Q: Wifi Constantly Dropping in Lion

Everyone,  I had exactly the same problem - and I just got a patch from Apple support exact  and the problem seems to be fixed.   I was told this is a patch/fix just came out, specially for iMac dropping wi-fi problem.

I had the problem (constantly dropping wifi connection) a couple of time (seems to be since upgraded from to Lion.   the problem usually goes away the next day.  but today i got it really bad - the connection goes up and down cannot hold long enough for me finishing loading a page.

I called back to Apple support 4 times :

1.  I was asked to upgrade to 10.7.2 to 10/7.3; did that, did not help

2.  I was told to try the reset (restart and hold down Command+Option+P+R);  the connection was fine when first came up - thought the problem was fixed bu the issue came back 10 mins later

3.  I was advised to isolate the problem - boot it up with Recovery HK (not using the main OS).   I could run safari only in this mode.  the connection was fine, no problem (and boy .. the speed was faaasst in this mode).   so that isolates the problem to OS (the previous engineer was telling me a few other probable causes such as jammed channel and try change router frequency etc ..).  I was told once I am sure the connection has no issue in Recovery HD mode - I should re-install the OS.

4. However I called back anyway to double check the next step  - here came the 4th Engineer, after I told him what has been done, he immediately told me he has a patch/fix for me and email the link to me.

I installed the patch  and that was 20mins ago - it looks good still.  I do think the patch fixed the problem.

Here is the link to the said patch:  http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1501

(oops - the link was already posted a couple of pages back .. well since I typed this all up, I will leave the post here here))

Good luck!

Olivia

I also did the Command-Option PR restart (reset Parameter Ram), but not for this problem but the microphone levels were messed up. But after installing Wi-Fi patch auto connection worked at first, then stopped working then started working again. As of now it's working, but who knows?

mine is still working flawlessly since the wifi update 1.0.  Not rubbing it in... just letting you all know that it does really work for some!

DrVenture,

I followed your advice and connected my iMac to the 5 GHz of my router.  It connected ok.

I set the machine to sleep, and after 10 minutes I woke it up.

The result was even worse than with the 2.4 band, the wifi never reconnected to the network and it could not find a single wifi network around.

Went back to the 2.4 band, in channel 1 and the wifi reconnected after sleep, right now testing to see if it stays steady or drops the connection ...

DrVenture,

Well, after setting my iMac to sleep again and waking it up, it reconnected to my wifi network, but after a couple of minutes it started to drop the connection ... same problem as before the latest update (feb 24).

Update - Bad news - after applying the DL1501patch, the problem went away immediately - but came right back late in the night after I restarted my iMac for installing the new Mesage client.  Will need to call Apple support again ...

Same here. It's just hit and miss as to whether or not wi-fi connects automatically on startup. The simplest way to fix it is to turn off wi-fi and then turn it back on again. This works every time. Not an ideal solution especially if you have Mail and other internet-connected apps running on restart as they're all busy trying to connect...

Bill

Act III - I hope this is the end of the saga!

So before calling Apple, I experimented by first installing the wifi fix patch for the second time - my hunch was right, the problem went away immediately again - it looks like, at least for my iMac, re-starting rendered the patch ineffective as if it was overriden.

So I called Apple Support again, told them the problem came back after a restart.   The engineer first suggested re-installing the OS as the next step.  I pressed on why he thought this would help - given I just upgraded to the latest OS, given the pattern of the problme ... after some chat, the Engineer went to discuss the situation with his senior advisor for a any less-invastive solution and came back with one .    So here is what we tried tonight and it worked so far - restarting my iMac did not put me back to square one and my wifi connection stays solid:

Basically some steps re-setting the network profile:

1. Renew DHCP Lease

System Pref -> Network -> Select Wi-Fi -> Advanced -> TCP/IP tab -> Click Renew DHCP Lease

http://osxdaily.com/2011/11/06/lion-wi-fi-problems-solution-mac/ - found a supporting article for this

2. Removing all preferred networks:

a) Back to Advanced screen, Wi-fi tab, remove all entries in "Preferred Networks" window -> OK and then Apply

b) go to KeyChain, remove your wi-fi network's password entry.

c) reapply the wi-fi fix and re-start, re-join my wi-fi network.

Checked result by doing another re-start .. and voila  - still solidily connected.  It seems cleaning up the wi-fi connection network profile helped the fix to be fully effective.  

I have add that even though it took 5 calls to Apple Support and going thru 5 engineers to get to where I am - they were all couteous, patient and seemed to genuinely want to help and  see to my issue getting a satisfactory resoltuion.  Kudos to the "Apple DNA" for excellent user experience. 

Hope this helps..

Cheers,

Olivia

I'm really shocked to read this thread (well a fair few pages of it, but it's now 99 pages long!)..... Shocked because it's been going on since Lion's launch, and still there is no fix for it for all models...... I have various Macs, but only one on Lion, and that's a late model 2011 MacBook Pro. On introduction into my network I've experienced the Wi-Fi dropout issue many many times..... Sometimes it's ok for hours on end, but then when it goes, it really goes.

Turning off & on Wi-Fi mostly fixes it, but not always, and when it does it can be literally for a second or two and then gone again. I use the networks diags (under Assist Me) to see the status traffic lights, and when it goes the top 3 are still green and the bottom three drop to red..... Those 3 are ISP & Internet & Server.

So, I invoked my 3 months Applecare, and I got a guy that wanted to be helpful, but actually wasn't. He just wanted me to try all the P Ram and SMC resets etc.... This is terrible considering this is clearly a known issue and yet the guys that should know have no idea...... I'm afraid I do not share Olivia's gratitude for the excellent user experience as being nice is only half the battle.

After I got my new MBPro then my existing SL MBPro from 2008 also exhibited the exact same issue (but by 2006 Mac Pro doesn't), so I am pretty certain that it's Lion crowbaring my home wi-fi. I even told the Apple guy that I suspected it was a compatibility thing with my Router, as it's a few years old and I wondered if there was too much time gap between then to guarantee compatibility..... It's a Draytek Vigor 2600

My solution (I let it slip to Apple) was that I was probably going to buy a Time Capsule and turn off my Draytek's wi-fi, and so they said to let them know how that goes..... great eh?

Well I needed one anyway, and I am pleased to say that the TC has fixed the issue instantly.... whether I use 2.4 or 5Ghz it still works perfectly.

The fixes everyone's suggested throughout this thread, such as creating a new new Wi-Fi Service and refreshing DHCP etc etc are not a fix... When these "work" then it's probably just an intermittent good spell, and the fault inevitably comes back.

There's obviously an iMac patch now, but I don't know of anything for a MBPro with Broadcom wi-fi....... If I could fix it I would as then I could possibly use the Time Capsule as a network extender and turn my router's wi-fi back on.... Seems a shame to consign it to history just because one of my devices doesn't like it.

So - I am a huge Apple supporter, but I blow an equally huge raspberry to their support, as it's unforgivable that some 7 months on from release that they still haven't heard of Lion having network dropouts.

Hi people,

Been having exactly the same problem(s) as a lot of you. This worked for me though, so give it a go. If it doesn't work for you then at least you've eliminated a possible cause:

Reset the SMC. On iMac all you do is pull out the power lead, wait 15-20 seconds, plug it back in, wait 5 seconds then switch on.

For notebooks etc. please Google the correct procedure.

Hope this sorts you out,

Mike.

WSR wrote:

 

 

So - I am a huge Apple supporter, but I blow an equally huge raspberry to their support, as it's unforgivable that some 7 months on from release that they still haven't heard of Lion having network dropouts.

This is a completely unfair statement.  The support folks most certainly have heard about the wifi dropouts.  I know, because support people (engineers AND customer service reps) actually picked up the phone and CALLED ME to discuss this problem, in addition to email support.  From what I understand, they have their engineers working on it, and in fact released a patch last week for the iMac.  To say that Apple support is not aware of this problem is simply factually wrong.

Do you realise what you're saying?... When I say Apple Support don't know about the problem then I am not referring to each and every person within their organisation, I am referring to the one person that was allocated to my call, and he knew squat about it.... Why is that so hard for you to understand ?

WSR wrote:

 

Do you realise what you're saying?... When I say Apple Support don't know about the problem then I am not referring to each and every person within their organisation, I am referring to the one person that was allocated to my call, and he knew squat about it.... Why is that so hard for you to understand ?

I understand perfectly what I'm saying.  It's you that does not understand what YOU are saying.  You said

WSR wrote:

 

...I blow an equally huge raspberry to their support, as it's unforgivable that some 7 months on from release that they still haven't heard of Lion having network dropouts.

In the English language, when you use the word "they" in this context, it is meant for the entire support organization.  If you meant your comment to apply to the person you spoke to on the phone, you certainly did not make that clear.  You should have said "the support rep I spoke with" or something like that instead of inane sweeping comments that implicate the entire organization.   

You apply your own interpretations if you like... everyone else knew perfectly well what I meant.

WSR wrote:

 

You apply your own interpretations if you like... everyone else knew perfectly well what I meant.

I can't speak for everyone else, but it sure sounded like you were talking about all of them to me.

Maybe you should use singular pronouns if you are referring to one person in the future, and save plural pronouns for when you want to talk about multiple people?

Just a thought.