Macbook Pro Wireless Connection Problems

Question

Level 1

0 points

Macbook Pro Wireless Connection Problems

I bought my 13 inch macbook pro 1 week ago and I've had wireless connection problems from day 2 (I think after the updates).
Problems include:
- Safari cannot connect to the internet for 5~10 minutes after I turn it on, whether it be from sleep mode or completely off or restart (the fastest connection I got after turning it on was about 40 seconds)
- Loading takes ridiculously long and eventually Safari cannot find the server
- Airport signal (on the top right hand corner) is always full when it is not working
- Sometimes internet works but it is ridiculously slow

However, when the wireless connection stabilizes, Airport Signal is 2~3 bars full and internet works SOOO well and I love it so much when it does. But the problem is that it stabilizes like 30 minutes to never after I turn it on and it makes me so mad I want to explode this piece of crap in the microwave.

So I've called apple support, and they made me try four things:
1. Reset modem, router, and computer
2. Delete caches, reset Safari
3. Putting Airport first on the Service Order and resetting DHCP Lease
4. Connecting with Ethernet Cable then resetting the computer

None of these worked, and I'm suspecting that the cause of the problem is the hardware (not the aluminum body that's just bs) because my router and modem are working fine (my other samsung laptop is working perfectly). I don't think the problem lies in my network settings either because I did exactly what the Apple technicians told me to do. So after Appleguy made me try all 4 of those diagnostics, he told me to contact my router company NETGEAR because he thinks nothing is wrong with the mac hardware, so I did. The NETGEAR lady told me if one laptop is working and another isn't, there is nothing wrong with the router. So if nothing is wrong with my hardware, software, router, modem, ISP... Why do I have wireless issues????!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

I'm going to return this <edited by host> or get another one with my warranty

Macbook Pro 13', Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Aug 7, 2009 8:42 PM

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Answer 1

May 11, 2018 10:55 PM in response to minpajr

I have a 17" MacBook Pro and a 15" MacBook Pro, both running OS 6.2.2, that I bought within the last three weeks. I also have a new Airport Extreme. These two computers lose connection with the internet about twice a day, almost always after periods of inactivity. I can establish connection again with a Restart. Neither Apple or the authorized dealer from whom I've been buying Macs for almost 20 years has been able to resolve this problem.

Now I have what (after reading the complexities of this thread) is no doubt a very naive question. Isn't there a one-year guarantee on these machines? If they don't function properly and can't be repaired, am I not entitled to new computers?

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Answer 2

May 11, 2018 10:55 PM in response to chuck459

I apologize for repeating the same question, but has anyone done something to resolve this problem? I have two new MacBook Pros that often require Restarts after sleep. Constant restarts will in time damage the computer. There is, after all, a guarantee on these machines, isn't there? Isn't Apple required to provide you with a functioning machine? Has anyone taken their computer to the Genius bar? Has anyone asked for a refund?

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Answer 3

May 11, 2018 10:55 PM in response to donv_the_ghost

So, based on the lck of replies to my questions above, I assume that nobody here has brought their computer to the Genius Bar or to an authorized Apple repair specialist and demanded to be given a working compter under the one-year guarantee or Apple Care?

Incidentally, I find it peculiar that there hasn't been a single thread on the MacRumors site about the connectivity problem, except a couple I tried to start which got either no replies or an "isn't that a shame" reply.

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Answer 4

Aug 8, 2009 7:27 PM in response to minpajr

I think you have made the right decision. That's what I was going to suggest. Lot's of MBP wireless problems seem to be going around. I've never heard about one quite like yours though.

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Answer 5

Aug 9, 2009 11:05 AM in response to minpajr

hei, I am having the same problem with my MBP 17. It doesn't seem like a hardware problem because it works fine under windows( installed with bootcamp ). Even under os X, the connection is not really dropped when safari can't access the internet. I can still ping or login to other computers on my local network. Only thing I can't ping is the gateway router. I hope they put up a fix soon

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Answer 6

toromi

Level 1

55 points

Aug 10, 2009 10:08 PM in response to minpajr

I was having similar problems with my 13" MBP and 3 year-old Netgear router (I was only able to connect consistently in "b" mode, with a somewhat weak signal). After trying everything I could think of, I bought a D-Link MIR-625 router (about $60 at Amazon), and everything works perfectly now, even at "n" speeds.

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Answer 7

toromi

Level 1

55 points

Aug 10, 2009 10:10 PM in response to toromi

Sorry, the router model is DIR-625.

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Answer 8

Aug 10, 2009 11:40 PM in response to minpajr

I am having similar problems with my 17" MacBook Pro. I have a Dlink DSL-2740B wireless router.

My MacBook Pro often seems to "lose" the connection to the router. The airport bar shows full connection strength, but when I navigate to a web site, the Safari status bar says "contacting foo.com" and stays there for minutes at a time with no activity.

The solution is to click on the Airport status in the menu bar. The menu drops down. It automatically scans for networks (I don't have to make any selection from the menu). Once the scan is complete, something between the router and the computer is reset and the connection restores itself -- the page that was waiting loads immediately at full speed. Again, I don't have to make any selection from the menu. I don't have to turn airport off and back on again. All I have to do is click the Airport icon so that the menu appears; once the scan is done, the connection is restored.

This often happens when waking up from sleep, but this is not always the case. My computer is sitting about 8 inches from the router. This never happens with a ThinkPad T61 that I have wired to the same router (note it's wired, not wireless).

I just updated to OS X 10.5.8, but this did happen with 10.5.7 as well.

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Answer 9

Aug 11, 2009 6:43 AM in response to minpajr

Wireless on ALL my Apple computers running OSX is bad. Only the iPhones remain fully functional at all times.

I run a mix of 10.4.x [G4] 10.5.7 [imac & macbook] & 10.5.8 [MBP] and two iPhones [2.2 & 3.0.1] all connected to a Time Capsule [7.4.2] and an Airport Express [6.3] in WDS.

It seems that when the mac's need to change the wireless speeds [from 'n' to 'g' for instance], there is no more traffic [layer 2 & 3] possible from the AP to the devices. Only a stop&start of the local Airport will solve the issue. This happens consistently when my iPhone connects to the network.

This problem has been pluaging MAC users for a long time without any solution from Apple. I used to call Apple too, got the same silly answers [reboot, update, reinstall, reset AP, blaming it on my ISP [riiight!] and on the WRT54G [since then replaced with the Time Capsule].

And when I run the SAME devices with XP they work flawlessly. Nice going Apple!

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Answer 10

Aug 13, 2009 11:54 AM in response to minpajr

For any on this thread whose problems occur only when unplugged, check this update out: http://support.apple.com/downloads/AirPortClient_Update_for_MacBook_and_MacBookPro. Install at your own risk. Not much info is provided.

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Answer 11

Aug 13, 2009 12:57 PM in response to donv_the_ghost

It didn't do anything for me...signal still degrades after you pull the power and go to battery. Also it dosen't even recognize my network any longer. You have to tun the airport off then turn it back on to auto detect. Actually that happens with both the Macbook and P

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Answer 12

Aug 13, 2009 12:58 PM in response to Kevin Cox

Actually that happens with both the Macbook and MacBook Pro...

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Answer 13

MC1125

Level 1

0 points

Aug 13, 2009 7:34 PM in response to minpajr

Same thing here.

I've got a Macbook Pro 15" bought 6 weeks ago, airport express bought about a year ago. All updated with latest software/firmware, etc. Problems include:
-Sometimes when i pull down the network list, my network isn't even there, yet i'm still connected to it. My airport is appx 10 feet away in an open area.
-usually after opening safari or firefox for the first time upon sleep, restart, or just opening the program after i had quit it, it is miserably slow. it takes about 2 minutes for pages like msn.com to load. finally when they do, its faster than you can imagine. that lasts for about a minute. then its slow again.
-when logged into ichat and i send messages, i would sometimes get a "connection timeout" message. my buddy would end up getting the message about 5 minutes later.

My iphone and dell laptop work fine. i haven't tried running parallels, but if bootcamp works, so should prlls.

I've reset the modem about 20 times. i've reset the airport about 20 times. i even re-installed my OS on the mac and nothing has done it.

Weird thing is that i've had my mac for 6 weeks, and this problem surfaced only 3 days ago.

Clearly its not an issue of any of our ISP's. Due to the fact that this only started for me 3 dyas ago, i'm hopeful that its only a software problem and not something else. Hopefully apple will a) ADMIT THEY HAVE A PROBLEM HERE and b) FIX IT.

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Answer 14

Aug 14, 2009 6:58 AM in response to MC1125

Did you do the recent updates? They appear to be the source of the Airport problems of many.

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Answer 15

Mojo66

Level 1

64 points

Aug 14, 2009 12:01 PM in response to minpajr

Maybe your problems are just related to WLAN channel congestion. I used a tool named KisMAC to find a free channel for my router and since then never had connection issues.

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