Q: MacBook Pro constantly losing wireless connectivity

Hello,

I have a new MBP purchased May 1, 2008. I've been struggling to figure out what I've been doing wrong until I read this thread.

My MBP has stopped connecting to my Time Capsule (802.11n) router. I cannot get it to see the internet. I've tried re-booting, taking the battery out - most of the tips from this thread. My wife's 18 month old MBP works fine - never had a single problem. Both are 10.5.2

SO that makes me think hardware.

However, on my MBP (which will not connect to a router 10 feet away) , if I boot in Windows with bootcamp, I get perfect wireless connectivity.

As a long time Mac user and convert this is simply killing me. A new flagship laptop that cannot connect to the internet, and as a fix I have to use Windows.

I'm going to check if I'm still within my return period first thing tomorrow morning. This is simply unacceptable.

You did not specify whether your wife's MBP was running leopard. The problem relates to MBP and leopard. Your time capsule problem may not be related to this thread. there is a seperate thread on that problem.

Cheers,

I've been fighting with this problem for a few months now. I have a possible solution, though it's too early to say for sure.

On some of the forum postings, people mentioned improvement by setting their router to "802.11g only" mode. I already had mine set to "G only", but it occurred to me that mine was one of many 802.11g routers that have a "turbo" mode that doubles throughput if you have their hardware on both ends. The default setting is to have "turbo" mode enabled. When I set my router to disable "turbo" mode, my connection became reliable. It has only been a day and roughly 5 hours of online time, but I have not lost my wireless connection since I made this change. Normally my MBP has dropped a connection about an hour after a restart, then every 10 minutes or so after that, so I think I'm seeing something significant.

Try disabling any "turbo" or other non-standard high-throughput mode that your router might have, and see if it improves your reliability.

Just to add a "Me too" to this discussion - same symptoms as described here. Just got a brand new MBP and TimeCapsule 6 weeks ago, and wifi connection kept dropping off, particularly just after waking from sleep. Didn't have the same problem with other computers in my household...put back in my old Airport Extreme just to rule out a problem with the TimeCapsule. Called apple support two or three times and didn't get much help (switch channel etc) then was advised to take it into an Apple Retail store, which i did yesterday - no solution either....then just came across this thread today.

What annoys me, is that this is clearly a known issue, so why didn't Apple Support tell me that when I first called? I got a high end product - more or less the highest possible spec for the new MBP, so not very impressed that this is occuring....but was with all long time Apple users, have got used to problems with first release hardware...wasn't aware it was occuring for older MBPs too. Its a shame, because apart from this, the new MBP is an awesome product.

Have just tried the reset suggested here, so lets see how that goes.

I wonder if someone in the know could tell me how to switch my TimeCapsule to 802.11g only, as suggested earlier in the thread.

Thanks a lot.

HI ALL,

HI ALL,
I am writing form Milan, Itlaia. Two weeks ago i bought a MacMook Pro + 4gb ram + Apple Care protection Plan for 2950 euro. (S/N W88114AFYP3)
I am completley agree, the MacBook HAS A SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH AIRPORT !!!
I use it at nome with a network, for a long time i use it with my old ibook white and never has problems,
In a first time i think the networking has problems and so i bought purchased other airport express to add at my network, and belive me guys, beside 10 centimeters from the airport that shows in the icon a minimun signal....!
WHAT INTEND DO THE APPLE WITTH CUSTOMER UNSODISFIED...?
THIS COMPUTER DON?T RUN...
The best way to trash money...

Hello Everyone,
It seems that after reading many of the posts on this thread, a common link between all users with problems is the usage of Wireless-N technology. To my knowledge, and I could be wrong, 802.11N technology is still a draft specification. This meaning... its not perfect yet Maybe the problem doesn't lie in the Macbook Pro itself, but actually in the Wireless-N technology you're trying to use.

I have the same problem also - brand new MBP, 2.4Ghz, 2GB, all the works... and I have the same wireless disconnect issue. The solution - stick with protocols that have been tested and certified. Companies across the glove have jumped on the wireless N bandwagon well before it was ready simply to stay ahead and competitive.

Wireless networking isn't perfect, and it isn't reliable. Period. If you're relying on wireless to be flawless, you're in the wrong place. Even the most expensive wireless equipment drops connections sometimes because of other wireless interference. It seems as though most people in this thread are using wireless simply to connect their laptop to the internet, and no internet connection breaks the 54Gbps connection that wireless-g offers.

Solution: Set your router to wireless-g only, don't use technology that isn't ready for mainstream yet, be happy

Not so fast there Kimosabe! The issue remains in any Wi-Fi protocol. I only have an ABG router and am experiencing the same issue and before you ask, I have tried all possible combinations of protocols and encryption to try and hunt down a particular cause, with no luck. Even tried a different router. Funny how my HP Vista Home Premium AND my iPhone have no connection issues but my new MBP (maxed out) does? Wanna answer that one? Suggest you read these threads more carefully and you will see that this issue is across all Wi-Fi protocols AND is a known issue (check out why the City of NY Education system put a hold on MBP orders). Apple just dropped the ball on this one and needs to "fess up", take their lumps and fix it!

Solution: Set your router to wireless-g only,
don't use technology that isn't ready for mainstream yet, be happy

That is a simplistic and unrealistic statement. Most of us have no control over the Wireless router that we connect to. Especially when we travel. We all bought MBP so we could use it away from the office. Desktop is cheaper and we would have gotten that if we didn't intend on traveling with it.

None of us have any control over the router, or the wireless protocol that they use at Starbucks, The Holiday Inn, Atlanta Airport, and all the other numerous places we try to connect. We can't simply call the IT guy at the Holiday Inn and say, "can you please disable the N protocol on the router so one person who you will never see again can log on to Ebay tonight?"

Obviously this is a big major problem and Apple is pretty quiet about it.

OK everyone, we are all trying to be helpful fighting this bug. Work arounds and bandaids won't solve. Apple is derelict in there responsibility to their customers. Applecare is clueless and the poor people at the "Genius Bar" are totally clueless, making the Genius Bar an oxymoron. Maybe I should send a note to Steve Balmar, I am sure he can make some noise about it. I can see the MS commercial in high def. The cool apple guy getting hammered by the MS nerd over wireless connectivity.

I recently upgraded to a NewerTech "n" router in order to solve drop-out issues with my Apple TV, and my MacBook Pro and a family member's G4 iBook started having major connection problems. These are the steps I took:

A. I set up my wireless network for MAC address filtering, only allowing our computers to connect. This did not accomplish much, but I have left it on.

B. Studying the Linksys web site (NewerTech has almost no info on their router), they mentioned that LOWERING the power of your router may help. The conflicting network(s) will be less likely to try to connect, if your network appears farther away. This solved most of the iBook's connection issues.

C. Finally, I could not understand why the MacBook Pro' Airport card--a "b/g" unit in this case--continued to scan after connecting to our WLAN. It bothered me that I could not tell the Airport card to ignore the main culprit, a neighbor's router.

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."

This change apparently works--knock on wood, since I have had very few lost connections. You may want to try this and report your success on this message board. Also, I am running 10.5.2, so I am not sure if the setting(s) would be the same in previous versions of OS X.

Hope this helps!

No, this is not router issue, this is OS X10.5.2 issue. My router is working fine for Windows on Fusion on Macbook Pro. But on OS X 10.5.2, it constantly drops connection. I cannot even download Skype.

Also, there is a discussion titled "OS X 10.5.2 Update May cause Wireless LAN problem" on http://blogs.oreilly.com/digitalmedia/2008/02/os-x-1052-update-may-cause-wir.htm l

Some comment said to reset PRAM. I haven't done it to my brand new mac. I am really disappointed by Apple.

I wondering if its a mac book pro problem. because two friends that own the consumer model mac books have no problems with emailing, surfing anywhere; and they go to all sorts of airports and hotels. I haven't gone to another location with a different wi fi other than apple express or extreme. although one experience with a linksys, where I had to bring an iMac and MBP to a location. Both computers didn't keep a connection going. It was a hidden SSID and WEP (?). That was the big question as the owner of the place didn't really know what security it was. So the computers kept on loosing connection when idle. It was never looked into closely, but the keychain also needs to be kept clean if there was any password remembered ... even the incorrect ones are kept if you clicked "always allow".

gebitu wrote:
No, this is not router issue, this is OS X10.5.2 issue. My router is working fine for Windows on Fusion on Macbook Pro. But on OS X 10.5.2, it constantly drops connection. I cannot even download Skype.

Well... after my post the other day, I went out and bought a new Router - standard Linksys Wireless-N home router. With my MBP the connection stayed live for over 8 hours. I left the laptop downloading some very large files (over 10GB) over night, and when I woke up all the files were downloaded and the machine was still connected to the router....

My old router, as well as the access point at work would drop the connection about once an hour... So, new router = no problems for me. I don't think this is a universal issue, despite the realization that many, many people are having trouble from the MBP's with this. I realize many of us don't have the ability to change/adjust routers or access points, but I still think the real issue lies with Wireless-N. Maybe Apple should give us the ability to disable Wireless-N. I have a theory that the Mac's radio switches from the 5Ghz Wireless-N band to 2.4Ghz when it searches for new networks periodically, and maybe some routers drop the connection at that time?

Just a thought...

Hopefully this won't be considered bad form since I'm on a MacBook (10.5.2) and not a MBP, but same deal here. WRT54G v1.1, (tomato 1.19,) no channel changing, encryption setup, different firmware (tried the Linksys, tomato, DD-WRT,) I mean nothing router-specific will make this go away. And yet, two other wireless PCs in the house are able to keep a connection for 48 hours straight without a single drag or hiccup.

It's a MacBook/MacBook Pro issue. Yes, one can spend $300 bucks and make it go away; guess what Apple? I'm not going to buy more of your product to fix the broken product you sold me already.

I can guarantee that if I booted XP, or Vista that my card would work perfectly, so I think it's a crappy driver. I can't boot either of those, legally at this time however.

I still remember the first time I opened System Profiler on this thing and saw that it was a Broadcom wireless chipset. Gah.

I'll try resetting my PMU, but I had to do that once already because of one of the cooling utilities, so I'm not sure that will help.

-- Joshua

Message was edited by: overclockedmind