Dropping Wi FI Signal

HI thanks for adding to the discussion on this topic. Please contact Apple support and report the issue . They will try and say its you ISP it is not. Also get them to raise the level to a a tech 2 support person. The more case ID's on this topic the better.

It looks as if it is interference on wi fi networks which did not happen on Leopard. On my system the problem occurs on Safari and general access to the Net.

My experience indicates that the brand of router and/or the ISP is a factor, since I have never had any problem at my work (a large technologically-saturated university with some of the best engineers in the world) but I do encounter problems, yet I do have problems (with the same MBP) using DLink routers with AT&T DSL at one location and with Comcast Cable at another. When an Apple support engineer tells you the problem is with your ISP, what they are saying is that Apple does not make and sell you its product to work with those suppliers/providers.
We train engineers, and are famous for it. Engineering of consumer products is about designing and manufacturing artifacts that work in the varied environments customers live and work in. If a customer has an old router, or has not kept their software or firmware up-to-date, then the customer should not blame Apple. Equally, IPS's like AT&T-DSL and Comcast Cable are major suppliers, and Apple has an engineering obligation for their products to work in those environments -- even if they secretly think that those ISPs are not as good as they could be. The "It's not our problem" response is the most worrying aspect of this ongoing saga.

My experience is the opposite. Router/ISP does NOT matter. I experience the same loss of connectivity via wireless (internal Airport as well as USB-Airlink 101-N) whether I'm at home using my Airport Extreme, at work with my our dLink, or on the road at hotels, Starbucks, cafes, etc. The 'other end' of wireless connection doesn't seem to be the problem, the MBP is, unfortunately.

I do not believe it is related to router. I have tried three. First was an Airport extreme which worked until SL 10.6.2. Then I tried a one year old DLink. Problem remained. Now a new, one month old, Time Capsule. On the Time Capsule connection to the primary network works for only 30 - 60 seconds then communication between the MBP & router stops although the airport 'beacon' icon on right of the menu bar stays solid black. Switching to the guest network it will stay connected up to a couple hours.

It is not interference from other routers. I live two miles down a dirt road - there are no other router signals here.

My iPhone works, my wife's MacBook works (she is also on SL 10.6.2) and visitors PC's have worked without problems.

I can understand that Apple is having problems solving this. There are a large number of us having this problem but many, many more are not. Other than communication between the Mac and router stops there seems to be no common, consistent symptom we can report. There is not even agreement that it started with 10.6.2 - some report with initial install of SL.

Just a quick follow-up to retiredatlast: There have reports (including my own) that the problems started BEFORE Snow Leopard. I experienced the first symptoms of this in 10.5.6.

dn

Given the obvious complexity of this problem, I think it would be a wise business move for Apple to stop telling its online support staff to blame it on the ISPs or the routers, and simply say "This is a known issue, it's complex, we're sorry about it, and we are working on it." One plain, honest statement and I dare say they will quickly win back the good will of their hitherto loyal customer base.

I have not read the entire thread. I've scanned the first 12 pages, trying to skip the "I've got the same problem" messages to study the ones of people offering answers.

I turned off IPv6 and things seem much better, not perfect, but much better.

We have a Mac mini from 2006, a Linksys router. We would lose wifi rarely under Tiger and Leopard, which could be attributed to the distance between the computer and the router (it's probably too far away, but that can't be helped). Since Snow Leopard (and more specifically 10.6.2) dropped wifi happens often, several times a day.

I hadn't thought about checking here until about 24 hours ago. And like I said, turning off IPv6 seems to work. We've had occasionally wifi drops since, but the mini and router "find each other" and we're back in business in seconds.

Just offering some hope to folks. I know how frustrating this is.

I tried turning off IPv6 - did not help at all. Oh well. . .

Hi all,

I had the mentioned wifi problems as well. Here is what worked for me, I'm back online on a rock solid connection since 2 days:

-Install Wireless Driver Update from Apple
-Do a factory reset of my Apple Airport Express (and reconfigure it to my connection, but CHOOSE ANOTHER NETWORK NAME than before)
-Specify the OpenDNS DNS Servers in my User Account on the Macbook Pro

Et voilà!

Message was edited by: MacMo83

Hi all,

I just found out that I am part of the cursed 😟

The wireless signal (if I'm lucky) lasts 10-15 minutes then I have to turn the airport on and off before I can connect back to my network. This is a new macbook 2.26Ghz intel core duo running snow leopard (10.6.1) and no other software, it's totally brand new!

Can anyone please tell me what I can do to fix this? I don't think it's the router or ISP. we have the wii, ps3, 2pcs, the old powerbook and the desktop upstairs all connecting fine and not a signal dropping. How can I tell if I have faulty hardware to get a replacement if necessary?

I don not think it is your hardware. It seems to be connected to the OS - although at least one person noticed the beginning of this problem at 10.5.6 most of us noticed it at 10.6.n. In my case I first noticed it at 10.6.2 but through Tiger and Leopard it worked well.

I've have a product called AirRadar that gives information about all the networks the Airport sees. Have not run it for quite a while but tried yesterday to see what it showed. The Time Capsule broadcasts at two frequencies, 2.4 & 5.7 GHz. So AirRadar shows four networks total, the primary and guest networks at each of these frequencies. AirRadar is constantly scanning and the signal detected and one or more drops to Zero a few times a minute. Signal strength usually returns in a few seconds but occasionally stays zero long enough that AirRadar decide the network is no longer there. Since I have tried three different routers since this problem began I do not believe it is the router. And since this problem began only after 10.6.2 it is not the Airport hardware in the MAC.

hey guyz, i have noticed a different problem. Me and my roommate, we both have MBs and are connected to the same Linksys router, the only difference is I have a new MBP and he has a MB unibody. We both upgraded to SL together, but he has no problems of dropping WIFI signal, seems like its just me who is struggling here. Have anyone else noticed this? is this problem is more frequent with MBP owners than just MB?

What we must all do.

Guys you must all log this issue with Apple and get a case id number. They will try and get you to do a reinstall but make sure you have copies of all your data so that you can do a reinstall. This may work but I doubt it. They then may as you for data on your system by using one of there programs ACCD which they will send to you.

What ever you do please keep chasing Apple.

My system worked for the last 4 years with no problems and the problem only started when I moved one machine to 10.6 my suggestion to anyone at the moment is do not upgrade.

I have tried all the previous solutions to resolve the matter and all to no avail .

Keep ring Apple with the issue it is free.

jaskang wrote:
hey guyz, i have noticed a different problem. Me and my roommate, we both have MBs and are connected to the same Linksys router, the only difference is I have a new MBP and he has a MB unibody. We both upgraded to SL together, but he has no problems of dropping WIFI signal, seems like its just me who is struggling here. Have anyone else noticed this? is this problem is more frequent with MBP owners than just MB?

I have the exact same problem and what jaskang said is absolutely true. I am getting very annoyed by this and hope that Apple fixes this soon. After paying $2500 for a computer, you would think that everything would work perfectly. Very disappointed that 10.5.8 was more stable as well.

@ retiredatlast: it is not a hardware problem. I too had the dropping wireless issues when I updated from 10.4.11 to 10.6. After a month of experimentation (trying to solve the problem), I got disgusted and reinstalled my 10.4.11 carbon copy back up -- done before the update). All wireless problems were resolved; so no, the router isn't bad, and the ISP isn't bad, and it isn't my mac hardware. The only thing that solved the problem is the OS. Hopefully apple will find customers to send in their misbehaving 10.6 macbooks so they can troubleshoot the issue and get down to what the real problem is.
I would be happy to swap mine for another one, if that would help this fix this.


I keep checking back here periodically to see if this issue has been resolved so I can upgrade again.