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Level 1

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Connection Time-Out when connecting via WiFi

Hi,

Like the title says, I've been experiencing connectivity issues with Snow Leopard via WiFi. It is not a constant problem, most of the time I can connect to the router without problems, but once in a while Airport seems to be freaking out and keeps asking me for the password. After entering the password I see the loader icon for about five seconds and then it tells me the connection timed out.

I'm certain that the password is correct and that it is an issue between the router and Mac OS X. I've had this problem when I first bought this laptop and was still running Tiger, but after installing Leopard it never happened again. I've searched these and other forums, but no one was able to provide me with a solution.

I've tried removing the password from keychain and the SSID from my Network preferenced with Airport turned of before rebooting, toggling Airport on and off or just rebooting the laptop. Nothing helps.. And then after a day or so it suddenly works again.

In the meantime I can still connect with my other computers (windows), and my iPhone 2G.

I use a Philips SNA6500 router at home and another Philips model at my dorm, one uses a wep key and the other a WPA one. So it's not just Apple's difficulty with handling WEP that's in play here. I've tried changing the frequency of the signal without luck and switched from B/G mode to single modes. Upgrading the firmware or resetting the device didn't help either.

I'm not really convinced that there actually ís a solution to this other than Apple releasing a patch. The fact that it worked flawlessly under Leopard shows that they could. After searching the Apple boards I've noticed that I'm not the only person experiencing these problems, and in the days of Tiger it was common knowledge that Philips and Apple didn't mix well. I'm mainly making this thread to back-up the other people with connectivity issues.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Macbook Pro 2.2Ghz Santa Rosa (Mid 2007), Mac OS X (10.6.1)

Posted on Sep 29, 2009 11:02 AM

23 replies

Winds

Level 1

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Dec 3, 2009 4:19 PM in response to Zero Grav

Hi Zero Grav, how do I use the mac address and not WPA/WEP security?

Thanks!

switheyw

Level 2

162 points

Dec 3, 2009 11:14 PM in response to Zero Grav

re: running WiFi w/o WEP security.

If the behavior of 10.6 was consistent, then I'd look into changing my config. But it isn't. Today was a good day. System reconnected promptly to the internet after awaking from sleep 4 or 5 times. Other times it acts as if the WiFi transmitter was in another country. Under 10.5 and earlier, I bet nobody was even aware that the connection had to be reestablished after every sleep.

If my system does not connect, a reboot always fixes the problem. The improvement in reboot speed makes this 'fix' palatable for me, but if I had a more complex workspace I am sure that it would drive me crazy.

I can't believe that the problem is somehow inherent to a 64 bit wide OS.

Did Apple change the the WiFi codebase for the 10.6 release?

Does Apple even concede there is a problem? Out here in forum-land it is hard to tell.

Zero Grav Author

Level 1

0 points

Dec 4, 2009 5:11 AM in response to Winds

This depends on the router you're using. I suggest checking the manual for MAC allow/disallow settings. You can find your own MAC address in your Network settings by selecting Airport, clicking advanced and going to the last tab where it says ethernet id.

switheyw, obviously I can't tell you what they've changed, but they must've changed something.
Unlike in your case rebooting the laptop does not solve the problem, I've had weeks go by without me being able to connect to the router in my dorm after various reboots.

Back in the day, when I was still using Tiger I did buy a new router (A linksys WAG300N), I had no issues connecting to that one at the time. However, the router was just a mess and it died on me after a short while. I'd just like to fix the problem now without having to buy new equipment.

I don't think Apple really recognizes the problem, but that doesn't really prove/disprove anything?

Dec 4, 2009 9:50 AM in response to Zero Grav

Hi all,

I am writing here to show Apple (hoping somebody reads discussions) that this is a common problem for some macbooks. I'm sorry that I can not offer any solution.

I have exactly the same problem. I upgraded my macbook 3.1 from Leopard and everything is fine. My sister has upgraded her macbook 2.1 from Tiger and she experiences connection timeouts every time. I tried all combinations with my modem (WEP, WPA, no security at all, all channels, b mode, g mode, b/g mode etc...). I tried everything I have read in mac forums (erased all network preferences etc..), after that I re-installed Snow Leopard to try everything from scratch. I searched the meanings of error messages written to console. NO SOLUTION.

Apple has to do something, because "it just DOES NOT work". Now we have a long ethernet cable in the middle of the living room, very disappointing. Moreover, we have another computer with Windows XP which connects to the wireless network perfectly. Double disappointing.

switheyw

Level 2

162 points

Dec 4, 2009 10:13 AM in response to bariskurt

*Very interesting that your 3,1 Macbook does not suffer the same problems as your 2,1 Macbook.* This may be why there is no apparent response from Apple. Their developers probably all work on new systems and legacy testing did not catch the problem.

My laptop, btw, is a MacBookPro1,1 🙂

I'd love to hear from other 3,1 Macbook owners. Any 3,1 books out there that have trouble connecting/reconnecting?

Dec 4, 2009 11:24 AM in response to Zero Grav

Hello, my dad recently bought an iMac. The second model. 21,5 inch.

I live on my own, but my dad has an old 802.11b/g router from Sitecom, model; 108WL.
During setup, the wireless did not connect. No biggie tho, I thought. When it was done, I tried to connect to our router. We have a 64bit WEP encription on our wireless. I'am sure that the key is correct, altough Network Preferences does not agree with me. After some hours of trying, i gave up. I changed the 32/64bit mode, even change from b/g to b or g only.

The only thing that seemed wierd is that the DHCP didn't seem to connect. Manually it just forgets the key it seems. Keychain does not have en entry for the password. (dont know why)

I tried deleting the preference lists from Airport, restarted the iMac. Still not working, after countless timeouts, i removed the WEP password. Even then the time-out still continue,... i'm out of luck.

Any guesses?

Sorry for my English, i'm Dutch!

Zero Grav Author

Level 1

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Dec 6, 2009 3:18 PM in response to switheyw

The Macbook Pro I own has the MacbookPro3,1 identifier.

Dec 6, 2009 9:44 PM in response to Zero Grav

I have the same with my MacBook 1,1 and a brand new 27" iMac. Sometimes when either machines wakes from sleep, it does not reconnect automatically to the wireless network. I have an Airport router (the UFO one). My iPhone has no problems connecting automatically. I've noticed this problem since upgrading to Leopard - I'm running 10.6.2 on both machines. I always have to re-enter the password and rebotting the MacBook also does the trick. I haven't tried rebooting the iMac. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Connection Time-Out when connecting via WiFi