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

LaraJones Author

Level 1

0 points

May 6, 2011 10:57 PM in response to yozhbk

Good morning everybody.

Still very happy!!!!!

Yesterday night I tested everything what did not work before like:

- Streaming content from my Macbook to our Apple TV ( Movies and photos from Itunes Library)

- Streaming media content from German TV online

- transfering huge files up to my exchange server

- downloading content form my MSDN account just to test the speed

EVERYTHING WORKS FINE NOW!!!!

My ping results are normal now.

To the router they are about 0.10

and this are the Pings to Google. Yesterday night they were all about 34 and as stable as this morning.

„Ping“ wurde gestartet …

PING google.com (209.85.149.105): 56 data bytes

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=0 ttl=54 time=44.262 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=1 ttl=54 time=45.363 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=2 ttl=54 time=47.602 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=3 ttl=54 time=45.390 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=4 ttl=54 time=46.070 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=5 ttl=54 time=43.936 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=6 ttl=54 time=43.959 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=7 ttl=54 time=43.976 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=8 ttl=54 time=41.788 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=9 ttl=54 time=43.361 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=10 ttl=54 time=44.306 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=11 ttl=54 time=46.014 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=12 ttl=54 time=44.770 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=13 ttl=54 time=45.222 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=14 ttl=54 time=48.493 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=15 ttl=54 time=41.822 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=16 ttl=54 time=43.204 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=17 ttl=54 time=41.971 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=18 ttl=54 time=42.478 ms

64 bytes from 209.85.149.105: icmp_seq=19 ttl=54 time=44.994 ms

--- google.com ping statistics ---

20 packets transmitted, 20 packets received, 0.0% packet loss

round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 41.788/44.449/48.493/1.755 ms

What of the three things on the service report did the trick, I dont now. BUT IT DID IT!!!!!!

It seemes to me MY Macbook is the first one with the case solved...it gets famous!!!!!

Kasvince

Level 1

4 points

May 7, 2011 4:44 AM in response to LaraJones

Hi all.

today my macbook pro 13'' seems more stable. I only installed last updates

this is the report of statistic:

--- googlemail.l.google.com ping statistics ---

20 packets transmitted, 20 packets received, 0.0% packet loss

round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 15.949/18.661/19.594/0.896 ms

[ML]

Level 1

0 points

May 7, 2011 11:17 AM in response to LaraJones

Just discovered that the firmware of WiFi card is changed (after update I guess), it is now:

AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0xD6)

Firmware Version:Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 5.100.198.104.3)

Before update it was:

AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0xD6)

Firmware Version: Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 5.100.198.10.1)

Do not understand why it has been made in so top-secret way))

[ML]

Level 1

0 points

May 7, 2011 11:33 AM in response to Birdie18

Birdie18 wrote:

ML, how difference is speedtest.net result from your 2011/2010 MBP? My 2011 MBP is wirelessly hitting the same speed as my PC with ethernet cable connected. The only thing I concern now is drop out issue resloved or not with recent update, so far, so good.

The difference is reflective. If I have strong signal on MBP2011 speedtest.net shows same speed as by ethernet, if the signal is weak, speedtest results are also weak. But the problem is that when I have weak signal on MBP2011 (2 walls behind router), at the same place MBP2010 have a good signal with 5-10 times faster transfer rate.

But I have to say that today signal are the same and good on both MBPs🙂 I don`t know why and what`s happened because I did nothing. Some kind of mystic.. I hate mystic))

May 7, 2011 12:07 PM in response to [ML]

They just do not want to admit that wifi component of their machines are crap (like they where sold and not working like they should), so they try to fix it cryptic ... Unbelievable policy from my point of view ...

May 7, 2011 2:45 PM in response to thorsten_79

thorsten, what is the make and model of your router?

Starnzy

Level 1

5 points

May 8, 2011 6:02 AM in response to [ML]

@LaraJones: Glad your machine appears to be sorted now. I just checked your latest firmware version against mine, and I have the same version as your your new/updated machine.

I still haven't experienced a wireless drop since my post last week when I took my MBP into the Apple store 🙂

LaraJones Author

Level 1

0 points

May 8, 2011 9:56 AM in response to Starnzy

@Starnzy...

How did you check my Firmware version? Do I have to worry????

Its not a new machine. Its definatley mine, I have got a nice scratch at the bottom of my device , so I can regonize it.

But the components inside, no, there is not too much of the original parts left.

Got a new:

- Networkcard from the Genius Guys in Melbourne

- New Screen with network areals and

- new Logic Board from the Apple Service Guys in Germany

and the lates firmware as a additional present...

Its a quite International machine now...and uniuqe anyway:

AS IT WORK!!!!!!! ;-)

Yes my mashine is still working fine... I am sitting outside in the Garden, writing this, Wlan works absolutly normal like any other divice in this house now.

Streamed a movie out here for a test, uploaded some more work this afternoon...everything fine.

When I think about the fight which I had (and all of you as well) over the last ten weeks, I have to say Apple could have made it a lot easier for all of us. As it is now obviously that there is a problem, if its is software or hardware related I dont know but it would have helped to get a word from Apple in this thread here to calm down everybody and to promise to find a solution as fast as possible.

If anybody wants me to check any firmware numbers on my working mashines, just let me know and tell me where to look for them, I will write them down for you! I have to go back to the Apple Store tomorrow getting a 750 GB HD built in, and will bring a copy of the service report home than, if anybody wants the casenumber.

If I were you I would def. go to the next apple service point and would get my mashine repaired.

We know now that there is a way to do it. And that its possible to get absolute stable and constant pings even with a Macbook 2011.

Have a nice sunday everybody!

Lara

Starnzy

Level 1

5 points

May 8, 2011 9:57 AM in response to LaraJones

@Lara

Sorry, I meant I checked the new firmware version that you posted in one of your previous posts (where you compared your original firmware version with the new version), and your new firmware version is the same as mine.

Glad it's still working nicely for you 🙂

May 8, 2011 4:00 PM in response to Adrian J.

At home I have an alix-system running IPFire. On Work and at my Parents place I have a Linksys wrt54gs and an Dlink Dir 615. No problems with android, windows or WII, but with the macbook ....

May 8, 2011 10:13 PM in response to LaraJones

WOW WOW WOW! I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!!!!!

There's another crazy long discussion on exactly the same topic for old MBPs. I can't believe Apple was ignorant of the AirPort issues and brave (or stupid) enough to launch new MBPs recently without fixing it. This simply reminds me of what Toyota did to their customers.

I got mine in January (came with 10.6.6) so it was the last model before the new MBP 2011 came out. In the other discussion, the first thread was posted on Nov. 27, 2009 and this problem has still not be resolved nor acknowledged by Apple. Of course, I am experiencing same random drop off problem when connected using AirPort WiFi and still turning off the AirPort then turning back on when the status bar of my FireFox goes to "Looking up....." instead of "Connecting to....." randomly.

I think I have wasted A LOT of time trying to find a fix for this problem (still do)... For that amount of time I have wasted, I could have achieved a lot of things...

I regret that I chose Apple (it was mainly because I had free money to buy a new laptop and thought more expensive one would perform better...) to be the "******".

PS. I am copying this post as I might have lost the connection again by the time I click "Add Reply" button below. It's a quite funny (and sad) new habit I have acquired since I began using MBP.

May 8, 2011 11:31 PM in response to Power.User

hey Power.User > I like your PS

I learnt to do that too !

so, can anyone tell me what I should do.

It's a 5 year old MacBookPro and over the last month it has started dropping out A LOT

my internet at home is crap too, tho I have always assumed it was the router. The 2010 iMac is just as bad...

this FIRMWARE upgrade... could it be applied to a 4 or 5 year old MacBook Pro ?

and what exactly is it ? i have read about 6 pages from this thread and figured someone might be able to tell me. it takes too long reading 30 pages with me having to turn off then on my airport every few minutes ; - p

anguish

Level 1

9 points

May 9, 2011 1:34 AM in response to Power.User

@Power.User re the older MBP, my partner has one, we found the dropouts started on the 10.6.6 update and went back to 10.6.5 by installing the combo updater, when 10.6.7 came out we jumped on this too and the dropouts re-emerged. Went back to 10.6.5, and found the iPhoto library wouldn't open as that had now been updated, which forced us to up one to 10.6.6 and ironically we're stable. Maybe a non OS update has created the stability, but the older MBP will stay on 10.6.6 for the foreseeable.

@LaraJones : So glad you've made it through, after weeks of feeling your pain, we were thinking of making your painful story into a movie "How Apple Did My Head In" - unfortunately it all ends with a rather mundane happy ending where your machine got fixed, which would leave the viewer thinking "oh now what, now the problem's solved....." Shame there was a whole sub plot of Apple becoming the new Microsoft and taking over the world, David and Goliath for the micro chip revolution, but Goliath would have to win and the small guy gets crushed every time. Thought about making the movie where the viewer see's your life through twitter, but that would have been useless as you could only get on line with an ethernet cable, so very few tweets......and that very cable wins best supporting actor at the Oscars for saving you from moving back to the other side......all based on the assumption that you use an iPhone 4 and your rubber bumper vanished with the phone signal.

I'm in the band of happy ping test guys with my new ( second ) MBP 2011 - nice one Apple its been a rough ride, but we got there 🙂

AutoNerd

Level 1

0 points

May 9, 2011 10:41 AM in response to LaraJones

Hi guys, I have the same problem. the wifi of my MBP 2011 has been terrible for last months or 2, it keep dropping and cannot establish a stable connection.

It can connect to the router, but cannot access the Internet while my iPhone, iPad and old windows are working great without any issues at all.

Every time I tried to use the network diagnostic tool to fix it...but most of them time it got studied in the "select airport network" with "scanning...". no matter I restart the MBP or tried apple technician's method to reset the hardware by pressing shift+control+option+power button to start the MBP, everything just can't get it to work.

However, this situation only occur at home. It works fine at Starbucks and some other public wifi locations.

I am using a D-link 995 router, which I am sure it is working great.

hope my information can help to solve this problem asap.

May 9, 2011 12:37 PM in response to AutoNerd

Funny, but the "MacBook Pro Software Update 1.4" update fixed my high ping problems over wireless to my airport express, no more 250+ ms ping times 🙂 1044 packages, but none were over 3 ms. Great... 🙂 Try it, maybe your gets fixed too. (Strange that update description doesn't say anything about this)

Edit:

Oops, didnt see the previous posts about this 🙂 I get over 10mb/sec over the airport, before the update it was 7.5 mb/sec. 🙂🙂 Im glad that almost everybody is happy now 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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new macbook pro 2011 weak and dropping wireless connection