speed test result screens

When running the test, please ensure that only your M5 Pro is connected to the NWA50AX, the signal strength is good (better than -65 dBm), and the test is performed multiple times before collecting the diagnostic file.