MacBook Pro constantly losing wireless connectivity

Addy,

You have a new machine that's under warranty. Don't waste your time. Take it to the Genius Bar and let them fix it.

Lacking a Doctorate in Network Communications I was extremeley hesitant to attempt any configuration changes but here is my simple solution that works for me, discovered by accident-

When you finally acheive all green buttons under Network Status (good luck) and Network Diagnostics states "Your Internet connection appears to be working correctly." Minimize the application, do not close it and leave it open on the dock (forever).

Certainly not a permanent fix. Wen you reboot you need to start from the beginning. Give it a try. Perhaps someone can determine why this is. Maybe even Apple.

Good evening all,

I attempted to look for whether the solution that helped me work or not actually did but with 126 pages now, it seemed a bit of a daunting task 🙂

I have recently bought a MacBook Pro 13" Retina, and the Wi-Fi started droping randomly after a few days. I tried different solutions such as deleting all of the wifi passwords in my Keychain, rebooting a few times.. and in my worst case.. using Caffine to keep it on the entire time..

When I rang Apple Support, we went through a number of options that didn't work, but one that did was as follows:

Step 1 (I beleive this is resetting the SMC) - Plugging in your Mac to the wall then shutting Off the Mac completely. When OFF, press the buttons SHIFT + CTRL + ALT (option) + POWER BUTTON . You should see that the charger light will flash for a brief second

Step 2 (I believe this is resetting the PRAM) - You have to be relatively quick with this one. Mac should still be off. So press the on button and immediately press. ALT (option) + CMD + P + R . Keep holding until the mac starts up, it will then reboot. let go after this step.

This seemed to work for me.. Good Luck Everyone!

Apple Official SMC reset - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

Apple Official PRAM reset - http://support.apple.com/kb/ph11243

All the best,

Dave

HI,

I don't have a fix but the workaround for me is to completely shut down the computer and start back up. A restart does not work.

Greg

Does Apple realize what a complete disaster this is in this day and age? I use a 2012 mbp running ML and my wifi is dropping constantly. After 20 years of mac i will never recommend based on this issue and its complete non resolution. I hope this costs them dearly. Last mac purchase I'm afraid. was thinking iPhone next but not now. android here I come.

no, get a refund. screw them.

what routers does everyone have?

doesn't make any sense, seems like the one thing being omitted here is all of the hardware people are using

note that the original post is from 2008, meaning that these are completely separate issues so I'm not sure why people refer to this as being 126 pages when there's no way macbooks from 6 years ago are identical in hardware and software so a recurring issue this is not

I have an AirPort Extreme in my home office (purchased in July 2013), however, I've ruled that out, since the Wi-Fi also disconnects several time a day when I'm connected to the wireless network in my work office.

Let's face it - this is just ridiculous.

This piece of junk, oh sorry, Macbook Pro with Retina display is driving me crazy for four months already.

Is it that hard to fix this Wi-Fi problem?

Seriously, few more weeks and I will just smash it with a hammer...

Your technical support is worst possible experience...

When I think about the months of 'troubleshooting' via Apple Care... and all the time wasted (stolen) from my home business. Only to be told by Apple that it was my 'service provider' (ATT).

So I started hounding ATT. They rewired my house, rewired outside including digging a trench. They replaced and reset routers. They sent approximately 30 people out over a period of MONTHS (think of all the time: months with Apple Care, then months with ATT) -- with no resolution.

ATT finally told me "we've done our best - if you're unhappy, find another provider."

And all along it was Apple's faulty wifi. Seems criminal to me. Certainly there must be a young, hungry, e s q out there to force corrective action, warn potential buyers, and compensate those of us who have quantifiable losses.

Hi,

I made a change that may be a fix. I have not lost a connection in about a week anyway

Go to System Preferences>Network and make sure (Wifi) is selected. Then click on whatever is in Location and select Edit. Remove all items except (Automatic). Restart.

Again, I have not had any disconnects since I did this. It may not fix yours, but so far so good 🙂

Hi friends,

It seems it is generic issue with a lot of Macbooks. I too am facing this problem since I bought it last August. Initially, this issue wasn't frequent at all, but quite recently it has become extremely frequently. for example, it has lost its Wifi connection almost 10 times already today.

Now, what I am asking is what's the resolution? Frankly speaking, I am so much frustrated now after talking to Apple care staff already that I am prepared to return it for refund, although, I was in love with Apple products but, only when I didn't own any of them. My wife too has a similar problem with her iPhone.

Apple care asked me to take my Macbook to an apple store who will reload the OS and it should resolve the issue - not sure if it will resolve it or just decrease the frequency of the issue.

Bottomline, can I get a refund of the Macbook ? If yes, please suggest how. I am done with Apple stuff now. I already paid a fortune for this macbook rejecting Windows based laptops which supposedly won't have a lame Wifi issue at least.

Your thoughts please?

sood.rahul,

Apple will replace a product within 2 weeks of purchase. If you're beyond that they aren't likely to replace it, especially since it sounds like you haven't given them a chance to fix it even once yet. You say you're under Applecare, use it and let them fix the problem.

Thanks for your response Bob !

Just so that I am sure of the process - what if even after a reinstall of OS the issue remains ? What if there is a problem with the machine ? Will they still won't refund ? Or will they atleast replace the machine with one that doesn't have a problem ?

Like everyone else, I'm just another user. I can't speak for Apple. I can tell you logically though, they'll want at least a few attempts to fix the machine before they'll give ANY kind of consideration to replacing it. If you bought a car that made a noise and took it back one time after driving it for a year and they didn't fix it, would you expect a new car?

I know how frustrating this is. I went through it myself, though I didn't have Applecare to fall back on. Mine had already expired. You may have to go through the OS reinstall if only to prove it's more than that. Although that may be all you need, you really don't know at this point. Just let them look at it.