Q: New Macbook Air - wifi connectivity problems

I have a MBA 2012 but have been experiencing the same issue. My problem has been resolved while working with a Apple systems engineer from their federal practice.

1. System Preferences
2. Network
3. Click the settings small icon on the lower left > "Set Service Order ..."
4. Make Wifi the top priority
5. Make Bluetooth (e.g. Bluetooth Pan & Bluetooth Dun) the lowest priority.

Accept and restart.

Again, i have a MBA 2012. This worked for me. This may or may not work for you. My issue was Bluetooth and other connections were a higher priority than of Wifi thus creating some kind of conflict.

Hopefully this will help out. This was driving me nuts for the past four months.  Good luck!

When I received the new macbook air (mid 2013), I had many problems with WIFI drops. I tried many things (most of them from this thread) and, although they didn't solve completely the problem, it is much less serious than before. What still happens to me is that if I go for lunch or for a (long) coffee, connections (SSH, VPN...) are usually lost. It never happened to me before with any other mac, but I can live with that, with the hope some solution will be found.

Just got off the phone with Apple, this tec pointed me to a download I just installed.  Don't know if it works yet but if anyone wants to give it a try here it is:

http://support.apple.com/kb/dl1672

This update fixes an issue that in rare instances may cause an intermittent loss in wireless connectivity, an issue with Adobe Photoshop which may cause occasional screen flickering, and an issue which may cause audio volume to fluctuate during video playback.

Well that didn't work, lasted about thirty six hours before it started again.  Guess it is time to move on to a stable platform.

GIVEN THAT IT IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY, WOULD I BE ABLE TO RETURN IT?

For me the problem seems to appear when I connect an external hard disk drive (usb3). I was unable to enable my wifi when HDD connected ; as soon as I disconnected it, I was able to get the wifi to work again... I don't understand why...

is your hard drive bluetooth?  If so, that's most likely the primary problem. Do you have connectivity problems when the bluetooth is off?  If not, and your external hard drive is bluetooth - it is likely your problem.

Google "usb 3 interference" and you'll see why.

I've installed OS X 10.9.3 and still have the problem. I open my MacBook Air and WiFi is gone. Even if I try to connect, it many times doesn't work. I have to turn off and turn on WiFi to get a connection. It's getting on my nerves. The problem goes away if I turn Bluetooth off, but I use a Bluetooth mouse. Or switching to a 5 Ghz network seems to work, but I have mixed devices so I can't. Maybe I'll buy a new Airport Express, which can serve both 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz simultanuously.

I recommend that everyone on this thread place a bug report, because Apple doesn't usually read these discussion boards. I've never had a problem with any of my Macs, so this is kind of rediculous.

dont you guys have warranty in USA? just send it back and get it fixed....

I think this is a software problem. Search this problem over the Internet, many complain about it, but it is not easily identified what causes it. The only thing that remedies it is turning off Bluetooth. So this means that nothing is wrong with the Wifi per se. It probably is just the way the Bluetooth and WiFi driver interact.

I saw articles that talk about hardware conflic with USB3. but anyway Apple should take care the software too since they sell hardware machines with sofwtare and sofwtare should work smooth as hardware.

Also might be hardware too if bloothoot if switched on can conflict with wifi. I was going back to an apple store anyway and get it fixed. there is no sense on waiting and get frustrated.

It's no use getting it "fixed" if it comes back not fixed, which is what happened to people I've read about. Which makes it likely it's a software issue that is caused by a mix of hardware that is used, like Bluetooth mouse and WiFi router. In the past, Apple hardware had similar issues, but they got timely software fixes. It just seems Apple is very busy...

This is most definately a very common issue.

i am suffering with it on my own Macbook Air 13" Mid-2013 i7.

Constant WiFi dropouts, only fix i can find is turning the WiFi off and on or switching WiFi network. but that lasts all of 2-4 minutes before it drops out again...

I'm also getting a strange wake up to black screen issue?

I've noticed this problem happening the last few days on my mid-2013 MacBook Air.  Prior to that, Wi-Fi was working great.  Now, I'm constanly turning AirPort off and on or fully restarting the Mac.

hmm that is weird. It seems a Malware that change some settings or similar. Just wonder if all the people have this problem have an antivirus installed like Avast (which watch from malware too) or not...