mhikes006

Q: Mac Mini Wifi Problems! Won't connect

I'm having trouble with my Mac Mini, with El Capitan 10.11.5 installed.

I cannot connect to the Wifi with my Mac. In Wifi under System Preferences, when I select my home network, a tab appears saying, "This network could not be joined" and says either move closer to the router (even though under the network selection tab, my home wifi is 3 bars) or run Diagnostics, which I've done and just wait for twenty minutes until it's finished. Usually, I go into the diagnostics folder and replace wifi folders with the ones in the diagnostic folder. It worked for a while but it's stopped now. It's kind of strange how it says move my computer closer because I have a seperate partition on my Mac with Windows, which works perfectly fine, with no problems at all since I installed it. When I click Assit Me, and select Assistant, I can't get past the first step as it requests my password and then claims it as invalid when I submit it. I'm stumped. Can anyone help?

OS X El Capitan (10.11.5)

Posted on Jul 18, 2016 5:20 PM

Close

Q: Mac Mini Wifi Problems! Won't connect

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Jul 19, 2016 1:24 AM in response to mhikes006
    Level 10 (187,952 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 19, 2016 1:24 AM in response to mhikes006

    Do other device successfully connect to that network?

    Does the Mini successfully connect to other networks?

    - Try resetting the SMC and NVRAM/PRAM

    Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295

    About NVRAM and PRAM 

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063

    - Try starting in Safe Mode

    OS X: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode?

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

    - Boot to Recovery and repair the startup disk

    OS X: About OS X Recovery - Apple Support

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314

    Also, can you successfully connect when in Recovery mode?

    - If it is repairable reinstall the OSX

    How to reinstall OS X on your Mac - Apple Support

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904

    - If you do not have a backup use disk utility to restore the internal disk to an external disk so you can try to recover data.

    Then format the startup disk and do a fresh install of OSX

  • by mhikes006,

    mhikes006 mhikes006 Jul 19, 2016 3:25 AM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 19, 2016 3:25 AM in response to lllaass

    Yes, every single other device in the house doesn't have problems connecting to the wifi. It's only my Mac Mini. As for the Mac Mini connecting to other networks, I wouldn't know as since it's not a laptop, it's not exactly very portable. I've haven't taken it to a friend's house since the problems began, so I can't tell if the problem is only limited to my home's wifi. I doubt it though, as the Mac's the only one with problems concerning this.

     

    Also, before I posted this question, I had reinstalled Capitan twice. The first time, after reinstalling it, I back it up from Time Machine (Defeats the purpose - I know) and the problems started again. The second, I didn't back it up and started with a fresh slate. My Mac worked well for quite a while since then, until recently when it started acting up again.

     

    Also, I've tried everything in the list of solutions you provided(apart from reinstalling my OS X). None of them has had any effect :/

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Jul 19, 2016 6:57 AM in response to mhikes006
    Level 10 (187,952 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 19, 2016 6:57 AM in response to mhikes006

    If you can't connect when booted to Recovery mode then either your network has problems (not likely) or you have a hardware problem with the Mac. Thus, make an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store.

    Apple Retail Store - Genius Bar

    https://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/