Misior

Q: Wifi connection keeps dropping

Hi,

 

I've been having problems with wifi in the past few months. Wifi connection keeps dropping randomly during the day. It gets more frequent in the evening (usually after 10PM). There is one more laptop (windows) and two mobile phones (iphone and nokia) on the same network and connection is superb and rock solid all the time. Internet speed seems to slow down in the evening as well. Mac is running the latest OS. Any ideas what could be the problem?

 

iMac late 2013, i7, 16gb ram. I can't see anything suspicious running (but I have converted from Windows and NOTHING is straightforward and obvious to me).

 

Thanks.

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Mar 2, 2016 3:06 PM

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Q: Wifi connection keeps dropping

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  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Mar 2, 2016 3:23 PM in response to Misior
    Level 9 (58,115 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Mar 2, 2016 3:23 PM in response to Misior

    When it comes to wi-fi connection issues never assume it's the iMac. It could be a variety of other issues including your modem may have outdated firmware or in need of a reset, your router may have outdated firmware or in need of a reset or your DNS settings are the default your ISP provides and need to be updated.

     

    What I would recommend doing first resetting the modem and checking to see if there are any updates for it, do the same with your router. Finally if the problem persists then update your DNS settings per DNS Settings Update

  • by Misior,

    Misior Misior Mar 2, 2016 3:32 PM in response to rkaufmann87
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 2, 2016 3:32 PM in response to rkaufmann87

    Thanks but if every other machine connected to this router works perfectly (and has been for the past 3 years) then how come "it's not the iMac"? To me it clearly indicates there is something wrong with it (either software or hardware. Software more likely as it all started after update to El Capitan).

     

    I wouldn't really want to touch my router as all the other devices are working fine.

     

    Sorry but I don't understand this DNS Settings Update. Random post from 2012 with no comments doesn't really encourage me to do what it says.

  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Mar 2, 2016 3:38 PM in response to Misior
    Level 9 (58,115 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Mar 2, 2016 3:38 PM in response to Misior

    Misior wrote:

     

    Thanks but if every other machine connected to this router works perfectly (and has been for the past 3 years) then how come "it's not the iMac"? To me it clearly indicates there is something wrong with it (either software or hardware. Software more likely as it all started after update to El Capitan).

     

    I wouldn't really want to touch my router as all the other devices are working fine.

     

    Sorry but I don't understand this DNS Settings Update. Random post from 2012 with no comments doesn't really encourage me to do what it says.

    This type of situation comes up regularly and the advice is always the same. Of course I don't expect you to know that however it does and the advice is always the same. First reset the modem and verify the firmware is up-to-date, do the same with your router, and if the situation persists then next is to update your DNS settings. You don't have to use the DNS settings I provided in my link (they are Google's DNS settings), you can research and find DNS settings are common causes to dropped Wi-Fi signals.

     

    That takes care of it in many cases, if it doesn't in your case then post back and you can do other things.

  • by antoniokratos,

    antoniokratos antoniokratos Mar 3, 2016 9:53 AM in response to Misior
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 3, 2016 9:53 AM in response to Misior

    I'm having the same issue.

     

    I've tried with a clean install of OS X 10.11.3 and the problem still happening.

    I've tried opening the iMac and changing the AirPort module and the problem still happening.

     

    I don't know what to do now.