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LaraJones Author

Level 1

0 points

new macbook pro 2011 weak and dropping wireless connection

Just looked throught this part of the forum and found out there are a lot of people out there which seem to have the same problem as me.

I purchased a new modell 2011 MBP on the very first day from our apple store.
At home, sitting directly beside the wireless router I didn´t noticed anything wrong.
I have got beside of the Mac OS a bootcamp Prt. with Windows 7 on it and everythign works fine so far.

Five days after purchased I started traveling on business and at present we are for some weeks in Melbourne. Were having a wireless connection in our appartement and here I have got massiv problems with my connection.

We are having altogether four windows mashines with us, my IPad, my Iphone, another HTC smartphone, and my new Macbook.

All the other devices connecting to our room wireless without problems. The net strengh is not fantastic but the other devices bringing it up to four bars on the windows wireless symbol in the task bar. None of the other computers where ever loosing the connection.

Only my macbook can not make it over three bars and its going on and off. Donwloads fail freuquently because the conection is interrupted more than one times..
In my opinion this problem is even worse on the Windows OS and a bit better but far away from beeing good and acpetable on the Mac Os.
I hope its only a driver issue and there is no hardware problem with the new mashine. Other than this I love the new notebook and I am very satisfied with its performance.

Iphone 4, Ipad 1 ,Macbook pro 13, I 5, 8GB, early 2011, Windows 7, Mac OS

Posted on Mar 8, 2011 9:00 PM

968 replies

anguish

Level 1

9 points

Apr 14, 2011 6:37 AM in response to bitserf

tried this too - can only connect when set to g & b ( Netgear DG834PN ) switch to g only and can't get a connection. ping tests still a horror show.

bitserf

Level 1

1 points

Apr 14, 2011 6:50 AM in response to anguish

anguish, on my NetGear i had to set up Mixed WPA-PSK+WPA2-PSK in Security Options for the g-only network.

i also made the wireless settings from another computer (not the MBP), and it took a while before the MBP could see the g-only network, had to try two or three times before it finally connected.

hope this helps.

yep, my pings are still bad too, but at least the connection stays up for me now (touch wood).

really need 802.11n though, this is just a stopgap.

dimaxp

Level 1

14 points

Apr 14, 2011 7:19 AM in response to bitserf

I am connected to an 802.11n router Netgear wndr3700 at 2.4ghz in 40mhz WPA2 mode.
I have not seen the connection actually drop out, it is simply laggy.
Real time apps, pretty much anything other than email and web work like crap.
Wonder if there is more than one issue in play here.

vwg

Level 1

2 points

Apr 14, 2011 11:25 AM in response to dimaxp

count me in for having the same problems with my wireless. just got a new macbook pro a week ago. pretty peeved that it's a faulty device that has trouble connecting to the internet. my old pc computer isn't looking too bad anymore, with its decent ability to connect to the internet and all...

Kasvince

Level 1

4 points

Apr 14, 2011 2:08 PM in response to LaraJones

Hi all,
i'm new this forum, i bought a mb pro 13'' a month ago. this is my first mac but i'm sad to get this problem..
for the first 2 weeks wifi worked well downloading without problem, then downloads became slower and sometimes without loosing connection i couldnt browse any page (it seems that wifi card goes sleep).. and this with maximum signal..!!
i've installed boot camp and when i'm using windows 7 ping is much lesser but sometimes it loose the connectivity and i can't reach the router.. i should restart it more and more times for reconnection.
now in mac osx ping is high and downloads are very slow. i hope it's only a software problem.
another thing.. i've the wifi router router (dlink) from 4 years and, while i've the mac it started to sleep shutting down connection as energy save.. dunno strange behavior of modem only after mac start to get theese "shutting down" problems

Apr 14, 2011 6:16 PM in response to LaraJones

Add my name to the list; I can barely use wireless at all, maybe 25% of the time, and have had to resort to using an ethernet cable. This is the third Macbook Pro I've owned, and it will be the last. I used to be an Apple fan, but Apple has abandoned it's computer customers as they're only 20% of its profit nowadays. The way that Apple completely denies any problems with its machines is completely disrespectful to the customers, especially ones who overpaid hundreds of dollars just so this exact situation wouldn't happen.

The proper thing to do would be to notify all customers who bought the models in question that there have been problems reported, ask them to send their information if they have been having problems, apologize, and keep them up to date regarding how the problem is being resolved. If the problem has not been resolved in several weeks, rebates or refunds would be in order, as well as stop selling the broken machines to unsuspecting new customers.

GJBenn85

Level 1

0 points

Apr 14, 2011 9:52 PM in response to Birdie18

@Birdie18,

Regarding USB wireless adapters, my experience has proven using one does not solve the problem but it does reduce the frequency of the loss of internet connectivity. I tried a PLANEX USB adapter thinking it is a driver issue, but I stand by my theory that it is a problem with OS X itself.

FYI, Apple just replaced my computer and the new one is having the same problem. Once again, I can connect wirelessly using Windows 7 via Bootcamp and the wireless will work, without interruption, nonstop. As soon as I start to use OS X, the drop outs occur on a routine basis.

Marola

Level 1

5 points

Apr 15, 2011 6:44 AM in response to krazykomrade

I couldn't agree more.

I have a MacPro (early 2008) that only brought me regrets for having bought it. Power supply issues which Apple never had the honesty to address. A 500 GB Time Capsule which stopped to work all of a sudden after just one year, and now this brand-new MBP 2.3 GHz with its appalling ping results and annoying connection drops. What irritates me the most, is the absolute lack of response from Apple about these issues, not even the dignity of addressing the complaints to dismiss them.

I heard somewhere on this thread that Apple have changed the wireless card, using now a lower-range one in order to maintain the same ratings for battery duration. If this's true, possibly it's the main reason for the problems we all are facing.

Marola

Level 1

5 points

Apr 15, 2011 6:49 AM in response to Marola

My previous msg. was in response to Krazykomrade post.

Apr 15, 2011 6:54 AM in response to Marola

Lower range card?

I read in the Anandtech review that the Wireless range in 2011 MBP were actually better, and were able to get a lock on more Wifi points than the previous models. This actually contributed a bit in my decision to purchase one.

Could you clarifie your information about an inferior card?

Thanks..

Marola

Level 1

5 points

Apr 15, 2011 7:07 AM in response to alinitkin

I fact, I'm not sure the inferiority of the current card was related to its range. Someone has posted something about it on this thread, it's from that post that I got my information. I'll do a search and will inform you later.

GJBenn85

Level 1

0 points

Apr 15, 2011 8:01 AM in response to Marola

If the problem is because of an "inferior" card, 1) why is it some of us have flawless web browsing experiences when using Win7 via Bootcamp (again, I used my MBP under Win7 last night for several hours and did not have a single loss of internet connectivity, which is in contrast to the five drops I had in less than 20 minutes while playing around in OS X) and 2) why does a USB wireless adapter not solve the problem under OS X?

I think those of us that believe it to not be a hardware problem are on the correct path. By process of elimination, it is proving to be a larger software issue than just a specific driver.

TomB01

Level 1

9 points

Apr 15, 2011 8:12 AM in response to GJBenn85

GJBenn85, I think you are right, there seem to be enough variations on this that a hardware issue may be incorrect. The fact that doing G instead of N connectivity changed the speed behavior of my card is suspect. Does your Win7 Bootcamp still have the strange ping times? And are you connecting in Win7 to G or N?

GJBenn85

Level 1

0 points

Apr 15, 2011 9:04 AM in response to TomB01

TomB01,

I have not tested the pings in Win7 via Bootcamp, have not felt the need since it is always a reliable connection.

My home network is N with WPA-PSK.

On a side note, my replacement MBP's battery will now last 4+ hours under Win7. I'm a PC guy so I have no problem using Win7 for everything, but obviously it is not a solution if you prefer OS X.

Apr 15, 2011 3:40 PM in response to GJBenn85

Hi guys, I too have a new MacBook Pro, I have an Airport issue not to sure it is the same though...my connection to the router seems good, full bars (RSSI-42)...how ever my connect to the internet (using speedtest.net) is less than 2mb/s download and .860 upload. compared to my windows 7 machine on the same network downloading at over 20mb/s and upload of .860 :s
I'm a Mac Noob, so any help will be appreciated.

Airport VS Ethernet
http://speedtest.net/result/1254121716.png
http://speedtest.net/result/1254122975.png

Message was edited by: GreenTape

new macbook pro 2011 weak and dropping wireless connection