Q: OSX Yosemite Wifi issues

ckl99 wrote:

 

2015 series is the same. Apple please make some WiFi diagnostics application at least, to troubleshoot the problem   It is very frustrating, especially in urgent situations. Makes me wanna throw that 3500eur macbook out of the window.

Hold down the Option key while clicking on the Wi-Fi symbol in the top menu. Click ‘Open Wireless Diagnostics...’ and proceed. Explore the report generated after the diagnostic program finishes. There may be suggestions as to which channels to use, nearby networks that are interfering, etc.

From what Ive seen online, El Capitan beta users are complaining of the same issues so thats depressing.

OH NOOOOOOOOO. That's indeed SUPER depressing.

Maybe it's all part of a plan to make us buy newer MACs....;(

I've been experiencing this issue since 10.10.4 (10.10.3 was OK). Tried 10.10.5 and now running El Capitan GM. Still the same pronblem: Wifi stays connected but no communication possible. What I know so far:

- Arp entry dissapears

- tried manually adding a static ARP entry for my router: no solution

- unable to ping the gateway(router)

- did some tshark packet sniffing: I DO see packets coming in when I try to ping from my router, but no packets are able to go out

- So this is proof that the connection is still up, but the driver fails to send packets out the interface

My conclusion is that it has to be a driver issue, and I think on a massive scale, but a lot of usres are fine with disabling and re-enabling the interface from time to time.

I'm now working on a workaround: writing a script that runs as a background service that restarts the network interface when the arps time out ...

I have been holding off on advancing to 10.10 having been "spooked" by this low "WiFi issues" thread.

My employer required me to "replenish" to a new Mac, and I selected the Macbook Air running 10.10.5. In comparison to the other Macs I use running 10.6.8, 10.7, 10.8, 10.9, this one running 10.10.5 is the best from a WiFi perspective. At home, we get cable internet at 60 Mbps and it is solid on 10.10.5. Notably, in one far corner of the residence where my router signal is very weak, weaker than my neighbor's offending WiFi signal, internet was before ~ only 5 Mbps based on internet Speedtest and used to sometimes spontaneously disconnect, but is now ~ 15 Mbps (Speedtest result) and never disconnects. Closer to the router our internet speed is the full 60 Mbps and the WiFi itself goes up to about 130 Mbps which is about all this router can provide. In this sense, for me 10.10.5 is more robust. At work I get both 2 and 5 GHz connections and > 200 Mbps depending on physical location, as the access points there are faster than my home router.

I asked the IT technician at work (we have several thousand Mac laptop users here) who delivered my new laptop if there were more problems with wireless on Yosemite; he replied no, he felt there were less. One thing I have noticed is that sometimes Macbook Pro with 10.7 spontaneously loses the WiFi and required turning WiFi off and on a few times or in extreme cases a reboot to recover, but with 10.10.5 I have had zero such disconnects.

That said, where there is smoke there is usually fire, and I suspect what is going on with those reporting problems is either WiFi interference (perhaps 10.10 is more sensitive to that than earlier OS, which if true would be unfortunate), or setup issues/conflicts with routers, or other setup/conflict issues, or a hardware problem. Why did these problems just surface with 10.10? Well, if one looks back in any of the earlier OS discussions (10.9, 10.8, 10.7, 10.6 etc), one sees that with each new OS introduced, there are some who report good WiFi has now become bad. Any system change or change in WiFi protocol (this did happen with 10.10) can trigger a problem with something that was maybe was working well but was possibly marginal.

steve626 wrote:

 

That said, where there is smoke there is usually fire...

I don’y but any of the theorizing by people who have no clue what they are talking about. I don’t accept the false causality logic of, “It worked before and now it doesn’t therefore the cause must be such and such.”  In any situation there will always be a subset of users outside the bell curve. As I have pointed out several times here Wi-Fi is an almost voodoo-like technology whose base is radio waves. There are literally thousands of variables involved and all have to work perfectly before things are stable. Frequency, distance, interference, hardware, software, location, construction materials, reflection, line of sight, the list goes on forever. It has always amazed me that Wi-Fi works at all let alone flawlessly for most.

This thread has degenerated into ‘me too’ posts and fantastical theories claiming Apple’s incompetence, cover-ups, intentional wrongdoing, marketing ploys, planned obsolescence, etc.  That’s what happens when frustration takes over.

I'm not sure what you are on about. Wifi is not a voodoo like technology, but has clear protocols and definitions.  Clearly between OSX 10.9 and 10.10 Apple or Broadcom broke the driver for some of the Airport Extreme cards. This is perfectly clear with things working perfectly well with a pristine 10.9 install in comparison with a pristine 10.10 install (both running from USB). In addition Apple exchanged my card so that a hardware failure is extremely unlikely. Agreed, there is a lot of me too in this thread, but some of us give real information. The problem with the bug, and a bug it is, is that at least for me not all wifi frequencies and channels are affected. Hence, it will not occur on every router and there will be certain workarounds that work for some and not for others. Just moaning about things rather than providing useful information is even less helpful than me too posts. Not being able to fix this bug after one year with a single hardware provider is not very impressive. E.g. my laptop at my workplace is almost useless since it needs a wired connection to work in the enterprise network. Frankly, none of my colleagues running Windows have a similar problem and in the ~15 years I had a Windows laptop I never had an issue like this. Here, we talk about hundreds of hardware providers and not a single one.

Total nonsense. Go to any Windows troubleshooting forum and you’ll see thousands upon thousands of Wi-Fi trouble posts. Your assertions are rubbish but typical from a Windows sycophant.

lkrupp wrote:

 

Total nonsense. Go to any Windows troubleshooting forum and you’ll see thousands upon thousands of Wi-Fi trouble posts. Your assertions are rubbish but typical from a Windows sycophant.

Totally misinformed. I currently Upgraded to Windows 10 Pro and Boot Camp Drivers to 6.0 on my Mac Mini (late 2012). Wi-Fi is a non issue in the Microsoft Forums. Your assertion is and always has been absolute sycophant rubbish with no substantial fact to back it up. Mostly, in Windows forums which I am signed in are common installation, validation, file/folder and error messages. Basically the same issues in the Apple Community forum minus this one Wi-Fi Issue Thread. I believe the "voodoo" is on you, Sir. Get a white knuckle grip on a clue before casting your condemning judgement. There are folks here who have really been struggling with a real Wi-Fi issue since the upgrade to Josemite. Many, I see, don't bother to post anymore. And for what? Non help from you, of course. Still you add nothing to try to help. Just blanket judgement. Take care, Sir. Cheers!!

In comparison, I upgraded my wife's Macbook Pro (late 2012) to 10.10.1 sometime back from Mavericks. In Mavericks, the Wi-Fi Transfer Rate was 300 to 405 to 450 Channel 44 using 5 GHz. Yosemite 10.10.1 yielded a Wi-Fi Transfer Rate of 125 to 225 to 300 Channel 44 5 GHz. Needless to say, I performed a full erase and an Internet Recovery back to Mavericks. Problem solved. I will not, nor need to perform any work around found in this thread. Cheers!!

I have an early 2015 Macbook Pro and am baffled that with just the laptop on the network, it causes the router to reboot.

I've recorded details in a thread I'd started before I arrived here to find latest comments.

Wifi Signal Strong But Can't Connect (Macbook pro 13" Early 2015)

Thank you for providing that.

When I upgraded to Yosemite, I provided data to Apple as well with data from my Mac Mini (late 2012). I did not have the issues on my Mini. I provided my Router model/configuration and the log generated by my Mac Mini. Needless to say it was not necessary for them to get back to me. I used an external HD to test and try Yosemite first. Then installed as primary OS X. Did not appreciate it so I reverted back to Mavericks. I tested a full upgrade to my Wife's Macbook Pro (late 2012) after receiving the unit from Apple with Mavericks installed. Made personal note of the Wi-Fi Transfer Rate. She did not like Yosemite as well. Reverted back to Mavericks. I totally empathize and support all who do not have the means of getting OS X Mavericks 10.9.5 to revert their Macs. I have had Windows 7 Pro Boot Camped and now Windows 10 Pro. I am pleased to say that Windows has been stable through it all along with Mavericks. I presume Yosemite 10.10.5 is doing well given the reports I've read. Maybe this is the precursor to something better we can expect from El Capitan. Closing point: Given the circumstances of the past year with Yosemite, it is my hope that most will be a little more cautious and studied before hitting the big flashy Upgrade button. If your current OS X is working well and Apple supported, why "fix" it upgrading to the latest and greatest "untried" OS X? Hope resolution will come swiftly for all who have this issue. Cheers!!

Just wanted to follow up on that. Received my Airport Express, plug it in, it joined my WiFi network and since then (that was like 3 days ago) no WiFi issues at all anymore. So that workaround solved it for me at least.

Good to hear! In fact, sounds like no work around at all.

Those of us who have cable internet need to look for a few things ourselves.

Make sure your Modem/Router cables are not tied up in parallel with AC cords, Monitor cords, etc.

If your Home's main incoming cable is split, make sure the splitter is of the correct dBm for your application.

Make sure all coax connections are snug. Barrel connectors insulated with electrical tape.

Make sure main internet cable to Modem/Router is not running parallel with AC wiring in wall, attic, etc. <OR> draped across lighting boxes or or fluorescent lights in ceiling.

Most of my issues came from me wanting my PC wiring to look "neat". This is not functional. Noise interference can be generated by simply tie wrapping all of the wiring together into a pretty cable bundle. Cut the tie wraps and separate ethernet(signal) wiring from AC power cords and other noise sources.

No matter how much state of the art your Router is, location, location, location.

I'm not preaching, just merely reminding myself of this as well. I've been guilty on every count above at one time or another.

Cheers All