Q: Macbook Airport Drops Connection

Nothing. It was covered under AppleCare. But elsewhere in this thread I think I read they run somewhere around $80-$100 new.

There's one at amazon.com for $45:
[http://www.amazon.com/Apple-M8881LL-AirPort-Extreme-Card/dp/B0000899ZB]

I finally decided to replace my wireless card and that fixed the problem! I now get full signal strength and haven't really had a dropped connection yet for the past week! Now, I did replace the 802.11g card that had an Atheros chipset with the 802.11n card (Part# MA688Z/B) that contained the Broadcom chipset, so I can't be 100% sure it's not that Apple has faulty Atheros drivers.

That is the card for the macbook w/ Intel Core duo?

It's "officially" the airport card upgrade for the Mac Pro, but basically it's a PCI-E card which fits in most MacBook Pros. Go to ifixit.com for more info.

I really don't think it is the airport card. I mean mine was fine before I upgraded to 10.5.6, and how come all of a sudden theres a surge of people who's having airport problems all of a sudden? Coincidence? I think not...

Though if it is the card, I found one cheap on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Apple-Airport-Extreme-Card-MA688Z-B-802-11n-MacBookW0QQitemZ180325870354QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_Apple_MacAccessories?hash=item180325870354

All thats left is labor

in fact is a driver problem because with windows works and also with snow leopard. Is a leopard problem.

Can anyone say for sure if 10.5.7 will address the airport issue or is Apple hoping that if they continue to ignore the issue long enough that it'll go away?

I've followed this thread for a while having had similar issues. When my 2yr old Mac heated up - after about 10 minutes of use, the power of the airport card seemed to dwindle to eventually nothing. In a fit of desperation i even sat my mac on an ice pack for a little while (something of a raw diagnostic tool, but it seemed effective) it kept the signal up but nothing like full strength. It was enough to make me more certain that what I had was a hardware issue. Anyhow, I have resolved matters by replacing the airport extreme card myself. A simple 20 minute procedure, details of which are available on self-help websites. Airport card I purchased online from a mac 'recycler' in the UK for £35 including vat and delivery. Now back to full signal strength and holding steady! And so I can post! Best of luck to the rest of the sufferers.

I keep checking back in on this thread as my problem persists. I'm currently fuming about sending my MacBook in since Tuesday (after consulting the Genius Bar) and seeing the status "No Trouble Found" on my repair status detail.

I've had the problem since earlier this summer and thought it was a problem with the wireless router at the house I was living in. Our "admin" said that only a certain number of devices could access the wireless at one time, so I always assumed it was that.
Then I moved. We've got an old Powerbook plugged in via ethernet, and it's sharing its connection via Airport. I use my MacBook a whole lot less now that I work on another Mac 8 hours a day at the office. So the problem persists, but it hasn't been as noticeable. I took it in to the Genius Bar, was told it was fixed, brought it home, still had a problem, took it back, and now am being told there's no trouble.


I've seen others here had their card replaced. Was that on the first try? Or did you have to keep pushing for repairs?

How difficult was the installation? I read the guide on ifixit and it doesn't look too bad, but they said that it requires extensive knowledge of taking apart and assembling computers. And can you tell me what tools you used to do so?

Hi there,
I had a similar problem since I bought my new macbook at the end of last year. When I boot up my mac, I have to withstand an unstable and slow connection with the wifi signal going up and down. However, if I turn airport off and turn it on again, the wifi works flawlessly. Similarly, if I turn on istumbler, airport works fine. Is anyone else experiencing the same issues? Do I need to replace my airport card or is the problem simply software related? My other two macs seem to work fine at all times.

I used the ifixit guide, required one 4mm phillips head screwdriver. I printed the guide out and laid it on the kitchen table putting each screw on the photo so i didn't get them jumbled up. In answer to how difficult? Piece of cake! Took 20 mins tops. Just be careful of the topcase connector - it would seem to be the only major risk in causing damage to your machine. Ifixit suggest a spudger, but another website i found used home-made variety fashioned from plastic packaging (like blister packs). Handy for easing the topcase away from the bottom case and edging the topcase connector up out of its socket.

In response to other contributions - I'v been to visit the geniuses twice and the 2nd time had 2 of them prodding about for an hour. They really had no answer to my problem - do Apple really not read these forums at all? Brings wise monkeys to mind!

Restarting the machine after it had time to cool would restore airport signal strength temporarily on my old card. I did also try a suggestion I read (possibly here) of artificially turning up the fan by using a bit of freeware called 'smc fan control' or something. Neither approach was satisfacory. Basically may card was malfunctioning and my machine out of warranty so my optins were limited.

Best of luck with whatever you try.

Hi guys, I just came back from the apple store....heres what happened. Basically, I complained about the wifi, gave the guy all the solutions I tried that was posted in this thread, and also referred him to this thread. Eventually he offered me to replace my airport card for free, which is great. This may not happen to everyone because he said that since my macbook experienced alot of repairs in the past, so that may be why he offered the replacement for free.
But the key is to go to the right apple store. When my macbook top shell case was experiencing the infamous crack on the bottom right hand side, I went to one apple store and they blatantly told me it was a cosmetic issue and they wouldn't cover it (I was out of warranty). So instead of giving up, I drove to another apple store that was a little farther away and they said they would replace it for free! I really think that it depends on how nice the people are, so if one apple store rejects you, go to another one!
So in the end, my airport card really did expire. Apple may make the worst quality laptops, but their customer service is top notch! Thanks Apple!

I finally found a fix for my problem. I don't understand it, but it worked: http://michaelhyatt.com/2007/01/fix-for-wireless-connection-problems-on-macbook- pro.html

I don't even know what PRAM is, but resetting it did the trick. No problems for the past 2-3 weeks. Hope it works for someone else.

My MacBook has problems with some routers and in certain locations. My MacBook tends to have problems in locations where there are many wireless routers broadcasting. The kicker is that in Bootcamp Wifi works much better. Maybe my MacBook is telling me I made a mistake by switching from Windows to OS X. This is a known problem, but Apple has refused to fix it! When I have time I'm going to buy an USB Wifi adapter.

My Samsung Q1 Ultra has similar problems. On my Samsung the Atheros Wifi card is at fault.