Q: MacBook Pro constantly losing wireless connectivity

There's no need to start fighting, nor is there a need to reply to me, stating that it's not a fight or whatever...

Point is that people mostly only come here when they have a problem. Long threads do not mean that 'most' macbook pros have this problem. The thread is also only getting longer by people posting insignificant posts (like you and me).

To get back to the point: I only started getting these drops since I've upgraded to Lion, had no problem on Snow Leopard.

Tried several things, some worked for a bit, others changed nothing.

In my experience, it depends largely on where I'm sitting. It seems that my sofa is somehow blocking the signal, making my wifi extremely slow, or not allowing me to connect. Moving a tiny bit, or just raising my mbp 20cm upwards allows me to surf again at normal speeds.

The same problem occurs to me when using either one of two completely different routers.

The only workaround that is feasible for me is to put an extra access point in my living room, fortunately I have a wired network connection behind my tv so I can put a router there. It does not solve the problem of having a ****** wlan in the €2500 notebook, but it makes it usable at home.

I fear for it during my ski vacation, where I don't have control over the hotel's wlan routers...

Feel free to give my comments as much weight as you like, it makes no difference to me.

I'll help those I can, and nothing changes the fact that the number one way to get support and fixes is to call AppleCare.

The problem with Apple Care is that my contract expired.  And frankly, because of Apple's reputation, it never crossed my mind that they would have created an OS that would screw up my connectivity.  So I invested $30 and over a week's worth of phone calls to Linksys thinking it was THEIR problem.  Alas, it isn't and I am done forking over $$$ to people who say, "No, it's THEIR problem."  I'm not going to pay Apple Care to say, "Buy another router."  They need to just come right out and say, "Hey guys, you may have major issues with connectivity depending upon your router so be prepared to buy another router."  As far as I'm concerned, Apple is still under the impresion that it is operator error/router issues because they have not acknowledged this problem.  I had NO PROBLEM forking over the $100 for a new router.  What I had the problem with was Apple's lack of acknowledging a problem with certain routers AND not being able to solidly recommend a brand that would work outside of their own swill.  Just a little transparency would have been nice.  A wee bit more honesty and upfrontedness.

Calling AppleCare obviously dosn't solve the problem in this case, most likely since this is probably not ONE problem, but multiple different issues experienced by a number of users. Otherwise, I would atleast hope that one person recieving a "fix" would have posted something about it. I think applecare is a great alternative for solving problems, but it did not solve my problem, and it seems more people have ended up with the same result. So unless anyone has a real working solution supplied from applecare, lets stop promoting the callcenter support since I think we all know that if you have applecare, this is the first stop.

Since we're not idiots and know how to configure a router, I would suspect that the router is not a core issue for most people experiencing the problems. In another thread, someone started a list with hardware that worked and didn't work and all three of the routers I've used have been reported as working properly. I have already posted here that I can ALWAYS use WiFi at new/different locations. And I've so far been on 2 different continents and visited 2 states in the US, atleast 6 hotels in Sweden, 3 towns in Germany, 2 in Greece, 1 in Spain, 1 in France and a couple of places in Denmark and Norway.

But, and this is important so read carefully: without changing any settings on my router, just purging the keychain and all system files and logs of my network, dumping all memories and creating a new location with only WiFi connectino available, I have had perfect WiFi for a couple of months. So I personally would still be interrested in hering something better than changing some settings and reinstalling the OS.

My WiFi still works, so it is neither an issue with interference for me. The simple fact that my WiFi drops if I use the same "location" anywhere else but at home, but still can use WiFi anywhere else as long as I create a new location is a strong indication that this is a bug, something with the software (regardless of OS version).

I'm tired of posting remarks and comments with no association to solving the problem. So I would like to thank all participants and I'll keep posting if someone has any solid questions or asks for help!

Best regards

Gusgrave,

Excellent summary!

I'm new to mac maintenance and systems having been a slave to windows:  Is there someplace I can go that gives me good stepwise direction to accomplshing this?  Also, it seems you are saying to do it each time the location changes or the problem comes back; is that right?

"But, and this is important so read carefully: without changing any settings on my router, just purging the keychain and all system files and logs of my network, dumping all memories and creating a new location with only WiFi connectino available, I have had perfect WiFi for a couple of months. So I personally would still be interrested in hering something better than changing some settings and reinstalling the OS."

Gusgrave,

You're correct in that this issue is a multitude of problems with the same symptoms.

While you may not want to hear that purging the keychain and caches fixes the problems for many, it may simply because old cached information may be incorrectly passed to authenticate the connection and such leading to issues.  Does the use of old cached/keychain info indicate a bug that should be fixed in Apple's code?  Of course it does, but it's nice to have a workaround, and we don't know why the old information is a problem; perhaps there's a corrupted date stamp in the keychain database that made the older information appear newer to the system.

greekguy9999, Apple didn't "mess up" connectivity because it wasn't something done on purpose and it's not something broken on a universal basis or even that affects most users. I can see your attitude towards Apple upfront when you call their routers "their own swill," given that they're some of the best in the industry, but even then they can't recommend another brand to you as most other brands do work in most situations. Linksys and D-Link are not only two of the biggest brands out there, they're also two of the worst about fixing bugs in their own firmware, so it's not surprising they'd handwave and push the issue back on Apple - if their router works using their drivers on Windows, they're happy. What you're asking though, is like taking your car into your dealer for drivability issues only to have them tell you you got a tank of bad gas, then being upset because they won't tell you which brand of gas to buy (when the answer is "not that one." )

greekguy9999 wrote:

 

The problem with Apple Care is that my contract expired.

Don't let yourself be befuddled by the politician's talk (yes, that's a polite euphemism) spewed by self-appointed Apple advocates around here. I purchased extended care with my MBP prior to going to work for a year abroad, and AppleCare phone support (which, naturally, was the first thing I tried -- after all, I paid for it!) has been precisely useless. Oh, no, I'm wrong, it's been less than useless -- it wasted 2 hrs of my life much better spent in catching up on sleep.

It only served to confirm an opinion formed in twenty years of working with computers (Apple is not unique in this respect, btw -- it's pretty much the same thing across the industry). Unless, (a) you're a complete novice, and/or, (b) your problem is a stock problem with a stock solution, and, (c) there's been enough time for the solution to percolate through sometimes tortuous corporate communication channels, phone support is a waste of time. (IMHO, AppleCare is useful for dealing with hardware breakdowns, especially when working far from one's own home base.)

In this instance, gusgrave is probably right. The problem is complex, there's likely more than one cause, so there's never going to be a clear (let alone simple) solution. Precisely because there's no likelihood of a simple solution, I don't see Apple investing time and resources into dealing with it. In the past, their policy has been to let the dogs bark and, like the caravan, move on; my Early 2011 MBP is already history, so that's that. We're pretty much on our own. AFAIC, once this stint is over and I'm back on home ground, I'll probably sell the MBP, gulp the loss, and get a decent laptop.

In a sense, it's my fault, too. I bought the machine after reading one or two cursory reviews and comparing price tags. If I had done some real research, checking for problems subsystem by subsystem, I'd've probably found this and other threads, saved some money, and avoided a great deal of aggravation. One does pay for being lazy.

Precisely because there's no likelihood of a simple solution, I don't see Apple investing time and resources into dealing with it. In the past, their policy has been to let the dogs bark and, like the caravan, move on; my Early 2011 MBP is already history, so that's that. We're pretty much on our own. AFAIC, once this stint is over and I'm back on home ground, I'll probably sell the MBP, gulp the loss, and get a decent laptop.

 

In a sense, it's my fault, too. I bought the machine after reading one or two cursory reviews and comparing price tags. If I had done some real research, checking for problems subsystem by subsystem, I'd've probably found this and other threads, saved some money, and avoided a great deal of aggravation. One does pay for being lazy.

A few things here.

First of all, while I readily admit the first level AppleCare reps often are following a script, they do log the problems nevertheless their people really do care about your issue and finding a solution. Further, because the problems are logged, even if your issue isn't solved immediately, it's how engineering sees "Wow, AppleCare got 4500 calls from people having problems connecting with a Fubar WIFi 8000 router - we should look into that."

As far as doing research, you may want to look for complaints from people having Wi-Fi issues with their Windows laptops; they're far more numerous than the complaints you'll find about Macs. A great example is there's an Acer laptop next to me that absolutely refuses to see the Wi-Fi router sitting less than a foot away from it, while every other device in my house, from Apple devices to a Nintendo Wii all see and connect to it just fine.

Airport connectivity to the router, modem et al, as far as I know, is the problem. Why I might ask? Becuase, when I upload videos to Vimeo and you tube, file sizes can be 2 gb or more. When I do this, there is no problem, ever. Why. Because Airport is CONSTANTLY communicating with the router. I never drop connection when doing continuous communcations with the routher doing routines like this. In Win 7 on the machine, the connect never drops, so logical reasoning would state there is a software problem vis a vis Airport on Leopard, Lion et al and communications to the router because when the connect is not being used, the dropouts occurs, always. Recommendation. Apple, focus on software and Airport connectivity as the outside environement i(router, modem et al, s not the issue here, the bug in the software regarding connectivity is.

PS, I just had to turn off and on airport beford sending this message. Any questions?

I am now doing a simple test. Sening an unlimited number of pings to the router. Thus far, no drops. If this actually works, then the problem with Airport connectivity with any router and modem is software related. Interesting enough, the message says the host is down which is obviously not the case.

Alas, the test did not work but the uploading and downloading of large files via airport does work without issue so at least something regarding airport connectivity problems via mac software and it is a viable guess as the connect using Win 7 on the MBP never drops.

And so it goes. K. Vonnegut

their people really do care about your issue

"Their people" really do not care about your issue. What they do care about is meeting the house and car payments, putting the kids through school, and whether the husband is bonking the long-legged short-skirted twentysomething temp at the office or not. However, they will work on your issue, if they are paid to do so; and they will be paid to do it if the people in charge think it will help the bottom line to do so.

engineering sees "Wow, AppleCare got 4500 calls

Engineering sees bupkiss. And they don't pick and choose what to "look into". They do what they're told, and for pretty much the same reason as everybody else.

It is time to grow up and stop anthromorphising corporations. Apple is a corporation like any other, that is, a business run by people to make a profit. (By people, mind you, ie, by agents who sometimes make mistakes and sometimes behave irrationally.) What corporations do is determined to a large extent by what the people in charge perceive to be their source of profit this year and the expected source of profit next year.

Putting black hats and white hats on the likes of Microsoft and Apple, or expecting from them such human traits as 'loyalty' or, Heaven forfend, 'caring', is like leaving milk and cookies on the table for Santa Claus -- nice, if you're a pre-schooler; worrying, if you're past high school. Microsoft works hard to maximise backwards compatibility because that's what makes business sense, given their customer base. Apple can adopt a new OS or new processor architecture every five years or so (and let the dickens take the hindmost), because they have a different customer base.

So what does that mean for us? If you're using the latest, current, model and OS, or have extended care, then, by all means, call AppleCare first -- you've already paid for it! You'll waste a lot of time, but, who knows? miracles can happen. Otherwise, forget AppleCare -- all you've got are user-to-user fora like this one. Don't hope or expect Apple to "do something". It simply does not make business sense for Apple to invest time and resources into trying to sort out what promises to be a very difficult issue with last year's machines, when they have new ones out there to support and fix, and even newer ones coming down the pipeline.

PROBLEM SOLVED! No more booting off the Internet with my new MacBook Pro.  Was running the latest version of Snow Leopard and losing internet connection repeatedly. 

Updated to OS X Lion.  For just $29.99, all my problems with AirPort have been solved.

I had tried everything before this - trip to the Apple Store for support - new DSL modem - service visit from AT&T to check the line - nothing helped.  After installing OS X Lion, no more random disconnects.  Life is Good.

Lol, for me it was just the opposite that solved the problem, I "downgraded" MBP from Lion to Snow Leopard and now the wireless issues have been gone for over a week. I guess the issue is not so much related to the OS, though it is good for you (and me) that the problems have finally been solved.

Seems like the following worked for me on the refurbished i5 13inch MacBook Pro I just bought which is running Snow Leopard.

1. Go to system preferences under the apple icon on the top left corner of your screen and then click on network.

2. Click on WiFi on the left side

3. Now on the right side you will see a box and next to it will be written "ask to join new networks".

4. All I did was uncheck this box and it solved my problem with losing Internet connection for the most part.

What I am thinking is that some of the people in here complaining about this issue, including myself, may have checked this box unintentionally.  This would explain why upgrading or downgrading the OS version fixes the problem, I am guessing this setting is by default unchecked after an OS downgrade or upgrade.

I assume this setting causes problems with the wireless connection because the computer keeps on looking for new networks and therefore, for whatever reason, interrupts the connection.  I would call this a software issue, allowing the Mac to search for new networks should not cause such a problem.  I have not experienced such issues with PCs I have used.  In fact, the reason I am almost sure I turned on this option myself is that I would always turn such an option on while using a PC.

This is my first Mac, and I must say I am very disappointed in a few things so far.  To begin with, I agree with many of the posters here that Mac tech support does not live up to the hyped up image it has.  I also have been experiencing other hardware and software issues that may force me to end up returning my Mac.  I did not expect so many problems with a machine I almost paid double the price for in comparison to a PC with similar specs.  That being said, the MacBook is otherwise an amazing machine.  I guess nothing is perfect.  I hope this post helps some people here.