Wifi Constantly Dropping in Lion

Wow, thank god this seems to be a rampant problem, here I thought it was just me. I'm adding my voice to the discussion to show Apple there are more people having this issue.

Just unpacked my brand in i7 iMac. Skipped the mitigation step because I plan on adding files and programs selectively. Only using Safari, downloaded the flash plug-in despite it being only a beta. So basically a completely stock, right out of the box setup, nothing added.

I own 2 other Apple computers in my home, both running Leopard- never had network issues before turning on my iMac yesterday.

Seems like I could lose my connection immediately after launching Safari all the way to a minute or 2 worth of internet surfing. Wifi signal strength remains at full strength, no noticeable change in the lights on my cable modem (time warner) or router (netgear N600, WNDR3700). Internet connection is lost across all systems (an old 2006 iMac and an old PowerBook, iPhones).

I feel like the connection will come back in a few minutes if I close safari and just wait, but I was also frequently shutting down my computer and rebooting.

Very disappointed to see this problem has been going on for weeks now. I'll try the "change the channel" tip, but this definitely tarnishes Apple's near flawless repuatation for me.

Still dropping the wifi...tried the following:

1. Changed the channel number...didn't think this would help, but did it anyway, no change.

2. Upgraded my router firmware...no change

3. Made sure my wireless was at the top of my preferred network list - no change

4. changed my DNS to the google public one (8.8.8.8) - didn't expect this to help as the problem is in my house connecting to the wireless...but at this point...wth...as expected, no change

So, I've now initiated a ping through terminal...will let you know if it works. Since I share this system, I started the ping in both accounts - will let you know if it works in a few hours.

Cheers!

(experience told me not to upgrade yet...not sure why I did)

OK, dragged my old Airport Express out (has no N) - configured it and connected the Lion machine with the WIFI dropouts - removed the Airport Extreme Network from the Preferences - so far, no dropouts.

Did a sleep, and wakeup. A complete reboot - all work. So is it possible that the WIFI code in Lion is having issues with dual bands. Seems that connected to G and single band has no problems.

Bob M.

You might have a really good point there with the dual band - that never occurred to me. When I chose my router, I purposely chose a single band so it would not interfere with my cordless phone or microwave and I've not had a problem maintaining a connection at all.

James (and anybody else who reads your post)... it's the ping that's the key. Or at least, has been for most people. Highly recommend to anyone else to try the ping first, as these other steps have largely been ineffective for most people posting.

The ping step is to...

* Open Terminal.

* Copy and paste the following line, exactly as is:

ping `route get default | awk '(/gateway/){print $2}'`

* And then, don't close Terminal... just "Hide" with command-H.

That's it. This will work for most users, until Apple provides a better fix.

Note that adding the DNS entry 8.8.8.8 is not essential to the fix, it just speeds things up.

(My apologies again to anybody for re-posting, but the original solution is getting lost in all the forum entries.)

I have a current generation MacBook Pro 13 inch. Since upgrading to Lion I too have been getting wifi dropouts.

I am using an Apple Airport Extreme (flying saucer) and what seems to have fixed this for me was to change the radio mode to G only and change security to WPA2 Personal.

So far 2 days running without a glitch.

Just an update for anyone that's still having the problem with the wifi...I set the ping up earlier today and I haven't had a drop since. It's about 6 or 7 hours now, the longest it's gone without a drop - by a wide margin

Mac has gone to sleep, we've switched users multiple times, and I've been online a lot today since I set up the ping and it's been fine.

I'm pinging 8.8.8.8, fwiw...seems to be stable so far. Will see how things are in the a.m.

Thanks, JTF, giving that a try. So far so good.

I requested a refund for Lion because of the issues I have. Dropping the WiFi connection is one of them (VPN, printing, lagging / beach ball). I got an answer this morning that I will get my money back.

Hi Everyone

I did post earlier on this subject. My MBP has been fine throughout. My iMac 27 did show it was not connected on waking from sleep. I have obviously not had the many, and more serious, problems they many of you had and still have. I thought I should post that the iMac is now fine and has been for several days. All I did was repair permissions several times and restart a few times. That was it. It might work for a few of you - you never know!

The hub is a BT HomeHub2 for what it's worth. I never did feel my problem had anything to do with anything other than Lion as the MBP had no problems at all after the installation.

I do have a couple of other issues - my old Canoscan 1240 is now obsolete and most of the Dashboard widgets do not work on the iMac but do on the MBP. I haven't got the time to bother with these at the moment - it's sunny outside....

Cheers

TY

JTF:

I'll try the ping solution, but I half hope it doesn't work because Apple needs to get an answer for this problem ASAP, and it hasn't even acknowledged the problem yet. Granted, I expect a whole lot from Apple, but no more than it has lead me to expect. And what it promised is that I'd never ever have to open a terminal or leave it running or implement some daffy workaround or do anything else even remotely PC like when something as basic as wi-fi connectivity gets thrown into disrepair because of its own operating system that it has been pushing and continues to push as the next best thing since sliced bread. I am disappointed in Apple. I came from PC-land with SL, and I've never had to even think about my mac's techs, sped or whatnot in all that time. Seamless, and and invisible. And when some glitch did pop up, Apple was pretty much all over it. With this connectivity issue, I could swear that Apple is starting to look just a bit like Microsoft, and it's not pretty. Sorry for the rant, but reading post after post, I just can't hold it in any more. Now, I have to think twice about the company I thought I'd never even have to think once about.

Apple is aware of the problem. Its been said multiple times that engineers have contacted people about their problems.

LandShark, I can undersand that you're steamed.

One pays for things, one expects them to work... even if we're not talking about Apple the Almighty.

But, let me just say, I spent almost all the '80s using both Apple computers and IBM PCs... I spent way too many years in the '90s using a Dell... and then spent all of 1999-now using a Mac again. I've been a high-level user of several versions of Windows and several versions of pre-OS X Apple systems... plus all versions of OS X.

And I can tell you, that it would be innacurate to say Apple has a flawless record, but highly truthful to say that they've got a record that's exceptional by comparison to virtually anybody else out there. As you write your email, programmers are most certainly furiously working on that update you're waiting for. If it's not out within a week to 10 days, I'll be astounded. And there's a good likelihood it will fix more than just the connectivity bug. They'll make up for problems you don't even know you have yet.

Microsoft has never been that responsive. Nor have the PC hardware producers. And none have taken nearly as much risk as Apple at being the innovator, which is always an area where you are much more vulnerable to make mistakes, because after all, you're the first to do what it is that you're doing.

And if Apple has been anything, which it has, it has been first.

None of this, of course, is meant to dissuade from being disgruntled. Again, that's justified at least at the basic level. But stepping back and looking at the whole, Apple does almost always get it right. And when they don't, they do work hard to make up for it. Even if it doesn't feel that way while you're waiting for them to catch up.

I wish there wasn't a hitch too, naturally, but even now with the temporary fix in place... I'm really enjoying Lion's speed. I'm also much, much more used to the new tools it provides than I thought I'd be. I can see this is the beginning of a great new phase for the operating system. Can't wait to see what we've got when 10.7.8 hits the airwaves.

JTF:

Thank you for your response and your well reasoned points. For the reasons you stated, for Apple's vision and foresight, for its truly superior product, it stands head an shoulders above the rest. I guess that's precisely why hiccups like this are so frustrating. We like those to whom we look up to be perfect, and when they're not, we pounce and pillory. We hold them up to standards no one can possibly meet and then become frustrated and angry when they don't meet or exceed them.

Thank you for the perspective and the wisdom. I look forward to a future with Apple that I can't even imagine.

2008 mbp

802.11n, 5ghz, Channel 149, WPA2 Personal, apple extreme 4th generation

I tried the ping

ping `route get default | awk '(/gateway/){print $2}'`

and every 20-40 minutes or so, i get an error

Request timeout for icmp_seq 11610

multiple times

followed by

ping: sendto: No route to host

multiple times

followed by

ping: sendto: Host is down

multiple times

followed by

ping: sendto: Network is unreachable

etc.

Then all of a sudden, back from the dead...

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=11740 ttl=255 time=0.950 ms