Q: MacBook Pro constantly losing wireless connectivity

Actually, I am pretty sure that this problem did not begin until I upgraded to 10.5.5. I've had my MBP for 16 months, and this just started to happen. It's very annoying, and given a previous known problem with MBP's (a keyboard issue that required my own keyboard to be replaced), I must say that I am pretty disappointed with Apple re: this product. Maybe I'll just MacBook it next time. Never had an issue with the previous one I owned.

My daughter has had to replace the hard drive on her MacBook twice.

It seems as if i am suffering from the same problem as many of you are as well. My brand new MacBookPro, my $2700 machine can barely go online. Either the connection isn't there or might as well not be.

I have tested this in a variety of WiFi locations and found the results to be the same everywhere. Every other computer in my house (Mac Mini, iMac, Early MacBook Pros) all function as they should with no problems. Even my iPhone's wireless internet functions properly.

My friend brought his MacBook pro over and his computer functioned properly as well. This is leading me to believe that there are a certain number of MacBook pros with a similar issue. Ill run diagnostic downloads occasionally to find how my internet connection is doing.

Usually my internet connection will be worse 20kb/s which even at the higher end is dismal. It almost always seems like its winding down, starting around 20, and falling slowly. To temporarily correct this, i'll click on the wireless connectivity button displaying the WiFi connection strength. I'll wait a couple of seconds until the "Airport: Scanning" icon turns to "Airport: On". Then, about 60% of the time i'll see a temporary boost in speed, sometimes only a few kb/s, sometimes hundreds.

Its an irritating process if im attempting to download long powerpoint slides or watch YouTube videos which can take 20+ minutes to download fully. Its a sad thing when I have to read long series of Lecture Notes for my University on the tiny iPhone display because my computer can't properly access the internet.

I was once completing an online exam worth 15% of my years grade when my internet shorted out on me and failed me on the exam 4 out of 10 of the questions in. Fortunately i had a 2nd attempt. If this is a software problem why hasn't apple made an update available? It seems there are enough of us suffering through this problem to merit some sort of investigation. If it is hardware to blame, then it should be covered for free. I didn't buy a portable computer to have to be stuck sitting right next to my iMac at home in order to access the internet.

Please Apple, Help us out here

Hi MacUofA,
if you call Apple Support and describe your situation they will definitely offer you to replace the Airport card in the laptop, because that's what they do. If you want to give it a try and can live without your laptop for a while, why not doing it?

As you can read in this thread, unfortunately in many cases the Airport card replacement solved nothing, and the most likely cause of our problems currently looks to be a subtle incompatibility between the MBP and certain wifi access point running certain firmware versions. Even if you got that combination right at home, that would not save you from the next situation in which using a public wifi connection is of critical importance to you.

We don't know if it's Apple's fault, but definitely they have to take part of the blame if hundreds of other companies managed to build computers and other devices that work fine on our wifi networks without hassle.

Giacecco

Hi folks- Just wanted to offer some new feedback on my experience with this problem. Like so many others here, I had been experiencing completely intermittent wireless connectivity, along with poor router signal reception. I could be 2 feet from my Linksys router and still only have 3 out of 4 bars indicated on my Airport icon...

I was finally able to find a solution yesterday, but I'm not sure I can even call it a 'solution' because it still doesn't explain what's causing the issue. I was so frustrated I finally broke down decided to throw money at the problem by purchasing a new wireless router. (My Linksys BEF11SW that I was using is probably 6 years old now...) Anyways, I bought a Netgear Dualband wireless N router. For whatever reason, it solved all of my issues on my MBP. Regardless of whether I'm running off of the wireless G band or the wireless N band, I have no more connectivity issues. Speed has been restored, and so far I haven't lost a connection. Also, my Airport icon now is showing 4 full bars, which I can only assume is happening because the new router's signal must be so much stronger. Also, it seems I'm able to successfully maintain connection using either WPA or WEP forms of security. (I don't know how they work, but I thought I'd try several of the router options out.)

I know this doesn't solve the mystery of why this is happening with our machines, but I wanted to at least share a bit of good news that resulted from my $100 experiment.

I was suffering similar problems to those described here (slow connection, connection dropping at random). The problems just started overnight and really had me stumped. I tried pretty much everything suggested in this thread, and also tried a bunch of other remedies.

I did manage to fix the problem in the end, through a system of trial and error. My solution was to simply change my Wifi channel from 11 to 6, and now all is running as it was. My best guess is that one of my neighbours bought a new wireless phone or some other radio-transmitting bit of equipment, which was causing interference with my MacBook (another G5 desktop with an Airport card installed was working fine throughout).

Hi philpowell,
I don't want to shatter your dreams, but I had the same hope last weekend, when wifi channel 2 worked for about one day and a half. Since then, I am back to square 1. Of course I wish you better luck: let us know if it holds on.

Even if getting the channel right worked, though, it could be only called a workaround rather than a solution. What if I wanted to use my MBP at my client's, or at a Starbucks? Shall I ask the waiter to change the wifi channel for me?

Apple has to do something: even if the issue was only with specific brands of wifi access point, or with the way interference is managed (hence the wifi channel workaround) the rest of the world has managed to design hardware/write software drivers that work anyway. Apple could do that as well.

Giacecco

Hi Giacecco,

Thanks for the feedback. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the change I've made is a persistent fix. You're right that this is just a workaround - perhaps using the word "solution" was a little inappropriate on my part.

This seems to be a really sporadic problem which is affecting a lot of people in different ways, and it's more than a little frustrating that Apple aren't providing any technical advice on the subject. I consider myself to be reasonably proficient in system admin tasks, and this has been a real headache for me to diagnose, so I pity anyone with less technical know-how.

Unfortunately, less technical know-how seems to include Apple Support personnel, at least for Wi-Fi support. I finally gave up on going to them. They don't seem to grasp a number of basics. For example, they never seemed to understand you could get a network signal but not be able to connect to the internet because the network password had become lost or corrupted and needed to be re-entered. No complaints with support personnel except on Wi-Fi.

I'm with you on everything that's been written about this issue! I purchased my MBP in July'08 and have spent hours trying every solution including suggestions made in this discussion group, Genius Bar, and AppleCare. I'm so frustrated and don't know what else to do. It's so random...works, then it doesn't..I've switched channels, bought a new modem/router, checked for RealPlayer, etc. The guy at the genius bar said he'd seen 3 other complaints like mine in the past couple of days! Why isn't Apple communicating with us? I've heard it's a wireless card problem...then I've heard replacement hasn't solved the problem. Genius bar guy said he believes it's a problem with the latest OS. Come on Apple, we're not crazy, PLEASE help us or give us our money back!

Well, here's my experience so far: I opened the MacBook Pro and every time the connection disappears, I blow on the airport card. Magic! The connection comes back if the temperature drops! Just to verify, I put some ice in a plastic envelope on the airport card while working on the computer. Result: no more connection drops.
I deduced that the airport card goes crazy when the temperature is too high (it burns if I touch it). I ordered a new one and I will let you know.
Regards, AF

Did the Genius Bar guy really say he believes it's a software issue? That would be an achievement in itself, considering that I do not know of any case in which Apple admitted that, and that most of us who relied on Apple's Support were only adviced to replace the card as if this was a conventional hardware fault.

Of course I guess that the Genius Bar guy was not representing Apple when sharing with you his thoughts, anyway.

Was your MBP working while at the Genius Bar?

Where's the airport card?

Alessandro this is great: an absolutely possible reason for the issue, and a valuable direction for further research. I will try playing around with smcFanControl (http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=308) tonight and see what happens.

Giacecco

Hello Giacecco,
about smcFanControl: I tried it some weeks ago. I didn't produce the same results as blowing on it or putting some ice, because the fan is beside the airport card, but it seemed to me that it helped a bit.
Give it a try and let us know!
Regards, AF