New Macbook Air - wifi connectivity problems

This is very interesting insight, thanks for that. Hopefuly, somebody from Apple will follow ...

Duly noted, but buying an airport extreme is no solution when you want portability..... Right?

As I said before, mine works fine. But it's a custom model (i7/8 GB), I suspect it was assembled later than most standard configurations that were sold recently. It would be interesting to know if ye folks all have base i5/4 GB configuration, or if the WiFi bug manifests itself also on enhanced configuration.

I’d be surprised if the problem is not at least partly linked to HW (otherwise, every MBA should be plagued), maybe a batch of suboptimal RF chips. RF is not as simple as logic circuits: it's not about toggling from 0 to 1 and back; it's about amplifying linearly weak signals, and that's a totally different trick.

Right, if portability is what you are after than the AirPort can only help where your computer calls home. For me it has been a good solution cause I take my iPhone and iPad with me when I go places and leave the laptop at home, with the AirPort. Given the fact that these wifi issues seem to only happen in the MBA's than I assume that it can be fixed with a simple software update. Apple has already ackowledged the problem, though the "Geniuses" will deny it, and even go as far as to say that the wifi bug is just a rumor.

I also have an i7/8gb and it has happened to mine. As best as I can tell, it is limited to specific environments. I had two routers that I had the issue with, apple has those routers now.

Thanks, so it’s not related to the actual configuration.

As far as I understand, it happens also when the MBA is close to an AP, so I guess the RF section is innoncent, at least the RX part. Now, for the TX channel, something may be wrong. If the chip broadcasts at too low a RF level, and the gain of the first RF stages of the AP is too low, it may choose to disconnect and renegociate the link, which would lead to a disconnect/reconnect cycle.

It would be interesting if somebody could setup a point-to-point link between one defective MBA and another Mac, and monitor the S/N ratio.

I have i5, 1.3 13 inch, 8 GB and 256 SSD. Had it since June 18. Running it at home off a Sagemcom router ( supplied by ISP), WPA2- PSK (AES), 2.4 Ghz,b/g/n on channel 11. No dropping wifi connections.

Pierre

Looks like it works in the air, connected to Gogo wifi

🙂

i7, 8gb, 128SSD with wifi issues checking in.

From day one my MBA was dropping the connection to the DLink 615 router at my house. The connection was dropping probably every 1-2 minutes repeatedly. I admit was downloading a large file via the distributor so this may have had an effect on the wifi connectivity (reletive to the less frequent drops I am experiencing now). Those who are more tech savvy can address that point. I decided to contact apple support where they ran me through a litany of tests which concluded in reinstalling the iOS. This installation failed as I received an error message stating that there was a disk error (concerning).

After contacting apple support I made an appointment to see a genius. While in the apple store, my wifi did not drop once. I purchased an airport express which I had no problems on. The genius also stated that I need not worry about the disk error that occurred the day prior and that I should be able to update to the new iOS with no problem in the future.

I also went to starbucks and paneras in order to test my connection. While it felt at times the connection had dropped, it would re-establish it's self after refreshing the page several times or simply waiting for 15-20 seconds (I did not have to turn the wifi on and off or restart the MBA).

I updated the firmware for the DLink router I own at my other establishment which has somewhat alleviated the problem. ATM I only have the connection drop once per 30 minutes - 2 hours. Still it can be very annoying, but I am not sure what can be done. It seems as though it may just be a compatibility problem with the DLink router I own.

Anyway's I have been in contact with Apple support throughout this entire process (the customer service has been phenomenal). I plan on contacting the senior manager who has been assisting me tomorrow morning to update him.

Why has nobody mentioned this?

Those having wifi issues, are you running I7 processors….. or I5 ?

Ive seen too many with issues running I7.

Conclusion being (maybe) that the I7 might be causing RFI or EMI (radio frequency or electromagnetic interefence) since its so close to the wifi antenna.

Of those with errors, dropping wifi, are most those with 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 chipsets?

There could be a bleedover 2.4Ghz harmonic causing SNR (signal to noise problems) sourced wifi drops.

Ive notice Apple Inc. seems overtly interested in scoping out problem Airs SNR reports.

Hey everybody I think I found a fix for my particular problem maybe this can help you guys too.

I just purchased the 13inch model for my girlfriend a few days ago and I have been experiencing many of the same issues as everybody else on here.

I have a Westell 7500 wireless router and after being connected for less than 30 seconds the connection will time out and only reconnected after restarting and then it will do the same thing all over again.

I called my ISP (century link) and after troubleshooting for about an hour the technician suggested that I change the wireless channel from 6 to 11.

It WORKED, I have been online for an hour with no dropouts I have even shut down and restarted her MacBook a few times and it has had no issues connecting and staying connected.

Hi!

Still no problems with my new MBA 13".

I keep reporting here becuase I think it's helpful for Apple and you guys to know what completely accidentally worked out of the box.

I realise that it could be seen as irritating, insensitive and carping. Thanks to you all for not saying so.

Anyway, I noticed that NoorAbulibdeh has found using channel 11 works. Quite by accident, that's the channel my MBA used from the get-go.

The rest of my setup can be found by searching for Cloudi in this thread.

@mechanic are you sure that the people who've replaced the MBAs are having the same issue?

That's true. It's good to see that Apple is working on a fix for this problem. I've now installed AirPort Extreme and all the hickups are gone. But like you said, that isn't a solution for those who want mobility.

Here's one hoping to see the fix released soon 🙂

I have the same issue on my 2nd one