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mayfi944 Author

Level 1

12 points

MacBook won't connect to the internet!!!

I recently switch wireless service at home to At&t.

Since, my computer "connects" to my network, accepts my password, and shows full signal, but when I open Safari, or any other app that requires internet, I just get the "failed to open page because you are not connected to the internet" page.

My roommates connect to use our wireless network with their PC's just fine, and my Mac connects to other wireless service at school and work and works just fine.

I have been on the phone with At&t many times trying to troubleshoot and fix the problem. No success.

Apple charged me $49 to talk to them, with no success.

I HAVE ALREADY TRIED RESTARTING both my Mac and my router, I have reset the router, I have restored original settings in both Safari and my router, I have tried removing the security from our network in order to connect without a password, I have tried re-configuring the router to work with Macs....all no success.

I am very frustrated with the situation as I, like most people, require internet access for both school and work.

Any help, tips, or advice on the situation would be grateful.

Thank you.

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Jul 10, 2010 9:39 AM

Top-ranking reply

AMelillo

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Feb 21, 2017 3:26 PM

I just purchased a brand new MacBook Pro today and spent my first four hours with it struggling to connect to wifi. After trying every solution I could find, this one finally worked. The solution I found (https://community.bt.com/t5/Connected-Devices-Other/BT-INFINITY-wifi-loss-on-Mac Book-Air-ready-to-quit/m-p/1160960#M7876…) noted that Macs often run in to trouble connecting to wifi when there are identical names assigned to 2.4ghz and 5.0ghz frequency bands.

To fix this problem: access your wireless gateway (For Xfinity users: go to 10.0.0.1 by typing it into the browser of a connected device, enter username: admin pwd: password <-defaults for all xfinity customers) and modify the SSID for the 2.4ghz frequency (e.g., add an 's' to the end of the network name). Then, restart your computer and voila, you should be able to connect. (I still can't access the original network name—the 5ghz frequency—however, I'm able to access the newly named 2.4ghz variation of the network, and it works perfectly).

Hope this saves someone else the headache!

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211 replies

Sep 26, 2011 10:23 AM in response to Drk_Mtr

Thank You Drk_Mtr,

deleting and re-creating the Airport service in System Preferences > Network solved this problem for me like a charm.

All is better.

Sep 26, 2011 1:30 PM in response to mayfi944

This is a bigger issue than many realize, I have 2 macs, 2 iphones, an ipad and an HP laptop plus a wireless canon printer that is wireless. I get all wireless access dropped for all devices. The only fix and it is termporary is to reboot the router. sometimes turning off and on the devices wireless connection (iphone etc.) brings it back up but as soon as more than one device connects I lose connection and have to do the off on trick. It eventually gets to a point that the ATT router has to rebooted. I am on the 3rd router from ATT and have a tech coming out to attempt another repair. If I keep all mac products off the wireless then there are no issues. In addition all of my wired connetions are unaffected by this isssue. I have also attempted a static IP scheme and no luck there. It seems to be a 2wire/Apple conflict. I have not had any isssues with other brands in mixed environments.

Ultimately if Apple and 2wire could get together and resolve this that would be great!

Sep 26, 2011 1:53 PM in response to mark harper

update to my previous post, with a static connection and DNS entry I am able to connect to internet. As soon as I go back to auto DHCP the IP is self assigned by the apple device and no internet. The static IP is a band-aid fix and you will have to switch back to auto DHCP for other networks.

Oct 19, 2011 6:05 PM in response to mayfi944

guys , i totally need help for this .. im using a macbook air for school to do my course online and its ******* me off becaous i cant connect like the others . i connected once and theres a login page for the wi fi acess that pops out for security purposes . but the next day my connection says im connected to the network but i cant use internet becaouse the log in page doesnt pop out anymore .. solving this will help me pass for the course .. thanks guys ....

BDAqua

Level 10

245,375 points

Oct 19, 2011 6:11 PM in response to unknownpersona

Hi Feel Free to start a new question to get the most helpers in on it, but,

Click on the Arport icon in the Menubar, choose "Join Other Network" & fill in the info

Oct 19, 2011 7:01 PM in response to unknownpersona

What kind of router, where are you trying to connect, home or somewhere else? How many devices are connected to that router, and is there a wired port you can link into? Do you have the Ethernet adapter to test this? I highly recommend getting one if you don't.

My home network has a from ATT and it has problems with some apple devices. We have 3 laptops, 2 are apple and one HP. 2 iPhones and an iPad. A temp fix was to set up static IP on several of the devices, it's important to include the DNS entries.

Oct 19, 2011 7:02 PM in response to BDAqua

Oops word gOt wiped out. We have a 2wiregateway.

Oct 22, 2011 8:06 PM in response to mayfi944

The delete Airport then add it again work for me. Thanks

Open: System Preferences>>Network

At the left, there should be a pane listing ways in which your computer connects to the internet (Ethernet, VPN, AirPort, etc.)

At the bottom of this pane there are (+)(-)(cog) buttons that correspond to (add method)(remove method)(other options dropdown)

Highlight: Airport and hit - to remove.

Immediately hit + and choose AirPort (on mine it is default) for the interface type.

Click: Create

That somehow allowed my AirPort to fully connect again.

Oct 24, 2011 7:26 PM in response to mayfi944

but the bar on the system pref of my macbook air doesnt say airport, it says Wi-fi and only bluetooth pan .. :\

BDAqua

Level 10

245,375 points

Oct 24, 2011 10:53 PM in response to unknownpersona

Yes, they changed Airport to Wifi somewhere along the way, but most references still hold whichever it's called. 🙂

un teng

Level 1

0 points

Oct 30, 2011 8:26 AM in response to mayfi944

I have tried the deleting airport and add it back on, but it didn't work for me. what should I do, help please?

un teng

Level 1

0 points

Oct 30, 2011 8:30 AM in response to mayfi944

when I deleted it and put it back on, instead of turning itself to green, it becomes yellow and says self-assigned IP, what does that mean? please

BDAqua

Level 10

245,375 points

Oct 30, 2011 10:51 AM in response to un teng

what should I do, help please?

Hello, feel free to start a new topic/question to get the most helpers in on it & to help us narrow your problems down. 🙂

Nov 1, 2011 2:20 PM in response to Rigelface

The solution of Rigelface
worked pefectly on Lion OSX!!! (10.7.2) Macbook pro 13"

thanks a lot dude!!!! 🙂

Nov 2, 2011 5:13 PM in response to mayfi944

I was wondering if you could help me out- yesterday I discovered that my macbook pro would connect to the internet for about 2 mins via wifi from my home network and then simply stop working. I've tried restarting my router, restarting my mac etc and when I went to delete the airport and add it again, i discovered it's not even on the list. All i have in the left panel is wifi (which is green and says connected) ethernet, firewire, snf bluetooth PAN. I would really appreciate any help. At first I thought it was a problem with my wifi but other pc's in the house work perfectly fine. I even tried to connect my mac via the ethernet and same thing- connects for a while and then stops.

MacBook won't connect to the internet!!!