Q: Wifi Constantly Dropping in Lion

i also am having this problem... it mostly happens when my lion computer goes to sleep.. everytime i come back on it's greyed out and logged off the wifi.. i have to restart it.. it sometimes happens when im just working here.. im on 10.7.2 and still have this issue..

Richie Hofherr wrote:

 

i also am having this problem... it mostly happens when my lion computer goes to sleep.

If the system sleep (hibernate) ALL external interfaces are switched OFF to save energy.

If "wake for network access" is checked only the network interface will wake up periodically to check if a network event had occurred.

To wake up the system from sleep you should press the power button shortly. It's  not necessary to restart for wake up the system.

Lupunus

Richie,

Can you turn off Bluetooth on your system and then try ? Which channel are you using for your wireless network ? If you are using 5 Ghz, pick channel 36 - 48.

My MBP started dropping WiFi immediately after upgrade to Lion.  I worked with Apple techs and a genius - no luck.  Over the weekend I bought a new iMac and immediately began having the same issues.  Tried a couple things mentioned here.  In the end, it turns out my router (Linksys W600N) needed a firmware update.  Completed that and now, 24 hours later, problem resolved.  Best of luck to all still struggling. 

i have the wifi problem even after update to 10.7.2.

i think is a problem with the modem because every time when change my location in the house  the wi-fi diagnostic tool show the "BSSID changed to " event.

my modem is a "Arris" for network and telephony and use the channel No 3.

OscarVir wrote:

my modem is a "Arris" for network and telephony and use the channel No 3.

That's a cable modem. Model name?

arris wtm652g.

Very interesting! Today and over hte past day or so, it seems I have been experiencing Wifi Connection issues and dropping signal.

I thought I had licked the problem after doing the correction suggested here; downgrading the Atheros firmware -- but things were buggy again. Then I realized, I had upgraded the Lion Software the last few days around the time iOS 5 was announced and guess what? The software update also updated my Atheros Firmware/driver back to the original version in Lion.

So I'm following those directions again and downgrading the Firmware to keep my WiFi steady again. If you have an Atheros Wifi chip, then you can fix the problem accoringly.

Follow Rys Sommerfeldt's suggestions and very detailed instructions

Hi lupunus

Thanks for this useful information.

Any links to similar information on what output Wi Fi users should expect when using the available range of tools would be much appreciated.

May I also say a big THANK YOU for the information you posted about removing Wi Fi settings completely before setting them up afresh.

My Wi Fi connection is still rock solid for almost 3 weeks now.

I wish more members apprciated the the effort that you, and other knowledgeable folk, put into helping the community.

Power to your elbow, very best wishes,

Frog

There are many posts above that should be directed toward Apple, if you do not wish to contact Customer Support directly please visit:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/

Remember this is a User to User Forum, Apple do not respond to questions raised here, if you think that Apple need do something tell Apple not this Community.

If you have a problem please include the Full Details of the Issue & those of the Equipment + Software you are having problems with.

Help the willing, unpaid, non Apple employees who are ready to help you. It wastes their valuable time and effort asking for information which could easily be provided along with the details of you problem.

Thank you.

Yes, let Apple know about this WiFi issue, post your feedback at:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/

OscarVir wrote:

 

i have the wifi problem even after update to 10.7.2.

i think is a problem with the modem because every time when change my location in the house  the wi-fi diagnostic tool show the "BSSID changed to " event.

Your Arris WTM625G according to the specifications delivers 802.11b and 802.11g wireless.

Therefore, if the signal fade a bit the Mac switches to the better reachable BSSID.

You should change the radio mode to "g" only and the channel (if possible in your environment) to one of the overlapping free channels (US-1,6,9; Europe 1,5,9,11) with a 5 channel gap to the strongest wireless in your neighborhood.

Eventually enable the QoS option.

You should also change the local domain name from ARRIS to local.

Eventually enable upnp too.

If you use cordless phones, place the phone base station(s) as far away as possible from the wireless (access point) router.

Eventually (if possible) fiddle with the location of the router (access point) for better signal.

Lupunus

lupunus

"Your Arris WTM625G according to the specifications delivers 802.11b and 802.11g wireless.

Therefore, if the signal fade a bit the Mac switches to the better reachable BSSID."

This would only be true if the Arris modem has two radio MACs (one for B and one for G which I highly doubt).

Here is a small script you can run to give you a better insight as to what is going on. Open a terminal and do:

while true; do date; /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Resources/airport -I; sleep 2; done

Just copy and past the above line into a terminal and let it run. When you get the BSSID change notification in the kernel.log, look at the output of the script to see if the BSSID truly changes.

Also please paste the output from the following terminal command:

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Resources/airport -s

(Sorry if you have already done this, but it would be great to get an up to date scan list).

You could turn up airport logging and paste the output here when you gert a BSSID change. Open a terminal and do:

sudo /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Resources/airport debug +alluserland +alldriver +allvendor

The output will be placed in your kernel.log. Reproduce the issue and paste about 5 minutes of the log before and after the issue happened. Be warned though, if your WEP or WPA/WPA2 PSK key will be shown in the output so you may want to blank that out. Or just change it after the test.

To turn off airport logging do:

sudo /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Resources/airport debug -alluserland -alldriver -allvendor

I am guessing what is really happening is the Mac is getting removed from the WiFi network (either the Mac is doing it or the AP is bumping it off) and the Mac has to due a full Auth/Assoc again.

Also, the non-overlapping channels are 1,6 and 11 (and 13 in countries that support it), not (US-1,6,9; Europe 1,5,9,11). http://www.moonblinkwifi.com/2point4freq.cfm

Just to clear,

When WOW or WOL is enabled, the interface will wake periodically to look for a "magic-packet" not a network event. The only time you should enable WOW or WOL is when your Mac is attached to a switch or AP (e.g. Apple Base Station) that supports this "magic-packet" to let the Mac know it needs to wake up.

This of course is completely separate from PS that wireless uses where the Mac relies on the DTIM in a Beacon to know when to wake up and expect in coming traffic.

DrVenture wrote:

This would only be true if the Arris modem has two radio MACs (one for B and one for G which I highly doubt).

I guess so cause ...

OscarVir wrote:

 

because every time when change my location in the house  the wi-fi diagnostic tool show the "BSSID changed to " event.

It can also be the BSSID cache is getting flushed and/or the Mac has to due a fresh Assoc not a reAssoc so it counts the BSSID as new every time it connects to it.

The tests I outlined should point this out fairly easily.