yavuz.efe

Q: Macbook Air (Mid 2013) Wi-Fi Stops Working When USB 3.0 Stick Is Plugged

Greetings;

 

Recently I bought a Macbook Air (Mid 2013) which comes with Mountain Lion OS. And I did clean state Mavericks OS Installation.

 

I have 2 different usb sticks which are :

 

32 GB Corsair Flash Voyager GT USB 3.0

64 GB Corsair Flash Voyager GT USB 3.0

 

 

When I plug one of these to mac book air (tried 2 ports) wi-fi stops working (it's not disconnecting but do not receive / send any data)

Also when wifi is disconnected or i try to connect  a wifi (when usb stick is plugged) i always encounter same error (Something Like Connection Time Out)

 

I'm a Mac newbie. I don't know much about macs.

 

( I Also Have Kingston DataTraveler Hyper X 8GB USB 2.0 Stick, When It's Plugged, Wifi Works Normally)

 

 

Has anyone encounter this problem, or solved it ?

 

(PS : I tried all three file systems : Mac OS, FAT32, and NTFS this happened, no matter what the file system is)

 

Oh and; sorry for my bad English

MacBook Air, OS X Mavericks (10.9), Macbook Air (Mid 2013)

Posted on Nov 20, 2013 8:23 AM

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Q: Macbook Air (Mid 2013) Wi-Fi Stops Working When USB 3.0 Stick Is Plugged

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  • by SilverLanternMan,

    SilverLanternMan SilverLanternMan Nov 20, 2013 9:34 AM in response to yavuz.efe
    Level 2 (170 points)
    Nov 20, 2013 9:34 AM in response to yavuz.efe

    take a look at these articles.

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4512

    Bluetooth: Unreliable wireless performance may occur when USB 3.0 external devices are close

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5172#15

    Using USB 3 devices on Mac computers FAQ

     

    I sometimes have difficulty with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth devices when USB 3 devices are attached to my computer.  What could be wrong?

    Some USB 3 devices, hard drives in particular, can generate radio frequency interference that can cause Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices operating in the 2.4GHz band to have issues communicating with your computer. Do not place hard drives or other USB devices behind the rear of your Mac near at the hinge of your screen. The antennas for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are located there, and USB 3 devices placed there may interfere with your wireless connections. See this white paper for more information.

  • by modellista,

    modellista modellista Dec 16, 2013 2:13 PM in response to yavuz.efe
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 16, 2013 2:13 PM in response to yavuz.efe

    Hi yavuz,

     

    This exact problem is happening to me too with a 2013 Air.  When I use a USB3 hub, the wifi often stops working, in exactly the same way as yours - it still shows connected for a while, but no data flows.  If you disconnect and try to reconnect, it will show a timeout error.  An older USB2 hub doesn't cause the same problem.

     

    I've had intermittent wifi problems with the machine without the USB3 hub plugged in, but nothing repeatable, and the Apple store have tested the hardware with no faults found.  It's very annoying, you don't know when it's not going to work!

  • by soujo,

    soujo soujo Feb 18, 2014 10:29 PM in response to yavuz.efe
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 18, 2014 10:29 PM in response to yavuz.efe

    Not sure if you've found your solution yet. If not, I might have an answer for you.

     

    I got my latest MacBook Pro just last week (running OS X Mavericks). WiFi working fine until last night. Since then I have had the exact problem you described: WiFi won't work when a USB drive is attached (but on the USB port on the left, not the right).

     

    I called Apple Support. The guy had never come across this problem but suggested a hardware reset which seems to have solved the issue. There are two resets. I did both. Steps are as follows:

     

    1.

    Shutdown computer, plug in the charger

    Press Option–Control–Shift

    Hold for 10 second

    Let go: charger light should go from Amber–Green–Amber

     

    2.

    PRAM reset:

    Shutdown computer

    Immediately after hitting startup button, hold down Command–Option–P–R until a second sound is heard

    Log in as usual

     

    Please let me know if it works for you.

  • by Markus.S,

    Markus.S Markus.S Apr 11, 2015 2:46 PM in response to soujo
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 11, 2015 2:46 PM in response to soujo

    Same story and same problem with my Macbook Air (Mid 2013) and Mac OS X 10.10.2

     

    After I plug in a 64GB Verbatim Store 'n' Stay Nano USB 3.0 Drive the Wi-Fi is not working any more after about 5 to 10 minutes. When I remove the USB device, everything is working well again.

     

    Is there any fix by Apple meanwhile? Did anybody find a solution?

     

    Thanks a lot!

  • by Markus.S,

    Markus.S Markus.S Apr 13, 2015 8:50 PM in response to Markus.S
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 13, 2015 8:50 PM in response to Markus.S

    Update 04/13/2015

     

    The funny thing: it seems it hapens only with the USB slot on the left side close to the MagSafe power connection. When I am using the USB 3.0 nano stick on the right side close to the Thunderbolt connection and SD-Card slot, everything is working well. It seems like a physical interference to the Wi-Fi module, or something like this. When that is really the reason, it would be a screw up by the Apple engineers like the antenne issue of the old iPhone with the metal antenna at the casing. I don't know but it is really annoying.

  • by _jmg,

    _jmg _jmg Jun 28, 2016 1:04 AM in response to soujo
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 28, 2016 1:04 AM in response to soujo

    thanks, i think i did something wrong with the first reset (green light didn't turn on)

     

    but the second one seems to have worked!

     

    thanks!  (macbook pro retina)

  • by homerjsimpson8,

    homerjsimpson8 homerjsimpson8 Aug 25, 2016 5:18 AM in response to Markus.S
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Aug 25, 2016 5:18 AM in response to Markus.S

    I had a similar problem with a 13" Mac Book Pro Retina and El Capitan 10.11.6

    My problem started occurring with the introduction of a Unitek Y-3045 AX88179 combo (unpowered) USB 3.0 hub with GB ethernet connection connected to the left USB port near the power connector.

    Symptoms were that I could not connect to 'any' wifi network when AX88179 was connected. If had a wifi connection then later connected the AX88179 the wifi connection would deteriate with slow ping response times and packet loss.

    MBP wifi would only work normally when the AX88179 was removed from the USB port.

     

    I couldn't get the "Amber–Green–Amber" effect. Just stayed green

    Resetting NVRAM had no effect as well.

    I also tried deleting all files in the /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/ folder except for the com.apple.Boot.plist and reboot.

    No success

     

    I didn't try and put the AX88179 in the USB port on the right-hand side of the MBP because I wanted to keep all my cabling on the left side. This may have made a difference as well.

    My solution was to connect another unpowered USB 3.0 hub to the same MBP USB port and piggy back the AX88179 on to this USB 3.0 hub. Wifi connection all good for me now.

    Thank you to other contributors to this post to lead me in the right direction.