matteocaldari
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: 10.6.5 and wifi issues

Since I upgraded to 10.6.5, my MacBook Pro (Early 2006) cannot connect to my USR9110 (802.11 g) access point. 
From 10.6 on, there's been always troubles when resuming after sleep, but now even at startup the connection goes timeout.

All other devices (an iPhone,an iPad and a MacBook Pro (Late 2006) with 10.5) work perfectly.

I tried rebooting, changing  the wifi channel, updating the access point firmware, turning on and off airport, resetting the SMC, switching to WEP, switching to WPA, switching to unencrypted. Nothing changes, connection timeout. 

MacBook Pro 1,1, Mac OS X (10.6.5), early 2006

Posted on Nov 11, 2010 5:53 AM

by tenortim,Solvedanswer
tenortim tenortim
Level 1 (10 points)
A:
OK, my wife just went through this ordeal (2007 MBP, Atheros 5424 chipset).
Thanks to the work of others diagnosing this, I found a solution that doesn't require a full downgrade, although a little bravery might be needed.

As has already been stated, the version of the firmware for the Atheros cards changed in 10.6.5. This seems to be the culprit. Did any bother testing this fully? The new firmware is unable to maintain a connection under conditions that the older firmware handles with aplomb. Anyway, we clearly need the older driver/firmware, but downgrading to 10.6.4 seems rather draconian, so I set about finding a solution that just fixed that problem.

To cut to the chase, you can run the 10.6.4 drivers on 10.6.6. To do so,
1) Download the 10.6.4 Combo update and the Pacifist program that allows one to extract files from, amongst others, ".pkg" files.
2) Mount the update .dmg, open the package in pacifist, extract the subtree "/System/Library/Extensions/IO80211Family.kext" to a convenient location.
3) As root, cd to /System/Library/Extensions, rename IO80211Family.kext to IO8021Family.1066 (or anything else to back it up), and copy in the replacement IO80211Family.kext that we extracted from 10.6.4.
4) Download, install and run "Kext Utility" (Google it, it's at Insanely Mac). It should ask for your password, run, and fix up the kext permissions and caches.
5) Reboot. You should now be on the new (old) driver/firmware. Verify by running "About this Mac" -> "More Info" -> "Network" -> "Airport". As stated, the newer firmware is 2.1.14.5, the working firmware is 2.0.19.10.

After doing this, my wife's MBP is back to full functionality and domestic harmony is restored. Apple, please revert this driver and inform Atheros that it does not work correctly.

Message was edited by: tenortim (fix typos)

Posted on Jan 13, 2011 12:03 PM

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matteocaldari

Q: 10.6.5 and wifi issues

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  • by codyMR,

    codyMR codyMR Jan 14, 2011 1:22 PM in response to tenortim
    Level 1 (40 points)
    Jan 14, 2011 1:22 PM in response to tenortim
    Yup tenortim hit it out of the park... the 10.6.4 driver seems to work and gives me back the wireless range (more than 15 feet) so I get wireless throughout my condo again. The connection seems to be stable. I also see networks that are from my surrounding neighbours again.

    There is another thread on this site posted by a guy who was having wireless issues after the 10.6.5 update and many of the experienced users came down on him in a very condescending way and pointedly argued that he did not have any idea what he was talking about and that the entire issue was a user or router problem. Shame on them. Tenortim's fix proves that there is a problem with some Airport Card/Mac configurations and the 10.6.5 update and later.

    An aside: I got a call from the Apple Store recently because I filled out their customer service survey after I went there in Nov 2010 to try and work out a wireless fix. They have now agreed to replace my wireless card for $106 CND (not charging me labour). While chatting up the genius, he told me while they have no official information on 10.6.5 and Atheros cards, he said he has heard of issues. I am not sure I will replace the card, after all, this does seem to be Apple's boondoggle and they should offer a fix. But at the same time, I use my Mac as my primary business computer and I am tired of wasting time on this wireless problem and I am tired or waiting for a patch to be released by Apple. Further, while tenortim's fix works for now, how do we know the older driver will work with subsequent updates to OSX?

    So I am considering my options.

  • by Spydermann,

    Spydermann Spydermann Jan 15, 2011 12:19 AM in response to codyMR
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 15, 2011 12:19 AM in response to codyMR
    I think you may be referring to me about posting a fix earlier. On 10th, I posted that the issue was between the wireless card and the router with plenty of evidence to back it up and what a possible fix was (not "the fix") and I was not impressed with the responses, especially one of them. I'm glad someone noticed it. I was thinking all my hair-tearing was going to waste.

    Just hope Apple look into this although it doesn't appear to be an Apple specific issue.

  • by bowser80,

    bowser80 bowser80 Jan 15, 2011 2:53 PM in response to Spydermann
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 15, 2011 2:53 PM in response to Spydermann
    Do you know or think it will work with the Broadcom firmware?
    Updated to 10.6.6 and wish i didn't as i wasn't having any problems before:(

  • by lost.carrier,

    lost.carrier lost.carrier Jan 15, 2011 3:48 PM in response to matteocaldari
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 15, 2011 3:48 PM in response to matteocaldari
    I just wanted to let you know that I solved my wifi problems...

    tenortim (Page #23) is a real hero!!! Many thanx!

    PS: ...and is actually IS a 10.6.5 (or .6) issue...

  • by ctl1088,

    ctl1088 ctl1088 Jan 16, 2011 1:14 AM in response to tenortim
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 16, 2011 1:14 AM in response to tenortim
    I am currently trying tenortim's fix, but I'm having trouble with this step:

    3) As root, cd to /System/Library/Extensions, rename IO80211Family.kext to IO8021Family.1066 (or anything else to back it up), and copy in the replacement IO80211Family.kext that we extracted from 10.6.4.

    After logging in as root, I renamed IO80211Family.kext and copied the replacement IO80211Family.kext that was extracted from 10.6.4. Then two errors came up, either with the renamed IO80211Family.kext or the replacement IO80211Family.kext. I tried Kext Utility, rebooted, and firmware version was still Atheros 5424: 2.1.14.5.


    After this, I restored my Extensions folder from a backup drive and tried the whole process again. This time after rebooting, my firmware version went from Atheros 5424: 2.1.14.5 to Atheros 5424: 2.1.9.8.1. Wifi still does not work. Any suggestions on how to fix this...or what I should do now?

    --
    ETA: "cd to /System/Library/Extensions" -- could someone explain/how to do this? I think this is the part I missed.

  • by Sam_P,

    Sam_P Sam_P Jan 16, 2011 5:52 AM in response to ctl1088
    Level 1 (105 points)
    Jan 16, 2011 5:52 AM in response to ctl1088
    In the Terminal, type the following, each followed by the return key (or copy and paste from here):

    *cd /System/Library/Extensions*

    then to rename the file:

    *mv IO80211Family.kext IO8021Family.1066*

    Can't help you with copying the replacement file as no path is mentioned. Good luck!

  • by nonstop24,

    nonstop24 nonstop24 Jan 16, 2011 9:58 AM in response to Sam_P
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 16, 2011 9:58 AM in response to Sam_P
    You are GOD tenortim

    You're solution worked for me. Got the old working Firmware from 10.6.4 back

    Airport works now.

    Thank you very much.

  • by phil1995,

    phil1995 phil1995 Jan 16, 2011 1:12 PM in response to nonstop24
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 16, 2011 1:12 PM in response to nonstop24
    tenortim, I can not thank you enough. I have been fighting this ever since the 10.6.5 update hit. The "Genius Bar" told me I was crazy and that there is no way that the update would affect the wireless signal. They wanted to replace my wireless card and my motherboard. There is no telling how many people just do what they say because they are the Genius. I just couldnt convince myself that it was a hardware issue when it worked find on 10.6.4

    Card Type: AirPort Extreme (0x168C, 0x87)
    Firmware Version: Atheros 5416: 2.0.19.10

    Signal / Noise: -48 dBm / -96 dBm

    Before rolling the driver back, the signal stayed at around 93.

    Thanks again, I truly appreciate you posting that.

  • by A Shepherd,

    A Shepherd A Shepherd Jan 16, 2011 2:47 PM in response to phil1995
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 16, 2011 2:47 PM in response to phil1995
    Yes, I think tenortim has hit upon at least the major part of the problem.

    I have done the driver rollback and did experience a brief connection on my third floor. However, it did not last very long. After observing the behavior for a while, here are my conclusions:

    In my downstairs location just 10' from the router, I can open the connection with real good stats:

    -49 signal transmit rate of 54

    Then after either checking email or surfing a page or two it goes down to:

    -78-85
    transmit of 1-5

    Upstairs on the third floor, another 25' and two floors away, I start out with:

    -70 signal
    transmit rate 48

    then jumps to:

    -94, transmit 1-2

    Then it can drop easily from there. The older driver does work better, but I used to be able to surf up on the third floor no problem. I am still seeing the behavior of having many local networks show up in the list during the initial good signal strength and then when it dies down, I can only see one or two wireless points around me.

    I've tried some of the old techniques and pram reset etc. with no luck. At least my laptop is usable but not back the way it was....

    -ashley

  • by phil1995,

    phil1995 phil1995 Jan 16, 2011 4:09 PM in response to A Shepherd
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 16, 2011 4:09 PM in response to A Shepherd
    With all of those local networks around, could you be experiencing interference from another network?

    Can you try changing your channels around to see if it improves?

    Just for testing purposes, if your router is capable, try changing it over to 802.11A and see if it makes any difference. Just a thought.

  • by JuanSkom,

    JuanSkom JuanSkom Jan 16, 2011 4:41 PM in response to ctl1088
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 16, 2011 4:41 PM in response to ctl1088
    ctl108806

    seems like you've not so familiar with the terminal, I hope you've not by logging in as root made the files with wrong read write attibutes.

    when viewing the file in terminal with command ls -la /System/Library/Extensions you should see a line saying something like this:
    drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Aug 2 2009 IO80211Family.kext

    make sure the beginning is correct "drwxr-xr-x",
    if this is not the case, run command: sudo chmod -R 755 /System/Library/Extensions/IO80211Family.kext

    This command would give execute permissions to some non executable files. But that's not so much of a big deal.

  • by ctl1088,

    ctl1088 ctl1088 Jan 16, 2011 6:32 PM in response to JuanSkom
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 16, 2011 6:32 PM in response to JuanSkom
    Thank you for your help, Sam_P and JuanSkom.

    The firmware version was Atheros 5424: 2.1.9.8.1 when I first turned my MacBook on today. Entering ls -la /System/Library/Extensions in Terminal gave me this:

    drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Apr 23 2010 IO80211Family.kext
    but also:
    drwxr-xr-x@ 3 root wheel 102 Apr 23 2010 IO80211Family.1066


    I tried restoring my Extensions folder back to its 10.6.6 version via my external drive and rebooted in order to try tenortim's process again.

    However, after rebooting, System Profiler now says:
    Firmware Version: Atheros 5424: 2.0.19.10

    I'm not sure what happened to get the firmware back to Atheros 5424: 2.0.19.10, but wifi is working again. I also notice that the IO80211Family.kext currently in my Extensions folder is actually a different version from the one on my external drive. My concern now is if I have the original 10.6.6 IO80211Family.kext backed up on my computer (as IO8021Family.1066) and how I would find that out.

  • by thorsten_79,

    thorsten_79 thorsten_79 Jan 17, 2011 1:48 AM in response to ctl1088
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 17, 2011 1:48 AM in response to ctl1088
    Hi there,
    I have a white MacBook from 2007 with a broadcom chip. Its basically unusable in my wireless network since upgrading to 10.6.5 (10.6.6 did not fix it). The problems are speed issues, or no connection to the network at all - but snow leopard says that I am still connected ... The problems started with 10.6.5 . I yesterday tried to use the old IO80211Family.kext from 10.6.4 as suggested. It works better in a way that the webpages get loaded much quicker than with the one from 10.6.5/6. But still the connection gets lost, especially If I start a big download for instance, or have heavy load in the network. So is there any official statement from apple? When will they fix it, its a scandal! Is it related to the drivers or has it to do with dhcp-client, why is there nearly no information about it?
    Any suggestions what I can do (without a complete downgrade to 10.6.4)?

    Thorsten

  • by JuanSkom,

    JuanSkom JuanSkom Jan 17, 2011 1:59 AM in response to thorsten_79
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 17, 2011 1:59 AM in response to thorsten_79
    Well in that case if you haven't tried the other "fixes" in this thread do so. In my case they fixed it. Sitting on 10.6.6 system on a 2006 Mac Pro.

    Also flushing your cache files may improve general response of the system but also old settings might ghost in them. Not sure of that though, but after my update to 10.6.6 flushing cache did wonders to the crappy response I had as result of the update.

  • by thorsten_79,

    thorsten_79 thorsten_79 Jan 17, 2011 2:22 AM in response to JuanSkom
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 17, 2011 2:22 AM in response to JuanSkom
    I tried all the "fixes" and did also tried with a fresh install. After I did the combo update to 10.6.6, the problems appear again ... Extremely frustrating!
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