10.6.5 and wifi issues

Downloading the 10.6.7 right now - will report back.

no fix in 10.6.7... still cant see 5GHZ network. and connecting to a shared OSX server takes 2-3 minutes to connect.

danchilli's report confirmed. Issue is NOT fixed with 10.6.7. This thread shoud not be tagged ANSWERED.

I have to report that 10.6.7 update did fix this issue for me.

I have the atheros card in my white Macbook 13.3 core 2 duo, Update 10.6.5 broke my wireless. The update to 10.6.6 did not fix the driver issue. The "10.6.4 kext rollback" fix by tenortim ( http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=12924009#12924009) worked in the end, and continued to work for a few months until I updated to 10.6.7. The airport utility reported that there was "No airport card installed". So the update from 10.6.6 in conjunction with the tenortim fix to 10.6.7 broke the wireless.

However, I reinstalled 10.6.3 and used the 10.6.7 combo updater, and everything worked fine, wireless included.

No fix for me either.

Though in my case I'm beginning to wonder if my router got borked in a recent power cut, as a fresh install from the orginal 10.6.1 discs fails to fix the issue either and the iMac connects without problem to both my Mi-fi dongle & my phone in wireless sharing mode.

My MBP still connects fine to the router still which is odd - but then I guess it uses a different chipset to the iMac.

I tried tenortim's method to no avail either.

Message was edited by: LomaxFairchild

My apologies, I was a bit premature in saying that the 10.6.7 update fixed the Atheros wireless issue. When I brought the laptop away from next to the wireless router the signal dropped after only a few feet. This was the same issue I experienced when I updated from 10.6.4 to 10.6.5.

I will try replacing the IO80211Family.kext ver.3.1.2 file from the 10.6.7 update with the one from the 10.6.4 update and see if it fixes things.

The downgrade of the IO80211Family.kext file to the 2.0.19.10 version (taken from the 10.6.4 update) seems to work so far. I am running OS X 10.6.7 on my 2007 Macbook 13.3 core 2 duo with a Atheros 5416 card.

To recap, you can download the IO80211Family.kext file taken from the 10.6.4 update here:
http://hotfile.com/dl/111337068/eee082f/IO80211FamilyKext_10_64.zip.html

Then, you can follow tenortims instructions:

1) As root, cd to /System/Library/Extensions, rename IO80211Family.kext to IO8021Family.10 66 (or anything else to back it up), and copy in the replacement IO80211Family.kext that we extracted from 10.6.4.
2) Download, install and run "Kext Utility" (Google it, it's at Insanely Mac). It should ask for your password, run, and fix up the kext permissions and caches.
3) Reboot. You should now be on the new (old) driver/firmware. Verify by running "About this Mac" -> "More Info" -> "Network" -> "Airport". As stated, the newer firmware is 2.1.14.5, the working firmware is 2.0.19.10.

To recap, the IO80211Family.kext file ver. 2.1.14.5 or above *does not* work with the Atheros 5416 card. This means that if you have this card and are experiencing difficulties with the 10.6.5, 10.6.6, or the 10.6.7 update, you will need to replace the newer IO80211Family.kext file with the older ver.2.0.19.10 one.

10.6.7 did not fix this - with great expectations - I am quite dissappointed
Given this thread and tenortim worked out the fix

I completely agree with you.
The tenortim workaround works here (thank you very much, man!)
Ping time now is more stable.

But Issue is NOT fixed with 10.6.7.
Come on, Apple!

Andrea

Message was edited by: riela

I am on a brand-new MacBook Pro running 10.6.7 (firmware version Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.10.131.36.9) and can confirm the wireless problem has indeed not been fixed. My wireless cuts out approximately every 5 minutes, with no warning or indication, and the only solution is to either dactivate and reactivate Airport -- or to reboot entirely.

Unfortunately, I am unable to implement tenortim's solution. When I attempt to mount the MacOSXUpdCombo10.6.4.dmg file, I receive a "The following image could not be opened" error message, with the reason listed as "Not recognized." Apparently, the 10.6.7 update blocks opening of older images. Is there any way to circumvent this issue? It is becoming exasperating to restart my WLAN card every few minutes. It makes streaming video absolutely impossible.

By the way, it is not by choice that I am on a brand-new MBP. I turned in my original MPB, purchased September 2010, to the Mac Store here in Oldenburg, Germany, for service. They proceeded to lose not only my laptop, but two others -- and failed to report the theft to the police for almost a week. Even worse, they tried their darndest to weasel out of replacing my machine, quibbling on a technicality. It was only because the employee to whom I physically handed my machine happened to be honest enough to insist that indeed, he had received the laptop and it had been worked upon that I was finally (albeit begrudgingly!) given a new machine by the regional manager. Needless to say, I lodged a complaint about the situation with Apple Customer Service back in the States.

There seems to be a systemic lack of responsiveness to customer needs and requests in the Apple organization.

I just now noticed the bit.ly link to the zip file of the IO80211Family.kext that someone so kindly posted earlier in this thread, and I was able to install it without difficulty. I know have Firmware Version Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.10.131.16.1). My connection seems a little slower than below, but I will cheerfully trade some speed for stability.

Thank you, everyone, for all the help. I find it sad that we have to rely on each other for the help that Apple itself seems unwilling or unable to provide.

I am apparently the first person for whom this solution hasn't worked. My wireless connection still cuts out every 5 minutes like clockwork. And every few iterations I have to reboot my machine in order to restart the connection.

Interestingly, this does not happen on campus at the university here, which I must connect to the wireless network through the Cisco VPNClient. Any ideas as to what difference that might make?

After my recent experiences, I am pretty close to deciding that I will never buy another Apple product. It is absurd that my wife, with her $300 netbook, can connect to this network flawlessly, while I, with my nearly $2000 MacBook Pro, am struggling to maintain a connection and can't even stream a Youtube video without having to restart it.

Apple has really screwed the pooch on this.

^

Have the exact same problem. My airport firmware version is Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.10.131.16.1) after I followed tenortim's instructions. It works for a while (an hour or two) then suddenly my internet speed slows down and the problem returned.

I have a Macbook Pro 2010 core2duo 2.4 Ghz unit Purchased last October 2010. I'm using a newly purchased (just a week ago) WRT120N Linksys Router.

After noticing that I could no longer log into the university network via the Cisco VPN Client, I restored the old firmware version. It didn't help. My Airport WLAN now appears to be entirely useless. Uninstalling and reinstalling the VPN Client has no effect; it no longer makes a connection with the authentication server or requests my credentials.

I can still connect just fine with an Ethernet cable, but that is not an option in my apartment.

Meanwhile my wife is happily online with her measly little netbook.

Apple has, sad to say, lost a future repeat customer.

The CiscoVPN is only 32 bits while OS X 10.6.x is booting (in modern Macs) in 64 bit. To test this reboot while holding down the 3 & 2 buttons (at the same time) while booting. This will boot OS X up into 32 bit mode. Then try the CiscoVPN client. However in OS X's built-in here is the VPN setup for 10.6 (here is example of how to set it up).