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Level 1

8 points

New MacBook Pro 13 i5 Wireless Issues.

I got the new MacBook Pro i5 2.3 the day it came out. So maybe a week and half ago.
I`m having intermittent wireless issues. I have done some testing and even replaced my older AirPort Base Station with the new Dual-Band one, but still seeing a drops from the network. I have a ping going to my router and to the ABSE. I tried changing the channel and using 5GHZ or 2.4GHZ. I also have a AirPort express and seen similar results. I tried reseting the PRAM, repairing permission, I did not reinstall the OS but I dont see how this would help. I think there is a hardware issue with the wireless card/antenna.

I did upgrade RAM and HDD was changed to SSD (intel G2 SSD). There are no other issues, machine is fast, no lock ups. Other devices on the network do not seem to drop any connections (ATV, ATV2, iPhone4, iPad etc..)

The network drop outs are short but are noticeable and if a ping is going I can see the drops

*-- 192.168.1.1 ping statistics ---*
*1527 packets transmitted, 1505 packets received, 1.4% packet loss*
*round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 0.779/12.203/396.084/42.274 ms*

Any help is appreciated as I`m really frustrated but this issue.

MacBook Early 2011, Mac OS X (10.6.6), iphone 4 32GB

Posted on Mar 5, 2011 6:26 AM

28 replies

yozhbk Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 17, 2011 7:32 PM in response to TomB01

Have you tried clean 2011 with out migrating from 09 ?

Mike.a

Level 1

0 points

Mar 19, 2011 1:01 AM in response to yozhbk

Hi Guys,

I've got a MC723 (15 Inch 2011 Macbook Pro). I've experienced pretty much exactly the same problem discussed here. Packet drops to my wireless router thats 5 feet away is huge at around 25% or more. Latency is around 5 to 2000ms averaging 50ms or more. Other devices in my house (2 other non-apple laptops) get 0% packet drop, average latency around 3ms.

I needed to know whether this was a hardware mulfunction, or a driver issue so that I could decide whether or not to return my brand new macbook. So I booted up the macbook with the latest version of Ubuntu (Natty) and used followed the description here on how to use the windows BCM4331 wifi driver using a special driver wrapper:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBookPro8-1/Natty#Wireless

The result: 0% packet drops, avg 3ms latency consistantly. So I conclude this is a driver/software issue on Apple's. I'd appreciate some feedback from any official Apple staff as to when this issue is going to be rectified? This problem means I can't use my macbook pro other then when it's cabled to my WIFI APN.

Looking forward to some feedback

Mike

yozhbk Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 19, 2011 6:43 AM in response to Mike.a

This is good to hear. Did you try for substantial period of time ?

Suhr

Level 1

10 points

Mar 19, 2011 4:30 PM in response to Mike.a

I've experienced this on my new 15" custom-built Pro as well, though I have observed that it only occurs on 802.11n networks - and possibly only in the 5GHz spectrum. I've seen it happen both on Apple AirPort Extreme base stations and on Cisco Access Points.

It seems like a driver issue but would be great to know if this will be addressed soon.

Mike.a

Level 1

0 points

Mar 20, 2011 12:36 PM in response to yozhbk

I did a 100 count ping test in each scenario.

The packet drop/latency I experience on my new macbook is not sporadic, it's constant i.e. there is never a moment where it works 100%. I've tried adjusting the wifi channel on my APN (Linksys WAG54GP Firmware Version: 2.01.06 ), and also switching between wireless B & G standards. None of this makes any difference. Using the Windows driver is the only thing that appears to make it work.

I'm getting rather desperate to be able to use my new mac with wifi - can any body tell me whether it's possible to use windows broadcom drivers with Snow Leopard, and how I go about doing that?

Many thanks

Message was edited by: Mike.a

yozhbk Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 20, 2011 8:06 PM in response to yozhbk

Ok, here is what I`m thinking. I was just reading that New MacBooks Pro boot in to 64 bit kernel by default and I bet the drivers are also 64 Bit. I tried manually going to 32 bit Kernel, but issue is still there. I think the drivers are still 64 bit and I think thats the issues...

yozhbk Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 21, 2011 8:18 PM in response to yozhbk

Well 10.6.7 did not help things. Oh well what can we do 😟 I hope there is some kind of an update for the drivers or firmware for the AirPort

Arzenal

Level 1

0 points

Mar 22, 2011 12:09 PM in response to yozhbk

I have an early 2011 15" Macbook Pro and it keeps randomly dropping my Aiport Extreme wifi signal. No other computers on my network do this, and Im only running a stock machine using OS X 10.6.7

something has to be up here.

Mar 22, 2011 3:11 PM in response to Suhr

Same serious network issue on the 13" but with only marginally better results on an Airport 802.11g network. Over 50% packet loss

Does anyone notice a link with Time Machine activity? Seems that whenever time machine was running when I put my macbook to sleep, the network experiences problems when waking up from sleep again.

Also I don't think my ambient light sensor is doing a great job, and I have had some freezing when waking from sleep with lots of apps running and time machine doing it's thing

Mar 23, 2011 12:03 AM in response to yozhbk

I have a similar issue. My Wifi doesnt just drop for 2 pings. It stops completely and then I need to disable and enable my Airport again. When I do it instant works but then five minutes later it stops working and I need to disable and enable the Airport once again.

This keep happening througout the whole day.

I've tried putting my Macbook 1 feet away from my Wifi Router and I still get the problem.

Very frustrating, also I've updated to 10.6.7 and it didnt help anything.

Apple, fixing this?

Apr 6, 2011 7:52 PM in response to yozhbk

Does anyone know if there is a fix yet for the airport. The constant dropping of wifi signal is getting a bit annoying. I have one pc connected by ethernet cable and 2 pc laptops that are wifi and do not have this problem with any of them. The problem comes as soon as I open the macbook. I was told by apple to change the router but why should I if all of the other computers that are connected work fine. This is my first mac and I really like it but if this continues I don't see any alternative but to go back to a pc. Please help.