Mac OS X Lion WiFi issues

I appreciate people here trying to offer solutions but I am also disappointed by the cult like attitude that seems to be going on for some individuals at this forum who believe Apple can do no wrong. Frankly, the computer should work and no one should have to go through so much trouble with a new machine. Here is an overview of my problems for my new iMac that I bought about 6 weeks ago;

1. Some of the keys on the keyboard did not work. I had to go back to the retailer and wait there while they tried to fix it. After a while they realized it could not be fixed so eventually provided me with another one.

2. For several weeks I had consistent wireless problems when the wireless connection kept being dropped without warning or reason. Sometimes it was dropped several times per hour. Nothing that I did according to the forums here worked.

3. iDVD did not come with my computer as a part of iLife. This is in spite that on iMovie it states you can share through iDVD but when you try it does not work since the software was not on my machine. This was a major disappointment as I had been told one of the things that is better about the Mac is the video editing and the ease of making professional looking DVD's. I had to go back to retailer to ask them for the iDVD software which they burned to a CD for me so I could put it on my machine.

4. The worst problem happened a few days ago when the screen stopped working and just shows black and is completely blank. The computer is working in the background since I can hear the sounds when pressing the keyboard as well as the start up sounds. Of course I tried rebooting many times and even waited over night in the hope it would somehow fix itself. It did not. Again, I went to the retailer this time with this heavy computer which was a lot of trouble. After they checked it they told me that they could not fix it and that I had to buy Apple Care to get it fixed. I therefore bought Apple Care for around US165. I felt blackmailed by Apple and the authorized retailer and that I had no option but to throw good money after bad. This is a brand new machine don't forget. So I bought the Apple care support.

When I called the Apple Care Hotline this morning the person I spoke to suggested I take the heavy machine to another service center myself! This is even though in the Apple Care information details they say they offer home service visits for iMac's as part of Apple Care program. Only after I became frustrated with the lack of "Care" did the guy say he would send someone to take a look. I was then later sent an email that said I would be contacted by phone in the next 24-48 hours to arrange a visit! Still now I have no idea how long I will have to wait to have the new computer I bought six weeks ago up and running. I have spent almost US$2.600 on this machine (including Microsoft office pack, accessories and Apple Care Customer service).

To me Apple has become just another fat, arrogant and lazy organizations that does not take responsibility when it's products have problems or defects. Shame on you Apple. Sad to see you go this rotten.

Perhaps you did not know, byt you can get one on one help at any Apple Store. http://www.apple.com/retail/onetoone/

well, sorry you had to wait, i always try to make an appointment, but even if I dont, they get me in and out, or they tell me , we need to have me check in. So they fixed the issue with the keyborad (that is great!), how strange - and it was a new computer - hey things happen. (I was suppose to take a final Saturday, and the teacher accidentally had a password set on the file, and I was not able to take it.) As for the wireless thing, it all depends on a lot of issues, If you were using your own wifi or someone elses wifi. Most public routersm i.e., at hotels, or at resturants, will limit your contectivity. And it also depends also what your settings are. I am not sure abut the iDVD. I know it is no longer included with iLife (although if you had the boxed set it is on the disc. ) I am not sure, but you could search around on the internet for answers with that. You do not need iDVD to burn a disc, you can do that right from imovie. iDVD is just for building a menu screen. As for you computer going black, it sounds like you just had to close the lid then reopen the lid. Ok, so big deal, you had to buy apple care. If the computer is not in warranty , then you would have had to buy that, but if you were under waranty, then you extended the waranty. And perhaps it was something that needed to be covered by apple care, that was not covered otherwise. I think your frustation is heard, but I also think, it is not that bad. I would look into getting one on one help from Apple.

http://www.apple.com/retail/onetoone/ (I am somewhat knowledgable and if want you could ask me questions by email.)

There is no apple store in my area that is easy to get a 32 pound bulky machine to. Perhaps that is why Apple Care offers onsite visit and repair for the iMac. They state so in their literature. That is what I thought I just spent the extra $165 on when I was told to purchase the Apple Care plan. I was told to buy it by the Apple authorized service center/retailer which told me that the computer screen was broken and they could not fix it within the next 4-6 weeks. If I wanted my new computer fixed faster I would have to buy Apple Care. That is what they told me.

Carlo TD, I am using my own Airport wireless station and it works fine with my other computers(PC’s) and ipad. Please try to make sense and read the post before posting these holier than though Apple nonsense that are just pitiful excuses driven by a cult like attitude that stopped being cute years ago. No matter what you say the world is not going to be flat, the sun does not rotate around the earth, no matter your rationalizing of the fact. My computer is defective and Apple has not adhered to its responsibility to me as a customer. They should make this right, quickly, and not leave me hanging any longer. I have yet to get sufficient service and actually do know when I can expect a visit from them. Meanwhile my new iMac is unusable. In their email to me the Apple Care person said to me, and I quote;

“Please wait for our onsite engineer to call you within 24-48 hours. If you do not receive a call, you may reach them at xxxxxxxxx and make a follow-up”.

Are you kidding me! Now I ask, why on earth should I have to make a follow up? Was it not enough that I had to spend about 15 minutes on hold before I got someone to talk to when I called Apple Care? Was it not enough that I have had to spend countless hours trying to fix all the other issues before this one and take numerous trips to the service center/retailer? If Apple doesn't call me to make an onsite appointment, I have to follow up with them, again!

One would think they would care about making this right after knowing my situation. Let’s call a spade a spade. All right?

I disagree with you there.

Well things have been up and running smoothly for me for about 3 days now. The problem is, I have tried so many fixes that I don't know which one (or combination) finally seems to have stuck.

I have a feeling it was a combination of this tip:http://osxdaily.com/2011/11/06/lion-wi-fi-problems-solution-mac/ and clearing out anything related to my wifi from the keychain. Those were the last 2 fixes I did, and things seemed to be running ok since then.

Every other thing I tried from adding the Google DNS, to the keep alive scripts only seemed to last temporarily. The only other suggestion I followed that I believe is still in effect was changing my router channel. I changed it to 11 at one point, and I don't think I changed it back. But, I was still having some drops with just that change so I think it was the other 2. Or again, it could be a combination.

Like everyone else in the thread, I spent hours on the problem though. I am still not confident in the least that it has totally dissapeared either.

i have been monitoring these posts now for the last 2months or so, trying the odd suggested fix. what has kept me connected, the most, for the last 3 weeks is changing the wifi channel on my time capsule (set up in bridge mode) to 13.

I have a late 2009 imac upgraded to lion and a macbook running lion, i use the time capsule in bridge mode with an old echo life hg520b router and then an airport express joining the time capsule network for streaming music.

As an aside its always the airport which gets knocked out first, it dissapears then the time capsule goes, istumbler still shows the signal of the t.c as the same strength.

This fix is not perfect but better than before, for me. It seems from your post and others that changing channels till you get a good one is the best solution so far, or at least until apple pull there fingers out!

Good luck to all, and lets keep the pressure up on apple care! or does anyone know how to start a petition?

Here is a tutorial that worked for my 2010 21.5" iMac

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtxRfFAh8Pg

I took my new Mackbook Pro into the Apple store for the issue. The genius hooked up his ethernet cable and did a 500 times ping to google.com. The genius said the laptop works and to have a nice day. That did nothing to solve my issue although this is not a repeatable issue when I take it in. It's not until about 30 minutes of browsing that I get the hang up.

I have the same issue like yours after upgrading to ox lion on my iMac. Annoying. I'm wondering if getting an airport or aiport extreme by apple would fix the issue. I have a ActionTec cable internet/wireless box that is old; could getting an apple wireless box fix the issue???

I've tried all the options found in this forum, but the one that worked fo me is the one posted by anthonyfromNJ.

He called apple care and solved his connection problem this way:

Steps to Fix

1. Open Network Preferences

2. Click Advanced

3. Remove ALL of the Preferred Networks (should be completely empty when completed)

4. Ensure that Remember Networks is checked

5. Click OK

6. Select your network in the Network Name dropdown menu

7. Ensure that Ask to join networks is checked

8. click Apply

9. Restart your computer

at this point you should be good to go!

Good luck

Sammy, I so appreciate your posting another possible solution, but alas, it does not fix the problem.

I have a six month old MacBook Pro that I upgraded to Lion recently, and a brand new MacBook Air (thank you Santa) that came with Lion pre-installed. BOTH have the same wifi issue - it drops out every ten seconds and searches for a new network - which of course makes my speeds for uploading and downloading extremely slow. This issue occurs whether I am on my home network or elsewhere, such as using a client's wifi at their office, or an airport Wifi. So it is NOT the modem. It is NOT my particular machine. It is an issue with the Lion OS. I have tried at least TEN DIFFERENT FIXES suggested by people on this chat ... none have worked.

I'd like to also say that I have been a huge Mac afficionado for years, but this experience has soured me on their support, which used to be top drawer. I really find quite annoying the attitude of some here that the USER MUST BE DOING SOMETHING WRONG, or that I should "just keep trying." Obviously, I've been doing that. For a month now. The support at AppleCare has NOT been up to standard - long waits, snotty attitudes (see above description - the tone is "you poor woman, you don't know what the f you're doing" - and telling me to bring in BOTH my machines AND my Airport Extreme modem. (Why would this happen with every wifi I use if it is my modem? Why would it happen on both machines? Why should I have to lug them down there and wait, since I paid for AppleCare for both?)

There should have been a fix for this issue MONTHS AGO. Shame shame shame on Apple.

Thank all of you who have tried to share or find fixes for those of us frustrated by this issue.

A.

I meant router. Not modem. Frustration!

AbraBaby, thanks for your reply. I know now the solution wasn't that easy. I have the same problem again, and as you, I have been a mac aficionado all my life and expect better from apple support. Hope this issue is fixed soon. Meanwhile, have a Nice New Year celebration. Blessings

AbraBaby, thanks for your reply. I know now the solution wasn't that easy. I have the same problem again, and as you, I have been a mac aficionado all my life and expect better from apple support. Hope this issue is fixed soon. Meanwhile, have a Nice New Year celebration. Blessings