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new imac has random network connection problems with router

I have a Linksys wrt54gl router and 2 other macs that have no connectivity problems to the network, so I know the network is fine.
Mac user for over 10 years.

The new Imac randomly drops the connection to the network, most times does not connect at all.
I have troubleshot everything by searching online forums. I think the Airport card is defective at this point. I have set channel to 11, tried every form of security, network diagnostics, restarting, clearing the key chain entries, updating Router firmware, etc....

The problem is so random...I could be connected to the router/net and then all the sudden the airport bars goes down 1 then 10 seconds later , it goes down 3 more, then finally to nothing. and the connection drops.?????

imac, Mac OS X (10.5.5), 20" Imac

Posted on Sep 23, 2008 5:56 PM

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20 replies

Sep 24, 2008 2:43 AM in response to dexdubious

I have a very similar situation.

When I power my recently bought iMac 24" 2.8 it does not connect to the network. I have to disbale & reenable the airport adaptor like 10 or 12 times for it to conenct. Once connected performance is great and never disconnects.

I own couple of other equipment that conencts without any problem to the network (McBook, PowerBook G4, iPhone 3G, iTouch, Nintendo Wii, AppleTV), so it is not a network problem.

Fun part is when I called Apple's support centre. First we did some tests, creating new location, testing LAN conenction (via cable). After more than an hour, the solution was to reinstall Leopard (!!), as it seemed a configuration issue. Computer is quite new, so I decided to go for it. After reinstallation, WLAN still did not work. I called again Apple Support centre and we did basic tests, again more than an hour on the phone. After all unsuccessful tests, they asked me what OS level I had (fresh installation with nothing installed). The CD version is 10.5.2. The answer I got was "you need to update to 10.5.5, we do not support 10.5.2".

I have to say that I am a happy Apple customer (see all my decives up there) but the support level they provide is not at the level we expect.

I will take my iMac to an Apple Store and hope it gets fixed!

Sep 30, 2008 1:10 PM in response to dexdubious

i have the same problem with a linksys wrt54g router. I borrowed a friends airport express, and never had an issue. all other devices on my linksys work fine, but the imac is intermittent. I'm not sure what would be causing the issue with the imac and linksys, but apparently if i was to purchase an airport I think the connection would remain stable, since it did for a week on a friends airport.

Oct 2, 2008 5:52 AM in response to J.I.

I have a slightly different Problem since 10.5.5.

Neither my AirPort nor my Ethernet-LAN work. Im not able to get an IP (IPv4 only. IPv6 seems to work over my Wireless-Router)

I tried quite a lot, to fix this, but the problem remained. (See this thread for details)
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1735153&tstart=0

I did a clean install on my 24" 2,8GHz iMac everything worked fine. Then i updated. After the update my iMac had a Kernel Panic and after the reboot i have the same issue again.

EDIT:
It can´t be a hardware-failure, cause i have a Test System on a second partition with 10.5.4 and everything works fine here. And even under Parallels running under my Main System i have network connektivity.

Please Apple FIX THIS SOON.
Lots of people here in our Company are switching to Apple right now. If this is their first Impression......... Say GOODBYE to about 1500 potential customers.

Message was edited by: Okkefried

Oct 3, 2008 8:01 AM in response to dexdubious

As I've stated in other threads about this, this is not a hardware or router issue. This is an Apple software problem. More specifically related to the latest airport update "AirPort Extreme Update 2008-002". My iMac ran perfect for 10 months until I updated the Airport Extreme software (that controls the internal iMac wireless card) back in June. Another easy test to prove is software related, when you have 0 bars, click on the bars...a pop up window will allow you to toggle the airport setting. Just disable airport, and then re-enable it. Four bars again! Toggling the software off and on as a workaround is not a hardware or router issue...it's a bug in the software. I first had this problem back in June running OS 10.4.11. Upgraded the "Airport Extreme Update 2008-002" software, and BAMMM!!!! No/weak wireless signal. I then upgraded to 10.5, and still had the problem, so I upgraded to 10.5.5 and STILL have the problem. Until Apple fixes the "Airport Extreme Update" software, you will see this problem on any version of OS that has Airport Extreme Update 2008-002 on it. The only way to fix this is to revert back with time machine to before June when this "Update" was released. I, unfortuneately, did not have time machine back then (as stated earlier, I was running 10.4.11 back in June). So I must wait it out until Apple fixes this. The problem is not the Mac OS, or any hardware. It is specifically the "Airport Extreme Update 2008-002", and how it interacts with the iMac's airport card that is causing this (since other Macs are not affected by this software bug). Everyone call Applecare to let them know!!!!!

Oct 13, 2008 11:59 PM in response to dexdubious

I too have the same problem.

I bought a new router (Linksys) because whenever I would reset the old one (Belkin) it would seem to work. But, the dropped signals *came back* with the new router. My PCs have no problem and I've come across others with the same issue.

Today, I brought a D-Link WL USB adapter. Aside from the fact that none of the boxes from any of the manufacturers say "Mac compatible", I decided to take a chance anyway. Had to download the drivers from D-Link (10.4+) and so far, NO drops.

So, I believe the issue is with the iMac. By the way, this one's only a month old.

Oct 16, 2008 5:32 PM in response to dexdubious

Ok guys....I now have irrefutable proof that this is an Apple software issue related to the "Airport Extreme Update 2008-002" software update. I just spent an hour on the phone with Applecare and proved this. He first had me trash my system preferences, reboot, and create a new network connection. I did as he said and my signal still dropped after all that. He thought that maybe I had a bad airport card (hardware issue)....well, to prove him WRONG we did the following:
Get your OS X 10.5 install disc out, and insert it, reboot...hold down the "c" button on the keyboard while it boots. This will boot the computer from the CD instead of the harddrive. Once you get to the "Welcome" page after it's booted up from the CD, you'll see the wireless bars in the top right corner. Click on that to turn airport on, and join your network. Once joined, you'll see a strong wireless signal. Now just let it sit there for several minutes...like 10 minutes. You'll notice that the signal stays strong without dropping. What this proves, is that the computer is now running it's wireless settings from the install disc, not the harddrive. The install disc does not contain that Airport Extreme Update 2008-002 because the disc was made before that update came out. Booya! That's proof that it's not a hardware issue, or router issue. Since other Macs running 10.5.x are not having this issue, that proves that it is not an OS issue either. It is an Airport Extreme Update software issue, and it only affects intel iMacs. I asked the Applecare guy if they are aware of this issue, and he said that they were. I then asked what they plan on doing about this, and he stated that since it is a software issue, all I can do is wait until they release another update that fixes this. He did not know when this would be. So for now, I just have to live with it. My workaround is to toggle the airport off and back on. This will give me some bars for a few more minutes until it drops again. It's a major PAIN, but I have no other choice right now. Hope this at least sheds a little light on the problem to you guys.

Oct 21, 2008 4:48 PM in response to dexdubious

Ok...I'm really ticked off right now. Apple just released the code that is suppose to fix this. Airport Extreme Update 2008-003 was released Today for those running 10.5.5! I just downloaded it, and honestly I think it may be even worst! I get full bars for a minute, and instead of it steadily declining, It just flat drops to 0 bars for a few minutes and then goes back to full bars on it's own. I'm going to keep playing around with this, but I shouldn't have to. They should just fix this properly. When I boot off my install disc and turn on the wireless while running off the disc, I get full bars the entire time. When I boot off the harddrive, it get intermittent connection. This is a software issue, and just the fact that they released this new update is proof that Apple is acknowledging it as a software issue. I'll trash my system preferences and build a new network connection , etc, before I completely give up....but my first impressions are not good. Anyone else having better luck with this update?

new imac has random network connection problems with router

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