Macbook Air (2014) Struggling to Connect to Wifi

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Level 1

8 points

Macbook Air (2014) Struggling to Connect to Wifi

Within the past month, my Macbook Air running Catalina is struggling to connect to the Wifi where I work. Every other device I have will connect, the Macbook Air being the odd one out. Coworkers with Windows machines and MacBook's will usually connect to Wifi without an issue. The problem seems to be the an ip address between my laptop and the router is failing to be applied. I usually see the Wifi symbol with an exclamation point. Eventually it connects, but it's within an hour or so. Any ideas? Thanks.

MacBook Air 13", macOS 10.15

Posted on Dec 30, 2019 9:44 AM

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Answer 1

HWTech

Level 9

60,752 points

Dec 31, 2019 7:35 PM in response to ospreyg

Try each of these in order until one of them works and report back:

Try an SMC reset and a PRAM reset (hold the PRAM reset for at least three chimes).

Create a new user account on the laptop and see if you can connect to your WiFi.

Try booting in Safe Mode to see if you can connect to your WiFi.

Reboot both your modem & router and wait at least five minutes for them both to get to a ready state. Then reboot your laptop and try again.

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Answer 2

HWTech

Level 9

60,752 points

Dec 30, 2019 6:42 PM in response to ospreyg

Here is an Apple article for troubleshooting WiFi issues:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202663

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Answer 3

ospreyg Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 31, 2019 5:40 AM in response to HWTech

This is helpful, as far as information, but it doesn't quite get to the issue I have.

I used Wireless Diagnostics each time I experience the issue. But the problem is that an ip address for the router is not automatically assigned to the laptop, or vice versa. I can connect immediately on my iPhone 8, and other users in the office have little issue.

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Macbook Air (2014) Struggling to Connect to Wifi

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