Q: Macbook Airport Drops Connection

I'm trying to troubleshoot the same Airport on again/off again problem on a brand new MacBook 2.4 (white) running 10.5.3. Re-boots will usually solve the problem, but not always, as sometimes the Airport card is not recognized. I've tried removing the battery and if that doesn't help, will try to remove the preference file as indicated in other posts.

Thanks in advance for any other suggestions.

Just thought I'd add my 2p worth.

I have a Powerbook (older PowerPC one) and have the same issues.

If I turn airport off then on again from the menu it starts to work again. Briefly (increasingly briefly!).

Will try removing the plist file, resetting the pram and changing the WiFi channel, but I'm not hopeful.

Pretty sure this all started happening after my Leopard install. And pretty sure it's something to do with the OS (searching the web it seems to happen on various Apple laptops, using various routers etc).

Am using a Netgear DG834N modem router.

tried the ping solution, i had to increase the frequency to 5 seconds. now the connection gets dropped only every 10 minutes or so.

i think i might just create a script to run at startup to start pinging. at least i won't have to remember to open the terminal window and run the ping command

I FOUND A SOLUTION THAT WORKS!!!! First a little back story.

Got my Mac Blackbook and the wi-fi worked great from my Linksys wrt54g2 router. Moved to Germany and into an apartment and my connection issues started happening. My MB would connect once then loose connection quickly and would only recover connection if i either closed and re-opened my screen, or re-connected to my network... then it would drop again before my next page turn.

After multiple days of research I read about SOOOO many others having this issue and the fact the Apple pretty much refused to acknowledge the issue. It seemed that sometime near the OX 10.4.2 update the airport driver got fubar'd leaving all those with Intel based macs wi-fi connects messed up.

Some of the solutions i read about and tried had to do with changing my WEP connection to WPA. This did not work, but i left it as WPA as my research finds it a more secure connection. I also read about and tried setting my Wireless RTA Threshold in my router to 256 from the *2432 default. This as well did not work, though I have left it at this setting as it seems to be the best value for MAC's connecting over wi-fi. This is not true for PC's though so be careful.

More research, more research, o' my brain hurts and my patience is wearing..... then BINGO!!! I found a thread about connection issues that pertained to MB's not connecting to local-network printers. The poster mentioned that MAC's seem to have a hard time connecting to networks that had more than one wi-fi network present. This is my issue i thought. I have 8 in my available connections now. In my old home I had just mine. So i followed the directions suggested and it has now been 2 weeks of 100% perfect wi-fi connections.

Below is the excerpt from this page, http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/macbookpro/topic2005.html (Do a find for “Little Snitch”). The program the writer talks about is called Little Snitch found here, http://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html. It's a $29 dollar program, but in my mind its well worth it to make my $1500 Blackbook work!

This may not be the Apple Fix we have been waiting for them, but its completely working for me.

[quote]
I have used Little Snitch software for several years, and it occurred to me that I might be able to use it to block any connections with the other network. Using the latest version (v.2), go to Preferences, or Little Snitch Configuration, choose Rules under the Window menu, and click the New button.

In the pop-up window that shows up, click on the gear icon and choose "Choose System Process." A file open box opens, and under the folder "libexec," choose "airportd." "airportd" is the system daemon that controls the Airport card in the MacBook Pro. In the box that comes up, set the main menu to "Allow Connections" and the Server menu to "Local Network."
[/quote]

Woohoo! This works for me.

i just recently bought a macbook and everytime i choose my network using the airport it says i have access but the internet still doesnt work....i am at a loss about what to do.

I also had this problem, with a new MacBook purchased summer 2008. Short answer: I, too, caved and bought an Airport Extreme and it solved my problem.

All other laptops in the house (Mac and PC) connected fine to old Linksys router, but not the new MacBook. While under warranty, they first told me to replace my router (from B to N). I did. Problem continued. So they upgraded my OS to 10.5.5. Problem continued. So they replaced the airport card. Problem changed a bit (it stopped doing the almost rhythmic signal drops it had been doing, where it would connect for 90 seconds or so, disconnect for 5 or so, then reconnect, ad infinitum) but it still dropped signal all the time, and was "searching" for a signal constantly even when connected. I read this and other threads, where the only consistent fix seemed to be to buy an Airport Extreme. It ticked me off to have to buy a $200 Mac router to make my brand new computer work, but I finally did it, and POOF the problem is solved.

Meanwhile, I confess I am enjoying the fact that the Airport Extreme base station has a USB port so I can connect to my printer wirelessly.


<Edited by Moderator>

same problem here , my macbook, 2.4ghz looses always after a few minutes the airport connection with my time capsule. I can deactivate an reactivate airport and then it runs for a few minutes and drop again.
I tried to delete the airport pref. file but it didn't help.
I hope apple will finally find a solution for this issue.

I found out that I only have that airport problems on my macbook, when wlan on my iPhone is activated and on the same time in the same network. That seems to be the problem.

I had a similar problem with a new white macbook.

I use a modem-router sitecom 304 for my wi-fi network, and my old macbook (1,83 core duo with tiger) could always connect to it with no problem

my mother's new macbook (2,1 dual 2 core with leopard, bought 4 days ago) had these problems: 1) airport could not see the network (the sitecom router); 2) rarely the airport saw the network and had a full signal but it used an automatic ip with that was impossible connecting to internet; 3) very very rarely airport could connect to the internet but it was very slow and after few minutes the connection droped down.

I called the apple assistance and after 90 minutes we found a solution: I changed the channel in the router from 11 to 1. now both the macbooks of my home are working well via wi-fi.

i hope this solution could be helpful for someone and also I apologize for my english: hope is quite clear.

So, this is not really a fix. I am really hoping that Apple figures out this issue. My connection was dropping within 5 min of turning the computer on. Once it dropped I could not reconnect. I saw on one of the posts that maximizing your fan to cool down the computer helps. The program I use is called SMC Fan Control. There are issues here and there but as long as I keep my fan on max the wifi works.

I figured I would give the Little Snitch workaround a try, but I also am not seeing airportd.

Of note, a couple of months ago I upgraded my system to 10.5 and noticed significantly fewer AirPort drops than with 10.4, however they were still present. Due to several unrelated headaches with Leopard, I reverted back to Tiger and with it came the wi-fi drops with a vengeance.

This is extremely frustrating. As much as I would like to purchase an AirPort Extreme base station, I just don't have the money. Nor should I have to. This wasn't an issue with earlier versions of Tiger. As I recall, as soon as I upgraded to 10.4.9 the issue started.

Hey

I have the same problem. I tried the little snitch solution, but I can't find airportd. I'm running 10.4 so maybe this is only a process in 10.5?

Anyways, I realized that whenever my airport connection dropped, my computer temperature was quite high - around 55-58 degrees Celsius (131 - 137 Fahrenheit). After downloading Fan Control and SMCfancontrol and monkeying around with these, I found that the airport began to work reliably again after the temperature dropped to about 48 degrees Celsius (119 Fahrenheit).

If temperature is the case, it would explain why using my macbook on the battery seems to work better than with the power adapter (less heat) and why restarting doesn't seem to do anything.

Of course, this is just me - maybe somebody else can confirm this?

-Alan

10.5.6 combo worked for me. I have no issues with wireless now (for the past 30 minutes, fingers crossed):

* Post Date: December 15, 2008
* Download ID: DL754
* File Size: 668 MB

http://support.apple.com/downloads/MacOS_X_10_5_6_ComboUpdate

quote:
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What's new in this update?

AirPort

* Improves the reliability of AirPort connections, including improvements when roaming in large wireless networks with an Intel-based Mac.

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*I recommend using the combo and not the updater waiting in your S.U. because something is borked right now and some people are reporting problems (hangs) but are successfully installing the combo.