Q: WiFi Issues With MacBook Air

Before 10.7.3:

My wifi doesn't automatically connect after sleep, wifi slow once connected If more then 5 meters away from AccessPoint. Bluetooth works  .

After 10.7.3:

My wifi does automatically connect after sleep, but wifi is even more slow then before (downloading a file @15kB/s!) even at 1 meter away from AP and Bluetooth, if enabled, stops completely internet from working.

So, now, my Wifi is always conneced but i cannot use BT mouse or keyboard and is slow like a snail.

I don't understand why we are here trying to troubleshoot a common issue: everybody here payed much for this laptop and is having a lot of problems with the only way it has to connect to internet.

PLEASE: I'm sure there is a lawyer out there between you, or somebody who can handle situations like this:  let's do a class action (or whatever) and let's aware Apple that we are in anger and we are a lot.

And to everyone who think is an hardware issue... try to install Windows wit bootcamp: everything works great. In this moment im with mouse BT connected, Wifi up and running, in the other side of house, downloading huge files and posting this.. but I didn't bought a MAC to work on windows.. sorry but I would save A LOT of money if I wanted this...

I have had the same exact issue.  Late model 2010/early 2011 MBA 13 inch. On snow leopard. Connect to home wireless network through airport extreme.  NEVER had a problem till my screen was replaced a couple days ago.  Now I can only connect to the internet when my computer is literally next to the wireless router.

Mind you, my wife's mac book pro, my macbook pro..my Ipad..both our iphones..and my wifes brothers mac book pro ALL CONNECT FINE TO THE INTERNET THROUGH THIS WIRELESS NETWORK.

Went to Genius bar and the genius told me to "reset" the preferences  and reboot the computer. this of course seemed to work in the store because the computer at that time was connecting to their network which had routers near by.  when i walked to the computer to the entrance of the store, the connection dropped, genius claimed it was not a range issue, but rather that the routers at the entrance get filled quickly. OKKKKK.

I took the computer home to see if this "reset" would work.  It didnt of course.  I've tried every "fix" I've thus far read on this 30 page now thread including adding "internet" as a location/ adding DNS 8.8.8 etc...and removing and adding the "wifi" icon on network preferences.  Nothing works. 

This is a PHYSICAL issue with the antennas im quite sure..the antennas are located in the display.  the display changed.  the wireless connection is no longer reliable outside of a few feet from the router. 

Trust me this is not a physical issue with the Macbook Air 13", 2011 model. I have run Windows 7 on this mahcine and it doesn't have a problem with wifi and bluetoooth. This is an OS X Lion problem.

I fuuly agree. THIS IS NOT A HARWARE ISSUE. My MBA worked great at any wifi location wether that be at or away. When I upgraded to Lion the problems started, no remote connection although it worked fine at home. I tried all the fixes and the only one that seemed to work was the keychain debug, but that failed when i tried to access the wifi on the train. I should point out that my iphone and ipad worked at all the locations that the MBA would.t. I have now reinstalled snow leopard on the MBA and everything is back to normal and fully functional. Its time APPLE sorted out this problem which is linked to LION and MBA;s. Just look at the number of views and number of problems customers of APPLE are having. Up till now I have been 100% satisfied with APPLE, the support and the prodects, but has the demise of Steve Jobs left the company wanting?

Well, if it is not a hardware issue, but rather a Lion issue, how do you explain that I never have had nor do i have lion?

Sorry your issue does sound like a hardware one. This wifi bluetooth issue is not present on Snow Leopard from what I have read, so  the screen change must have done soemthing to your wifi. This thread is mainly about Lion Wifi and bluetooth issues.

samspan, you're issue is pretty clearly hardware and you should take it back to the Apple Store it was repaired at and tell them something is wrong with the antennas.  The issue that you're having is NOT what this thread is about, and this thread is most definitely about a software issue.

I personally think that some in this thread are having different wifi issues than others. Which are just as important, but I think the core bluetooth/wifi interference issue is the one that I have and the one that it feels like most others seem to have that we want resolved. Because some in this thread (including myself) are able to operate fine on Windows or Snow Leopard, it certainly seems as though the Bluetooth/wifi issue is Lion-based. But certainly samspan's issue sounds like hardware, which is also pretty unfortunate.

The solution to the problem of slow wifi and cut-out reception with my MacBook Air* that worked for me was to make sure my MacBook Air is not trying to connect to a Bluetooth device that is not available.

Hi caf I can confirm that since I have deleted the BT mouse that wasn't available at work, my wifi now connects automatically along with my BT keyboard and trackpad. At home however since I dont have the trackpad and mouse, it wont auto connect to wifi (as there are 2 disconnected BT devices).

So the solutiion would seem to be a way of getting Lion to automatically disconnect all bluetooth devices, prior to going to sleep....and not auto connecting unless the BT devices are clicked or typed on. Interestingly this is how Win 7 works with the Magic Mouse - it wont connect until the mouse is physically clicked.

Message was edited by: NHC2365

Here is where it starts getting beyond weird.  When I have my MBA open and unsuccessfully trying to connect to my wireless network at home, my wifes and my brother in laws mac book pros suddenly start dropping THEIR connection to the network.  once i shut down my MBA or turn of airport on my MBA...their internet connection returns immediately.  ***? 

I have posted in this thread before but thought I would give a little update.

My issue is not connection quality or speed. My issue is that once the computer goes to sleep it does not automatically reconnect when i wake it back up (to some wifi networks)

My update is that I had to use a replacement macbook air when my screen cracked. The new one is literally brand new and it exhibits the exact same issue.

I realize the percentage of us that are experiencing this issue is probably pretty small but no question this is a known issue at this point, but ****, Apple, please give us some hope!

just wanted to update on my case. MBA13, 2011 shipped with Lion. struggled with wifi random disconnects from day 1, tried all the solutions on threads but nothing helped. in the end, I decided to try with a new router. I moved from a Billion 7401VGP-R3 - 802.11g Wireless (which was working fine with my Dell/Windows Xp) machines to a Billion 7800N - ADSL2+ Router  - 802.11n Wireless. With the new router the MBA has not disconnected once (though I have not updated to 10.7.3 yet). hopefully this might be of help to some of you. good luck!

Mario

i can verify samspan's story, as the exact thing happened to me.

i also had the screen replaced and after that i have problems with some wifi connections which i had no problem with before the screen replacement. mostly on "guest" networks if that means anything!?

i run 10.6.8 version and bought my mac book air in october 2010.

seems like these wifi issues are both hardware & software related if you ask me.

I have the same problem with a MBA13 2011 since I got it last November.  It improved a bit when I changed my router settings to not hide the SSID.  However, it still happens occasionally (but not always).  Even after I upgraded to 10.7.3 it still happens every other day or so.