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User profile for user: muddy07
muddy07 Author
User level: Level 1
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MacBook Pro (Late 2008) Wireless Issues

Just got a brand new MacBook Pro and I'm constantly dropping my wireless connection at home unless I'm right next to the router (1TB Time Capsule). All other Macs in my home including my old MacBook Pro, iMac, and iPhone work fine.

Sometimes the system shows that I'm connected (full signal), but I can't get to the internet. Other times it shows a full signal but I get prompted to rejoin the network and I can't connect (even though it is showing a strong signal). My old MacBook Pro works just fine in the same location.

The only difference between this machine and the old MacBook Pro is that it support "n" wireless. I thought the issue might have been problems with the new AirPort Extreme Update 2008-004 update. Because the machine is brand new (and I had nothing to lose), I reinstalled OSX from scratch. It didn't solve the problem.

At this point, I'm thinking I have a faulty airport card and/or antenna. Any other ideas?

Late 2008 Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Oct 27, 2008 1:42 PM

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User profile for user: gnaegi
gnaegi
User level: Level 1
19 points

Oct 29, 2008 12:30 AM in response to muddy07

Hi

I also had problems with my wireless. I could fix it by unplugging the fire wiredrive.

So, if you have something attached via firewire, try unplugging it. Maybe you should do a reboot as well.

On my system I can't connect via wireless at all when the firewire drive is plugged in. When I unplug it I can connect. When I'm connected and I then plug in the firewire drive, the network connection remains but becomes completely unstable.

Hope this helps in your case

Cheers
Florian
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User profile for user: muddy07
muddy07 Author
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Oct 27, 2008 2:32 PM in response to X9

Ok, let me know what you find out. I've got an appointment at the Apple Store tomorrow. I'm sure they'll take the machine to investigate so I may not have an answer for a few days, but I'll let you know what I find out.

I did look at some old stuff on Google. Based upon a few posts, I think it might be a faulty antenna.
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User profile for user: muddy07
muddy07 Author
User level: Level 1
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Oct 28, 2008 10:42 AM in response to muddy07

The Apple store had me run Disk Utility...Repair Disk Permissions. Their explanation..."if permissions get out of sync, you can have weird issues with your wireless". I ran it and it did identify one issue. I'm on the wireless at work right now and I'm not having issues, but the real test will be at home tonight.

Their other suggestion was to reset the firmware by holding down the on/off button while starting up the laptop.
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User profile for user: X9
X9
User level: Level 1
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Oct 28, 2008 1:23 PM in response to muddy07

The new network location didn't work for me, and same with repairing disk permissions. However I'm unclear about how to reset the firmware. Is this just resetting the PRAM? The key sequence you mention (holding the power button down for 5 seconds on boot up) just shuts my computer off while booting.

I want to try all these possibilities before I call Apple back tonight.

Edit: The instructions I did follow are here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1411 and it didn't help.

Message was edited by: X9
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User profile for user: muddy07
muddy07 Author
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Oct 28, 2008 8:33 PM in response to X9

Disk repair didn't work for me either. Here's the weird thing... I have a Time Capsule at work and I'm not having issues. I have the exact same router at home and I am having issues.

Because I'm desperate, I decided to try switching my home router from 802.11n (802.11 b/g compatible) to 802.11n only (5GHz). Well, I have no idea what to make of this, but it seems to have fixed this issue. Of course, this isn't really a viable solution because I have other non "n" devices like my iPhone in the house.
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User profile for user: muddy07
muddy07 Author
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Oct 28, 2008 8:57 PM in response to muddy07

Disk repair didn't work for me either. Here's the weird thing... I have a Time Capsule at work and I'm not having issues. I have the exact same router at home and I am having issues.

Because I'm desperate, I decided to try switching my home router from 802.11n (802.11 b/g compatible) to 802.11n only (5GHz). Well, I have no idea what to make of this, but it seems to have fixed this issue. Of course, this isn't really a viable solution because I have other non "n" devices like my iPhone in the house.

Update: The router setting 802.11n (2.4 Ghz) didn't work either. It appears if I go back to my original settings 802.11n (b/g compatible) and I turn on interface robustness it works (although it has a pretty dramatic negative effect on the speed of my download connection).

So, why would my old Macbook Pro (which didn't have "n") work fine without interface robustness set. But, my new laptop only works if I have interface robustness set or if I use 802.11n (5GHz)??
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User profile for user: X9
X9
User level: Level 1
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Oct 29, 2008 8:45 AM in response to muddy07

I experienced the problem yet again today. However I switched from a 802.1x authenticated AP (using WPA2 Enterprise) to a protection-less (no WPA or WEP) AP (which just requires me to log in via a browser before a connection is established) and so far things are going smoothly.

I haven't tried using a completely unencrypted AP before so we'll see if this makes any difference.
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User profile for user: thevtheithen
thevtheithen
User level: Level 1
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Oct 29, 2008 11:18 AM in response to muddy07

i was experiencing the same issues at school today. i previously had a macbook that never dropped or had trouble finding a connection at school. But, today my brand new MBP could not hold a connection for more than a minute. After some search i decided to follow this article...

http://www.michaelhyatt.com/fromwhereisit/2007/01/fixforwireles.html

It is for the older MBP but the symptoms seem to be the same. I did the PRAM reset as well as turn off IPv6 (mentioned in one of the comments of the article) and it seems to have resolved my issue...im connected via the school wireless right now. I'll continue to monitor my connectivity and keep you guys updated. Hope this helps!!
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User profile for user: Gabriel Garay1
Gabriel Garay1
User level: Level 1
9 points

Oct 29, 2008 6:30 PM in response to muddy07

Same problem here. 2 macs in apartment. No problem with ibook intel chip "n", no problem with tower that is not intel. Now we have a MacBook Pro. Big internet problems. I can't seem to get it to "stay put", dropped connections etc. Took to the genius bar, and they ran test on airport and said everything was fine. I guess my question is, if there is no solution at the moment, what does one do?? Should I return my macbook pro? Should I wait around for an update??? Very sad about my new computer.
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User profile for user: McUnixJr
McUnixJr
User level: Level 1
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Oct 30, 2008 8:47 AM in response to muddy07

Just received my MBP 2.8 this week. First thing I noticed with a totally clean system, nothing installed:

1. When connecting the new MBP 2.8 to my Time Capsule (1TB) network throughput is almost zero. Connectivity is great, all bars showing, and I am sitting right next to Time Capsule. With my "old" MBP 15" and my MB Air sitting next to me, both of those units have as expected, no problem with throughput or connectivity

2. When connecting the new MBP to an older (NON-802.11n) Airport Extreme B/G, the MBP 2.8 connectivity and throughput have no issues what so ever (youtube and ping used as tests)

Conclusion so far from my personal testing: The new MBP 2.8 has issues with 802.11n

Your mileage may vary, your results may vary, this is what I found so far. I have 4 other APs I am going to try in my home lab later today/tomorrow.

jm
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User profile for user: muddy07
muddy07 Author
User level: Level 1
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Oct 30, 2008 5:08 PM in response to McUnixJr

As someone pointed out, the 3.06 Ghz iMacs are having the same issue: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1603263&start=105&tstart=0

After reading all 8 pages on the iMac thread (they've been around longer than our new MacBook Pros), it really seems like this is an issue that originally started with the Airport Extreme Update 2008-002. The two subsequent updates (003 and 004) haven't helped. Hopefully Apple is working on the next update.
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MacBook Pro (Late 2008) Wireless Issues

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