gcrump
Level 1 (10 points)

Q: WiFi Issues With MacBook Air

I am about two weeks in to my new Macbook Air and love it except for the wifi. I have had five or six other Mac laptops in the past five years including the original air. I can confirm that there are some wifi issues with the Macbook Air. Based on the messages posted here and my experience here is where I am. I think if it is a "N" network it seems to work fine. I have never had an issue with my Airport Extreme at my house or my Dad's Linksys at his house which is also an N. This also I think resolves the "is it an ISP" issue, since they are distinctly different ISP's and these both work perfectly.

My problems are on non-N's it seems. I travel a lot so I hit a lot of guest networks which are almost always "g". These networks I can generally find and attach to them but not get a consistent internet connection. With these networks I have found that turning the airport on/off and refreshing the IP address does not work. Again I can connect to the browser, in most cases get what appears to be a valid IP but not gain any internet access. I have found that a power down and reboot AFTER attaching to the network (but not getting the internet connection) will then give me a steady and consistent connection.

I need to do some more testing and I guess traveling to pin down some of these things but I wanted to share what I have found thus far, but I definitely think there is a problem with the wifi on the new MacBook Air's.

Thanks,

Macbook Pro and iMac 27" and iPad and iPhone and MacBook Air 2010, Mac OS X (10.6.5)

Posted on Nov 28, 2010 6:10 AM

Close
gcrump

Q: WiFi Issues With MacBook Air

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

first Previous Page 33 of 64 last Next

  • by The Masio,

    The Masio The Masio Apr 13, 2012 4:56 PM in response to 10smom
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 13, 2012 4:56 PM in response to 10smom

    10smom, some configured network settings don't even have that setting on it. If you don't see it, then its already disabled.

    But nevermind since this doesn't solve the issue.

     

    It seemed to improve it, but the problem cotinues, when, for example, the networks changes, i.e., I'm using the university network and when I get home, the wi-fi finds doesn't find the prefered network, although my windows pc does it without any problem...

  • by clever_trevor,

    clever_trevor clever_trevor Apr 20, 2012 11:49 PM in response to The Masio
    Level 1 (29 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 20, 2012 11:49 PM in response to The Masio

    Hi,

    A week on & I have found switching off Bluetooth seems to work for me.

    With BT off - my preferred networks connected on waking from sleep.

    ( I do hope Apple fix this - as its clearly a problem & something users should not have to find a workaround)

    Thanks,

    t

  • by clever_trevor,

    clever_trevor clever_trevor May 10, 2012 2:16 AM in response to clever_trevor
    Level 1 (29 points)
    Desktops
    May 10, 2012 2:16 AM in response to clever_trevor

    Anyone updated to Lion X 10.7.4 & does this solve the WIFI issue?

    (as its not so clear from the release notes if this does fix the issue - i am updating now, so will report back when tested)

    Cheers,

    t

  • by M L,

    M L M L May 12, 2012 7:28 PM in response to clever_trevor
    Level 1 (35 points)
    May 12, 2012 7:28 PM in response to clever_trevor

    I installed 10.7.4 a couple days ago but have not done enough testing yet. Since 10.7.1 did not fix the problem and 10.7.2 nor 10.7.3 did I skipped the latter two and jumped straight to 10.7.4. 10.7.4 also included new firmware for my MBA (unless that came with one of the ones I skipped). I'm really hoping the FW and OS also address the waking to black screen issue...

  • by yazidatan,

    yazidatan yazidatan May 17, 2012 12:10 AM in response to M L
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 17, 2012 12:10 AM in response to M L

    I've got a fix! - All you do is upgrade to the latest OS X (10.7.4).  Did that yesterday and problem solved!!  I've been having this issue since I bough this MBA last year.  Tried everything and suddenly...  Thanks Apple, better late than never, I guess...

  • by clever_trevor,

    clever_trevor clever_trevor May 17, 2012 12:51 AM in response to yazidatan
    Level 1 (29 points)
    Desktops
    May 17, 2012 12:51 AM in response to yazidatan

    Hi,

    This did not work for me -

    if Bluetooth is OFF, then my my networks attach after resume & no problem.

    If Bluetooth is ON, then if will fail & manual connect to network is required.

    Cheers,

    t

  • by gszabo,

    gszabo gszabo May 23, 2012 5:56 AM in response to gcrump
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 23, 2012 5:56 AM in response to gcrump

    just for the record:

     

    my air is a 13" mid 2011 model. Card Type:          AirPort Extreme  (0x14E4, 0xE9) Firmware Version:          Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.106.198.4.20). OSX 10.7.4.

     

    Wifi works fine (even with any Bluetooth devices connected) if it's in a 802.11b, g or b/g mixed mode environment. If it's in an n only, or b/g/n mixed mode network, I get something like 30 s lasting wifi connections.

  • by the-tone,

    the-tone the-tone May 24, 2012 10:23 AM in response to clever_trevor
    Level 1 (4 points)
    May 24, 2012 10:23 AM in response to clever_trevor

    NO!

  • by the-tone,

    the-tone the-tone May 24, 2012 10:24 AM in response to yazidatan
    Level 1 (4 points)
    May 24, 2012 10:24 AM in response to yazidatan

    10.7.4 did NOT do anything for me!

  • by CRettig,

    CRettig CRettig May 27, 2012 7:49 AM in response to gcrump
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 27, 2012 7:49 AM in response to gcrump

    Same Problems here for me. All the other devices are working perfectly (Mac Mini 2008, Macbook Black 2008, New iPad, iPhone 4, New Dell Notebook from work and some other notebooks (Windows).

     

    Turning Bluetooth off is not an option for two reasons:

     

    1.Bluetooth mouse and keyboard

    2. Having paid 1.599 frickin´ Euros and expecting it to work!

     

    So when will there be a fix for this? It is obviously the hardware, Macbook black works fine with Lion.

  • by mt granny,

    mt granny mt granny May 27, 2012 11:56 AM in response to CRettig
    Level 1 (4 points)
    May 27, 2012 11:56 AM in response to CRettig

    Mine stopped overnight the day I updated OS software (10.6.8). Turned off then next day turned on. Found this question (AirPort stopped working) often enough in forums but no solutions.

     

    Have tried resetting network info, Diagnostics, Assist Me, deleting network, adding back in, deleting location, adding location, permission repairs, borrowing disc from my iMac and MM to repair, tried to reinstall OS with remote drive but it fails to get on with AirPort and I don't have ethernet. Tried disabling Bluetooth (It wasn't ever enabled so I enabled then restarted and disabled and restarted.) Tired all just posted more than twice, some more than 10 times then ired moving Airport App from my iMac Apps over to MBA Apps.

     

    The MBA can find and connect to both MM and iMac for file transfers but cannot get on my network. Tried resetting Verizon FiOS router.  Tried over 3 days. All other devices and computers (11 total) can get on. MBA just times out and shows greyed out wireless signal icon with exclamation point.

     

    Once, it even froze up and refused to accept any keystrokes when entering network name and password. Another time it started spinning and displayed message that it was searching for a bluetooth keyboard and mouse (??MBA doesn't have that as it is integrated!).

     

    I am ready to trash it after 3 years and go back to buying PC notebooks. Really frustrated with Macs and Apple philosphy/support right now. I had mega Lion upgrade problems so returned to SL in Dec. Apple seems uncaring of problems with either OS.

     

    I left Windows for Macs in 2008 because they JUST WORKED. I'm just plain frustrated with tinkering around every few weeks ever since Lion and iCloud hit the market. I'm done, for me the golden days of Apple have ended. If I have to tinker with an OS system every few days, it may as well be Linux...at least it will cost me less money!

  • by lahori,

    lahori lahori Jun 10, 2012 3:45 AM in response to mt granny
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 10, 2012 3:45 AM in response to mt granny

    I got a Macbook Air thinking it was the best laptop out there.

     

    While I like it so far, this Wifi connectivity issue is EXTREMELY annoying. Everytime I cose the lid, and open it again, it does not connect automatically! I have to then go in and select the network myself before it does!

     

    Is anybody from APPLE reading this thread!?? This is a major customer grevience! This issue should be one of your highest priorities to fix!

     

    We have paid extra money to buy your products! The least you can do is to atleast acknowledge these complaints and tell us WHEN this will be fixed!

     

    Very frustrating! Maybe I should have bought an EliteBook!

  • by clever_trevor,

    clever_trevor clever_trevor Jun 10, 2012 3:50 AM in response to lahori
    Level 1 (29 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 10, 2012 3:50 AM in response to lahori

    I fully agree.

    Only solution for me was turning off Bluetooth - with Bluetooth off, my MAC AIR connects to preferred WIFI networks everytime.

    If I turn Bluetooth on then it will not connect - very frustrating.

    I was hoping the update 10.7.4 recent update would include a fix - but, it did not.

    I did buy my MAC AIR with a Bluetooth Magi mouse - and I guess this is the cause.

    Hoping for a fix soon,

    t

  • by kblade145,

    kblade145 kblade145 Jun 10, 2012 3:05 PM in response to gcrump
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 10, 2012 3:05 PM in response to gcrump

    Today I added a Amped wireless repeater to extend the range of my WiFi. My iPad and iPhone connected to the repeater fine. But while my wife's MBA or my MBA (OS10.7.4) both "see" the repeater's network, neither will connect ("time out" message pops out). Two for two. (When traveling with my MBA, I have often had frustrations connection to hotel WiFi networks.)

     

    I called Apple support, got elevated twice to higher levels of support, and none of the tech suport folks admitted any knowledge of a problem with connectivity with the Air. So then I go online and find this thread, and sure enough, this is an issue that goes far back in time. The last Apple guy I talked with was nice, and he was sympathetic, but told me he worked on  network issues every day, and had never heard of this problem. Hmmmm........

  • by Stephen Cox,

    Stephen Cox Stephen Cox Jun 10, 2012 3:45 PM in response to kblade145
    Level 1 (140 points)
    Jun 10, 2012 3:45 PM in response to kblade145

    Yup. Every Apple guy I bring it up too denies ever hearing about it. But in the store, other people are talking about it.

     

    This is standard behavior for Apple.

     

    Also, turning off Bluetooth fixes all my issues. I stood at the Genius Bar, turned on Bluetooth and proved that it drops the network (kind of hard for Apple to deny it when it happens at their store). What it got me was a replacement MBA. Same issue though.

     

    Oddly, this does not happen in Windows 7 (bootcamp). So it's software.

     

    Maybe Mountain Lion will fix this?

first Previous Page 33 of 64 last Next