Q: MacBook Pro constantly losing wireless connectivity

Disabling "n" mode on the router has improved reliability for me. The version of OSX running doesn't seem to matter for me, nor does the chipset.

I'm also having a similar issue. It's been a recurring problem with increasing frequency for the past four months or so. The first time it happened I didn't know what to think, so I rebooted and thought no more of it. Since then it's progressed to the point of losing my internet connection every few minutes. It seems to happen more often when my MBP gets too hot or if I move it around at all during internet use. At this point in time, reboots only help 40% of the time or less. The majority of the time when I reboot, my airport status bar says "No airport card installed." If I restart again and check my status bar I see that my airport is off, and I'm not able to turn it on. Anymore I'm rebooting my system four or five times in a row to get connection to the internet. This is a ridiculous problem for such a high end machine.

Schickler121 wrote:

 

I'm also having a similar issue. It's been a recurring problem with increasing frequency for the past four months or so. The first time it happened I didn't know what to think, so I rebooted and thought no more of it. Since then it's progressed to the point of losing my internet connection every few minutes. It seems to happen more often when my MBP gets too hot or if I move it around at all during internet use. At this point in time, reboots only help 40% of the time or less. The majority of the time when I reboot, my airport status bar says "No airport card installed." If I restart again and check my status bar I see that my airport is off, and I'm not able to turn it on. Anymore I'm rebooting my system four or five times in a row to get connection to the internet. This is a ridiculous problem for such a high end machine.

Take it into your Apple Store for repair; it sounds like a hardware component is failing if the OS is failing to detect the AirPort hardware upon reboot.

All,

I noticed some people have had their MBP replaced by apple... I am wondering if this is an option for me. My MBP is about 2yrs old but this issue has crept up after 1.5 yrs. It is the only issue I have ever had with any mac I have ever had, but its a major one.  I have 3 other laptops in the house that have no issues with connectivity ( XP machine, 2 Win7 machines).  Can someone else throw out some of the details of their experience... warranty or no warranty, time frame of ownership so on so forth... thanks in advance.

This worked for me.  I was about to rip out the rest of the very few hairs on my head.  Thank you for this post.

Hi Mac2classic,

I had my MBP replaced under apple warranty, it was only 6 months old. The only advice I can give is do not delay contacting them about this... I know apple only gives you 1 year warranty, but in many countries the law states that you are entitled to 2 years. So you may be able to use that to persuade them.

Hi, What did you do that work? 

They replaced mine when it was 1 1/2 years - but I had a year worth of calls to Apple, so my troubles were well documented. 

Also, for a year Apple blamed ATT.  After Apple Care had done everything, they told me it was my 'service provider'.  (And for 6 months II had ATT rewire inside and outside, trench in street, and about 30 calls with techs trying everything.  Finally ATT told me I could take my business elsewhere.  I was floored !  (As Apple could have been liable for reimbursing ATT if ATT knew about this site, the well documented troubles, and the great number of people having problems.)

My MBP was replaced in one day:  Apple Customer Service called the store closest to me and told me it would be ready when I got there.  I got an upgrade too. 

All this sounds great, but I would have been much happier if my original MBP had performed normally.  The aggravation and toll on my home business was so ridiculous, I almost sought legal help.

Call Customer Service, give them a detailed history, and don't back down.  Squeeky wheel.

Good luck.

No way, save your money and buy a good pc instead. I should of return my mac when I still could. From day one it's been a battle just to keep the dam thing working right. I think mac is having growing pains and have lost control of the quality standards.

ericfromyelm - spot on!! I'm on my 4th MBP in 14 months and all have suffered.

I hate the argument "well its only a small percentage", well who says the others know or want to comment on this post?

It's a problem Apple need to address, their reputation has been tarnished in my eyes and those who know of the problems I have had.

My last visit to the Apple "Genius" (a term used as loosely as they come!!), when I advised of this post, was met with a "don't believe everything you read on the internet"!! Both condescending and evidence of defensiveness that shows Apple have no interest in fixing this issue

While I am not going to defend Apple here by any means, I have had 100% success for over a month now just by disabling 802.11n on my router.  I specifically have a late 2010 MacBook Air still running 10.5(.7?).  (I decided to not update until something actually makes this better.)  Three different routers (Motorola, Asus, and Actiontec FiOS) that were all problematic before have no issues with N disabled.

It seems to clearly be a software/driver issue on Apple's end, and it is a shame that people have been fighting with this issue for over four years.  It appears as though they only check against their own equipment and Cisco equipment, but that is purely speculation.

Unfortunately, disabling N doesn't work for everyone, I guess you're in luck .

And of course, the problem arises that when using the laptop in library, university, hotel, all these places should disable n on their router just for you? I don't think that's going to happen.

There's a hardware issue with your laptop, apple needs to fix or replace it!

ekremers is correct.

This is a known problem that Apple has not fixed.  What works for one may not work for another.  Also, what works for one, may not 'hold' (you will find it's a band-aid that wears out).

You say you haven't updated - that is no solution !  You are risking other problems by not updating.

THIS IS A MAJOR PROBELM THAT APPLE HAS NOT ADDRESSED.

The only fix is to call Customer Service and demand a new MBP.  They will give you one.

Presto:  your probelms are over.

Replace the IO80211Family.kext kernel extension from 10.7.4 by the version used in 10.7.3 (4.1.2). This will fix the issue.