New Macbook Air - wifi connectivity problems

Hi! My MBA arrived today (13", i7, 8Gb, 256Gb).

I have been running it for 5 hours running a variety of WiFi intensive tasks (downloading and uploading 1Gb file, streaming video, email, looking at websites with lots of tabs open, downloading the programmes I like - cyberduck, textmate, chrome).

Speedtest.net gives me 101Mbs download and 4.7Mbs upload speeds to the internet. The download speed is DOUBLE what I usually get at this time of day in the UK on my 120Mb cable (Virgin Media).

Network Utility reports WiFi @ 1Gbit/s on 5Ghz and 144Mbit/s on 2.4Ghz connections to my home routers.

I don't have iPerf 3 set up - sorry.

My routers are both brand new 802.11 ac dual band. That's:- 802.11n @ 2.4Ghz & 802.11ac @ 5Ghz. All on WPA2 personal. I have not changed the firmware from new on either router.

One router is a Lynksys EA6500, the other is a Netgear R6300. Both boast 450Mbps + 1300 Mbps on a good day with a following wind!

AND, in 5 hours, I have had no WiFi drops of any kind at all........

So, my shiny new MBA which starts from cold in 9 seconds after a software update (Sunday's latest) and instantly from sleep is delivering internet performance the like of which I have not experienced before at home. There is no doubt this hardware playes very nicely with the new (unratified) 802.11 ac WiFi standard. This is in keeping with virtually all the posts heres, for example when tested at the Apple Genius bar or with the purchase of the latest Airport or TimeMachine with 802.11 ac connectivity.

That's the good news....

Before you get too irritated with my luck (and empty purse), the bad news is that it will be a different story for me tomorrow when I go out to work with my MBA, go to the Gym with my MBA and go to the coffee shop with it.....

Following that lot (during which my BMA will be a pain), I'll go on to my prebooked Genius appointment and ask how long I can keep this particular box before returning it for a refund to buy a Viao........

1: I have a 13' ' macbook air, 8gb, 256gb model and have had similar problems like the rest here.

2: It's not a USA only problem since i'm from Holland and encounter the same problem.

3: What works: Changing the router from WPA to WPA2 seems to solve the issue, at least at home... Fingers crossed. Hope they will come with a fix ASAP.

I had been running WPA2 and still had issues at one point, I wonder if he changed from tkip to aes encryption.

I heard that may be a possible 'solution', but that of course won't help when you are on a network you do not control.

Major issues here. Just got the 11" 2013 MBA and fresh out of the box there's WiFi dropouts like mad.

No other WiFi devices have issues, so it's definitely the MBA.

I've freshly updated the router hardware to the latest ver (D-Link DIR-655) and toyed around with numerous WiFi settings (WPA2, TKIP & AES, AES only, 802.11n only, etc.) with no change - still dropouts every few minutes, with the same symptoms as others have described here. When it happens, the connection appears to be solid (WiFi signal shows full) but actual network connectivity is severed, pings are lost, etc.

I'm now trying a different router (AirPort Extreme, 2011 or 2012 model, can't remember) and so far it's more stable. No major drop outs yet.

This issue is starting to get excrutiatingly annoying. My new MBA 13 drops out from a known good router randomly, often a few times a minute.

The only thing I can do to restart the connection without rebooting is to run Network Diagnostics, over and over. I've tried WPA/WP2 with both TKIP and AES protocols. The only way I can maintain a reasonable connection otherwise is by using an Apple Airport Extreme or by using no wireless security.

This MBA replaced a mid 2010 MBP plagued with the notorious random shutdown video card issue, and that machine replaced a 2008 MBP with the also notorious Nvidia 8600GT issue. Seems like Apple are having a bad run lately!

In typing out this reply I have had to reset the connection four five six times.

There are several reports that those showing up at the Genius bar proving the wifi issue are - "getting ethernet to thunderbolt" connectors as a temp. resolution "until the problem is fixed"

I presume logically this must mean it is (I hope I hope) definately a sofware or firmware fix and NOT a hardware issue.

Update: seems AirPort Extreme is not a safe bet either. Getting some dropouts after a while.

This is what it looks like when I've left ping running in the Terminal. I see sporadic dropped packets usually, but once in a while an outage like below. The network will go dark for 10-40 seconds then a HUGE jam of messages arrive all at once (starting at the ~43000.000ms dump further down):

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4759 ttl=63 time=37.199 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4760 ttl=63 time=63.018 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4761 ttl=63 time=9.831 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4762 ttl=63 time=4.858 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4763 ttl=63 time=138.654 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4764 ttl=63 time=133.288 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4765 ttl=63 time=7.538 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4766 ttl=63 time=123.398 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4767 ttl=63 time=45.358 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4768 ttl=63 time=46.083 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4769 ttl=63 time=18.672 ms

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4770

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4771

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4772

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4773

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4774

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4775

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4776

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4777

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4778

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4779

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4780

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4781

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4782

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4783

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4784

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4785

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4786

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4787

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4788

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4789

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4790

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4791

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4792

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4793

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4794

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4795

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4796

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4797

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4798

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4799

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4800

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4801

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4802

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4803

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4804

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4805

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4806

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4807

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4808

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4809

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4810

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4811

Request timeout for icmp_seq 4812

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4770 ttl=63 time=43979.793 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4771 ttl=63 time=42986.990 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4772 ttl=63 time=41995.254 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4773 ttl=63 time=40995.081 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4774 ttl=63 time=39993.884 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4775 ttl=63 time=38992.763 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4776 ttl=63 time=37991.675 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4777 ttl=63 time=36990.469 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4778 ttl=63 time=35989.269 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4779 ttl=63 time=34988.038 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4780 ttl=63 time=33986.842 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4781 ttl=63 time=32985.671 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4782 ttl=63 time=31984.508 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4783 ttl=63 time=30983.336 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4784 ttl=63 time=29982.851 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4785 ttl=63 time=28981.698 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4786 ttl=63 time=27980.539 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4787 ttl=63 time=26979.348 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4788 ttl=63 time=25978.151 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4789 ttl=63 time=24976.960 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4790 ttl=63 time=23975.785 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4791 ttl=63 time=22974.669 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4792 ttl=63 time=21973.465 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4793 ttl=63 time=20972.277 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4794 ttl=63 time=19971.091 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4795 ttl=63 time=18987.121 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4796 ttl=63 time=17985.928 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4797 ttl=63 time=16984.723 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4798 ttl=63 time=15984.261 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4799 ttl=63 time=14983.065 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4800 ttl=63 time=13981.932 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4801 ttl=63 time=12980.774 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4802 ttl=63 time=11979.572 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4803 ttl=63 time=10978.375 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4804 ttl=63 time=9977.183 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4805 ttl=63 time=8975.982 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4806 ttl=63 time=7974.832 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4807 ttl=63 time=6973.735 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4808 ttl=63 time=5972.618 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4809 ttl=63 time=4971.323 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4810 ttl=63 time=3970.111 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4811 ttl=63 time=2968.909 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4812 ttl=63 time=1967.748 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4813 ttl=63 time=966.552 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4814 ttl=63 time=34.591 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4815 ttl=63 time=68.985 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4816 ttl=63 time=2.265 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4817 ttl=63 time=38.644 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4818 ttl=63 time=8.923 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4819 ttl=63 time=4.835 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4820 ttl=63 time=9.367 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4821 ttl=63 time=22.647 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4822 ttl=63 time=3.832 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4823 ttl=63 time=16.185 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4824 ttl=63 time=9.793 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4825 ttl=63 time=25.500 ms

For what it's worth.

I got several calls from Apple Engineering as a result of my "complaints"... I finally called back and worked with a guy who dialed in to see my settting etc and we talked over the nature of the issues I had (documented here earlier in the thread) and he said they knew there was some kind of issue and they were collecting data to try ad resolve..

after 45 min or so on the phone, he asked that I run the wireless diagnositcs wizard and let it run for 24 hrs so he could call back and discuss the results and get the file etc... In order to be sure and test the right network, he asked that I unplug my new airport extreme (which, as I reported earlier, had effectively solved my problems and tho I know it wasn't the best solution, I was content) and run the diagnotics on my original network that I had issues with.

I left it running all night. I missed his call this eve, but when I got home I found the file and sent it along to Apple.. Then I checked a few websites. Read up on the sports news, checked my email, surfed a while and was about to go off to bed when I realized that my extreme network was still unplugged... I am still connected to the "problem" network (my oridnary home network) and I was successfully online longer than I had been ever before... so I ran through 20 ro 30 sites...no problems..

I'm not sure what it all means, but my issue seems to be resolved (my home network was the only one I got hung up on when I got my new 13" mba a week and a half ago... (I was back on pages 6-8 or so)... I"ll keep checking it and I"ll reach out to the Apple dude tomorrow... but my regular connection seems solid now and quicker than before... then I'll turn up the extreme again and see how that compares...

Strange..

Just in follow up, did you have the Network Diagnostics open and running when you checked those pages? Previously this has been noted in this thread to maintain the connection.

This is probably just a coincidence, but since posting my complaints earlier in this thread (page 18), I have not experienced a single dropout on my home network. I haven't changed any settings on MBA or router -- it's as old and crappy as ever -- but so far, knock on wood, I am maintaining an internet connection for an hour or two of work with no interruption. This comes after 3 solid days, prior to my post, of consistent dropouts.

Does Apple have some way of pushing a fix to my MBA based on my post up above? I wouldn't have thought so. Either way, I am lucky/happy at this moment.

A Santangelo wrote:

Does Apple have some way of pushing a fix to my MBA based on my post up above?

Doubtful your connection would stay up long enough for it to be pushed. </tongue in cheek>

I have a brand new MB Air. I'm having issues with the wifi.

With WPA : deconnections each 10 mns.

With WPA2 : everything's fine.

Hope this helps.

what router are you using psavoyaud ?

The latest Apple Airport Extreme.

D-Link DIR-655 was giving me continual dropouts.

AirPort Extreme 4th-gen was giving me continual dropouts.

AirPort Extreme 5th-gen seems mostly stable so far, but not conclusive.

All have latest firmwares & WPA2 enabled.