WiFi Issues With MacBook Air

I think it's pretty clear that there are variations of how this whole problem surfaces... No need to go fighting about it 🙂

Like ubiquity, BT has never been in the picture for me as I don't use it and it's been off since day one, yet DAILY (on a secured network) i have disconnect issues. These issues don't relate to waking from sleep in anyway that I can see.

So, in summary, this is affecting people differently, and BT off does not fix them all... Nor did 10.7.1!

I will try using an unsecured network at home and see if I have the same problems. I have yet to try that.

Please report the results of that test - it would be exceedingly instructive. Thank you!

ubiquity75, my MBA had the 'intermittent' network connectivity issues out of the box, and I initially suspected a HW issue (since every other device in my home worked OK including a MBP w/ lion). So I went to the Apple Store, and surprinsingly, the MBA had no problems and all the sites I usually had problems loading were extremely fast. The genious told me to wait for the first lion update, so I did. 10.7.1 did not fix the problem. In the midst of my frustration I found this thread, and with a combination of network setting changes I found a fix (documented in my previous post) that has been working (for me) for the past two weeks.

However, based on your comments, I went back to the default seetings and just tried it on the open network at barnes&noble. It works fine. Then I walked to the apple store I originally went to, and connected to their open network. It works fine.

This is very limited testing, but it seems to suggest that your theory is worth exploring (anyone in Apple listening?). I mentioned my story at the apple store for those of you thinking of taking your MBA to store and who would likely get the 'it works on our network, maybe it's your router?" line.

GP

I spent several hours with Apple care with the intermittent and time out issues -- they had me buy a new airport express to try as they said there is some kind of "loop" in my system. I need to set an appointment with Apple care to set it according to their instructions -- will let you know if it works. 10.7.1 did not fix it, and disabling BT did not fix it. As a last resort we will have to connect the "old-fashioned way" to get back to work as this is taking lots of time....

sheilafrommarco island wrote:

I spent several hours with Apple care with the intermittent and time out issues -- they had me buy a new airport express to try as they said there is some kind of "loop" in my system. I need to set an appointment with Apple care to set it according to their instructions -- will let you know if it works. 10.7.1 did not fix it, and disabling BT did not fix it. As a last resort we will have to connect the "old-fashioned way" to get back to work as this is taking lots of time....

Sheila, I can confirm that using an Airport Express and/or Airport Extreme does NOT fix the problem. My home network has been reconfigured no fewer than three times, and I have tested no fewer than three wireless routers, all of which is detailed here, if you'd like to reference it when the Apple Store employees are suggesting you buy more Apple hardware to fix this problem: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3253568 . I am currently using an Airport Express N, and the problem is not resolved. Thanks for posting this.

gabrielperez21 wrote:

ubiquity75, my MBA had the 'intermittent' network connectivity issues out of the box, and I initially suspected a HW issue (since every other device in my home worked OK including a MBP w/ lion). So I went to the Apple Store, and surprinsingly, the MBA had no problems and all the sites I usually had problems loading were extremely fast. The genious told me to wait for the first lion update, so I did. 10.7.1 did not fix the problem. In the midst of my frustration I found this thread, and with a combination of network setting changes I found a fix (documented in my previous post) that has been working (for me) for the past two weeks.

However, based on your comments, I went back to the default seetings and just tried it on the open network at barnes&noble. It works fine. Then I walked to the apple store I originally went to, and connected to their open network. It works fine.

This is very limited testing, but it seems to suggest that your theory is worth exploring (anyone in Apple listening?). I mentioned my story at the apple store for those of you thinking of taking your MBA to store and who would likely get the 'it works on our network, maybe it's your router?" line.

GP

Aha, thank you so much, Gabriel - emphasis mine above. This is an important post that documents the issue. Because the issue is intermittent and, as I suspect, likely related to secure networks, of course the problem is likely never to occur at the Apple Store itself. So we must document these issues on our own. I'd like to hear from anyone employed by Apple in the Support Forums. This is an egregious situation.

By the way, I'm tweeting about this on Twitter (@ubiquity75) using the hashtag #mbawififail . I encourage others to join me there, since we obviously need a broader audience to gain a resolution to this issue.

I too was having intermitent wifi errors with my new (2011) MBA. However, I was also having the problem with other apple products and a specific router. So while this may not be the end all fix for everyone, it defniitely was a fix for me and my issues.

Essentially I put my MBA and my iPhone as a static IP within my router. Logged into my router, told the MAC address that I wanted and assigned it a particular IP within the router. So for my MBA I have 192.168.1.4 and iPhone is 192.168.1.5.

I think the issue we are having is that it is not flushing the IP/DHCP with some routers causing an IP conflict, and when this happens, the wifi will drop.

I had the issue of it not connecting after sleep (sometimes still do, but a quick discconnect reconnect fixes that) with the MBA not connecting or not having internet access with limited connectivity.

Try putting your MBA with a static IP on your router and see if that fixes the issue.

Turned security off on my network, and just had the disconnect issue. Took about 45 minutes... But yeah, security doesn't seem to be the smoking gun.

Hello, i've just finished a phonecall with apple care and after many attempts we found a resolution that worked for me and that hopefully will work for the rest of you too.

1 - Load network preferences

2 - delete the wi-fi in the bar on the left hand side (press the little - at the bottom of the box)

3 - log out

4 - then create a new wi-fi

5 - connect to your usual wi-fi

Good luck with that one.

However, if that didn't work:

Another few options he gave me that didn't work for me but might for others are:

- Disable Bluetooth (read online that this worked for quite a few people)

or

- Unheck the box that says 'ask to join new networks'

or

- In the location bar, click edit locations and add a new location called test

or

- Create a new profile on your mac (he told me to call it test)

or

- move a file called com.apple.airport.a...plist (search for it) onto your desktop.

I have a new 13"MBA with the same problem. This is VERY annoying. I have tried every "solution" posted on the forums without any permanent effect. The only thing I have not tried is swinging a dead cat over the MBA at midnight by the light of the full moon in a cemetery.

I will keep reading the forums and trying combinations of "fixes". Hopefully one will be a permanent solution, and hopefully the next update to Lion will address the problem.

I may be one of the fortunate ones in that turning off the BT has worked at both home and at work. However, it is annoying because sometimes I do like to use the wireless mouse. I wonder if my (older, Feb. 2011) MBA may be different in some ways from the newer ones. Still, a fix needs to be found.

I couldn't have said it better! I can't express how frustrated I am. I have also tried everything mentioned here. I spent a whole lot of money for a premium laptop but a basic function such as wirless lan does not work. I hope that this is not a never ending story.

Static IP assignment does not work to resolve this issue, if the issue is new MBA networking issue. As I reported while documenting my own problems, my home network had the following devices, working seamlessly, on the network:

- MacBook Pro, late 2007

- MacBook Pro, late 2009

- MacBook, 2007

- iPhone 4

- iPhone 3GS

- iPad 2

- another iPad2

- Xbox 360, summer 2011

- Assorted other laptops and devices from time to time.

Even though all other machines were working without flaw, I nevertheless did test three different wireless routers, including an Apple Airport Express N, as well as turned off DHCP on these routers to use static IP.

This did not solve the problem. As you state, it sounds like you had a different problem to start with.

jejejeje wrote:

Hello, i've just finished a phonecall with apple care and after many attempts we found a resolution that worked for me and that hopefully will work for the rest of you too.

1 - Load network preferences

2 - delete the wi-fi in the bar on the left hand side (press the little - at the bottom of the box)

3 - log out

4 - then create a new wi-fi

5 - connect to your usual wi-fi

Good luck with that one.

However, if that didn't work:

Another few options he gave me that didn't work for me but might for others are:

- Disable Bluetooth (read online that this worked for quite a few people)

or

- Unheck the box that says 'ask to join new networks'

or

- In the location bar, click edit locations and add a new location called test

or

- Create a new profile on your mac (he told me to call it test)

or

- move a file called com.apple.airport.a...plist (search for it) onto your desktop.

Highlighted above are things that I and others have tried on this forum to make this problem go away. The highlighted things do not work. Frankly, I'm not going to waste my time with the first thing they told you to do (delete then re-add the WiFi network service), but if someone else wants to, they should - and then post when it stops working again so it can be documented.

Again, I am also speaking out about this issue on Twitter using the hashtag #mbawififail . I encourage you to do so as well.