new macbook pro 2011 weak and dropping wireless connection

This is definitely a Mac OS firmware issue on the new Macbooks (I have a 13.3 Macbook Pro that i just bought in June). I have been having the same problem as everyone else. Heck I couldnt even get 200Mb video uploaded to Face Book without 3 tries because my connection kept dropping. The WIFI link seems up and very strong all throughout btw (i am sitting right next to with router), just the connection.

Now here is what is interesting. I constantly run a windows XP VM in Parallels for my productivity apps from work (mainly MS office). I NEVER seem to have any connection issues in the VM. Even when my browser (firefox) is unable to connect to a website on the Mac OS (Lion) itself, the windows VM internet connection keeps on chugging. I can continue to use IE 7 on the VM to surf and do whatever else without any problems.

I find that surprising because i thought that parallels was simply putting a wrapper around the network card drivers on the Mac for the VM connectivity and so the windows VM should theoretically have the same problem. But apparently not!!

I am now trying the ping solution mentioned earlier. Hopefully it works. I can see ping times all over the place and even some dropped requests.

Apple.... PLEASE FIX THIS!

I posted the follows under the bar in another thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1352518?start=0&tstart=0.

I stand by what I said a few weeks ago.

I have given up on connecting wirelessly with my MBP. The best advice for anyone with connectivity issues, as of today, is ... get a long ethernet cable!

I will eventually reformat my hard drive and re-install the OS ... but what a hassle (and again no guarantees).

My next computer will not be a Mac. A good quality PC lap-top running Linux ought to do just fine.

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Posted on July 15, 2011

I have had 8 months of problems connecting to the Internet with my MBP.

I have experienced at least 4 different types of problems. I have an Airport Extreme at home and my MBP doesn't get along with it either. It's quite common for me to find that my MBP is the only device incapable of connecting to a wireless network.

I am by far not the only user with one or more forms of connectivity issues.

It appears that a percentage of MacBook Pros (unquantified as of yet) develop wireless issues (the typology is varied) Problems arise either after a certain period, or sometimes right out of the box. Numerous discussions can be found on this topic.

There is no definitive solution to these problems at the moment. Apple itself has not expressed any interest in the wireless difficulties that are constantly arising among MBP users. No one seems to know what is causing this issue (software? firmware? hardware? some combination of these?). They can occur with 3rd party routers and with Apple routers.Unless you are an expert Mac user like William K. and have months to spend on debugging, you are in real trouble.

Anyone contemplating the purchase of a costly MacBook Pro should be aware that problems with wireless connectivity is a very real issue and will compromise the functioning of your notebook.

I consider this problem Apple's Achilles Heel. I predict that in a relatively short term wireless connectivity issues will re-dimension downward the sales of MBPs.

Totally agree with the above post. I've had this issue since buying my macbook pro in April & also a problem not being able to install a sata 3 SSD! No help from apple what-so-ever in either issue. No point in buying applecare as it wont help in this case. I will be selling this soon and going back to pcs. I've never had as many fundermental problems with pcs in the past and really thought a company like apple would have at the very least an email address to try to reslove these issues, or even a live online chat service (for free!!)

All apple seem to care about is sales, no aftercare is provided. I think apple will have a big drop in sales if this is the way they continue to treat customers & refuse to acknowledge these are problems that shouldn't be there in the first place.

Apple needs to address this problem. I have a MacBook Pro that is barely 3 months old and it is souped right up. There is no question that there is something wrong with the Airport Extreme :

Card Type: AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0xD6)

Firmware Version: Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 5.100.198.104.5)

Frequent drop out.

My wifes MacBook Pro never loses the wifi signal. Her card type is:

Card Type: AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0x93)

Firmware Version: Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.10.131.42.4)

Her MacBook is roughly 7 months old.

I'm at a point where I want my entire computer replaced. I stand by Apple but this is embarrassing.

Go to both Macbooks, download a large file while sending 50 pings to your Airport Extreme, do you get lost packets on both?

It is a brand new 3TB Time Capsule. I just installed it yesterday. I was hoping my old 1TB Time Capsule was the issue but no such luck.

I'm running 6 different computers in the house (all macs) and the only problem I have is with my newest MacBook Pro.

and the beat continues on in this sad thread.

As one who's never had the problem but tried to help troubleshoot it in this thread (and have subsequently been receiving every reply since late March!), I feel sorry for you guys. To the people that were having problems back when we were first trying to fix it, I can only feel sorry for you. You all hoped that a firmware fix of some kind would solve your problem...but even back then I told you you maybe waiting for months for a fix that may never come. Now here we are in...August...and you're still hoping for a fix.

I hope in this time you've been pro-active in trying a different brand of router *just to try it*. Yes, I know your other computers work on the same network. But yes, I've had luck in the past fixing MBP disconnects on previous models by switching out the router in favor of different routers.

TBH though, it looks like this is a worst-case scenario: the issue is not a firmware issue. Why do I say that? Because though this thread is long (indeed, this will be the 240th message message in my inbox), the reality is that there are millions of other 2011 MBP users who ARE NOT having this issue. Of which, I am one. I've never had a wifi drop of any kind, on any of my routers to this day (bought early March). Presumably, I have the same modem and firmware that all of you have, running the same OSes you all are running, yet I have none of your issues in either OS X or Windows 7 Bootcamp. It doesn't make any sense for you guys to have issues even if you format and reinstall, while I and millions of others have no problems at all.

I recommended back then that those having issues should return their Macs immediately and exchange for a new one. Some did. Others were more hard-headed. To anyone who is still within the 14 day return period for their Mac, that the sommb*tch back and (a) get your money back or (b) exchange the laptop. Dunno if you can exchange 30 days out, but try if you're past 14 days but under 30. The rest ought to be summoning the inner strength to raise holy h3ll and demand a refund.

Otherwise, sorry guys...if Apple hasn't released a fix in 6 months and going on 7...they're probably not going to release a fix. Because it's probably not something that can be fixed by a firmware/software update. And if changing the router doesn't work, then it's most likely a hardware problem. It's just a process of elimination (aka, tech diagnosis). People didn't necessarially want to hear any of this back in March...but 7 months later, I expect more to finally listen.

For the record, I have:

2011 17" MBP 2.2GHz, 8 GB Ram, SSD + HDD (removed SuperDrive), running Lion (previously SL)

Modem: Airport Extreme (0x14E4, 0xD6) | Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.100.98.75.6)

Good luck to all of you. Hopefully by some magical happenstance, a firmware/software fix is found and made available. But as we approach month 7, I feel you all are better off hoping Apple replaces your computers. It's not all 2011 MBP's. It's YOUR 2011 MBP's. You deserve compensation.

And for God sakes, don't tell people to "accept it" and "get a long ethernet cord". That's about the worst possible advice I've ever heard in my life. Raise holy h3ll and get what you deserve: a Mac that works like it's supposed to...like all the rest of us have and you deserve with your hard-earned money.

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I agree. In the end of the day, Apple will do the right thing and if you keep complaining and demand they fix it, they will either fix, replace of refund your purchase. I ended up getting a refund (more than three months after I purchased it) and bought the new MBA.

Look I dont mean to sound like you know who, but you do have the same issue and so does everyone else with early MBPs. Again not to repeat my self for the 30th time in the thread alone. Try a ping test that I suggested many times over and see what you get..... I barely get disconnect issues since I extended my network with APE which is at 300mbps and close to me, but the issue is still there.

Again for refference, open terminal start a ping to your gateway or any local IP (while on N network) start a large file transfer to another PC/MAC/NAS and see what happenes to your pings, try brownsing internet or have a video/voice call while this is happening.....

Sorry dude, but if I had the same issues I'd be complaining here too.

I've run the ping tests and posted my results more than once where I found no issues. I'm not going to be bothered doing it again because there's no point to it. I can upload over wireless N to my other computers on my network at 12MB/s-19MB/s (netgear WNDR3700) WHILE surfing the web normally, watching Netflix or doing anything else as well. and I'm talking large, sustained transfers of 20GB or more. ZERO problems.

So no, I don't have the issue you're having. I'm not getting alarmingly high pings or packet loss. I'm NEVER losing my wireless N signal. Never in 6 months has it hiccuped. I've never had a file transfer stall or fail. and again, I've posted ping results with no special anomolies. If they are there hiding and only coming out when I'm not looking like Gnomes or Leprachauns or some such...well...who cares? My daily usage has not been affected in 6 months in any discernable way! That's what matters at the end of the day. Yozhbk, people aren't posting in this thread because their internet connection was working just fine, then they decided to crack open their network config and randomly run a ping test just to do it. They've posted here because their connection was DROPPING or otherwise PERFORMING POORLY. Right? Right. I found myself here becuase I was trying to help other people solve their problems online (becuase I'm helpful like that).

Guess who IS NOT having POOR PERFORMANCE or DROPPING CONNECTIONS on their Macs? Me. And the millions of others who haven't posted in this thread or had need to otherwise seek it out.

If you're having issues, demand your money back or a brand new replacement. But understand very clearly: not everyone is suffering from dropping connections and shoddy performance. You saying I am certainly doesn't make it true. The fact that I've never dropped a connection or suffered from poor performance is enough to make my situtation very different from those who are rightly frustrated in this thread. They should all demand new computers that work, including you.

Adrian J.,

It's really just a matter of luck. You've been lucky ... so far, along with the millions you've mentioned. For those out of luck, it is a dead end.

I move frequently between Europe and The States. My guess is that some, perhaps hidden, file/p.list became corrupted soemwhere along the line. There is no solution. I cannot bring back my MBP. And Apple could not care less about this issue.

Please continue being helpful and let us all know if you have the misfortune of developing this problem too (there's no reason why you couldn't).

Cheers,

ST

Sorry I guess you have the only MBP that doesnt have this issue. I tried 100s if not 1000s MBPs now, if diffrent stores, at diffrent peoples houses and everyone has the same issue.... Everyone I asked here has the same problem.. I`m not sure how you dont or what you did. Maybe its the NetGear maybe you right next to it or in the right line of site, but again every MBP `11 I`ve seen or heard had this same issue with Pings and can be reproduced every single time.....

Certainly, gentlemen. If my Mac blows a tire and starts dropping connections, you'll all know about it. And Apple will have replaced my computer or given me a refund for me to go buy an HP Elitebook with a Dreamcolor 2 screen. :-) It's unacceptable to me that anyone would accept a laptop computer in 2011 that is flaky in connection to the internet. It's pretty much the most important thing a computer has to do next to turning on. I could not have lived with it.

I would that you all would fight for your money back more than anything else. Complacency and patience has gotten the people in this thread nowhere except angry with Apple and guaranteed to never buy another Mac again. 6-7 months in, the problem persists on your machines (as well as others who have not posted here).

I'm sorry, but the only thing I could imagine being worse than a laptop that likes to drop strong wireless signals for no apparent reason (or otherwise offer poor performance) is if the computer was Kernel Panicing regularly.

As an example: during the first 2 weeks that I had my 2011, it would hard freeze maybe 1x-2x a week. Had Apple not released an update that fixed it, you can bet this computer I'm typing on would have been on the refurb line. Sketchy computers is one thing I refuse to accept. and for your thousands, all of you should feel the same. IMO, it's now really about you guys getting your money back more than anything else.

IF you're dropping/struggling with your wifi network connection AND have ruled out the problem being fixed by a different router (yes, it really can matter even if other devices are connecting fine...though this is not a solution for many) AND have waited months for Apple to release a firmware/software update that has not and probably will not come: it's time you got some justice. People in this very thread (on this very page!) have said they successfully demanded and retrieved their money back after a few months of ownership and these same problems.

I'm hoping you all receive proper compensation for all this trouble. It's quite ridiculous.

Best.

I'd like to say to everyone on this forum, I found it because i was having the same problem when i first got my laptop.

I tried everything posted so far (pretty much anyway) and have continued to follow this thread.

Having not had a drop in several months, and I use my laptop a lot.

I found out how to do the ping tests today and tried it about 20/30 times with no dropped packages whatsoever and a steady average speed with only one spike.

I genuinely think that somehow my laptop is fixed! If i ever get it again i will of course:

1) post here

shortly followed by

2) take it to an apple store and make them fix it.

I'll be taking my laptop with me to Canada on my gap year in the next month or so, and so i plan on getting the extended applecare.

They do say that if something is going to go wrong its more likely to do it within the first couple of months than in the following few years!

I hope that you ALL manage to fix this, and i agree that there's nothing worse than a laptop that doesn't have a reliable internet connection

I'd like to say that this has indeed bruised my perception of Apple's customer service

but i wouldn't buy anything else. Done it before... never again.

I've installed Lion on my MBP15 the day it came out. Beforehand I had the same dropping WiFi problems mentioned here. Just for the record:

MacBookPro6,2

Intel Core i5 – 2,53 GHz

8 GB RAM, matte display

Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.100.98.75.6)

WiFi is 802.11n (WPA2) on a AVM FritzBox 7390 VDSL via fixed channel (12).

BT is turned off

=> MBP configured and delivered through the Apple store, no 3rd party stuff

After installing Lion the situation improved. The dropouts became much less frequent but were still there. Gradually, things got worse again. Up to today I have to say that its not possible to conduct professional work via WiFi. Neither backups to my TimeCapsule get through nor basic file access to my Qnap NAS is stable enough to directly work from the remote volume. Because of that, data loss occurs very often. Overall WiFi speed is mostly unbearable to ok.

I still do have the strong feeling that things even get worse when both my wife (MBP 15 early 2011) and I use our WiFi simultaneously and especially if the machines are within arm's reach of each other.

While being the only user on the network, I see very strange ping response – from quick 2-3 ms to a lagging 600 ms without any recognizable pattern – from one ping to another. I've also tried letting the ping test run while working – in order to avoid dropping the connection. Because this just failed, I'm here to write down that this didn't help, either.

Since I'm running out of options here, I guess I'll have to return both machines.