New Macbook Air - wifi connectivity problems

when I start my MBA it allows me to use internet for about 20 mins, then after restart it only gives me a few minutes of internet. why would that be?

After trying several solutions, wifi drops after about 20 minutes. Apple still is not expressed but I'd like to know if those who have received the fix from Apple, has solved the error. How many are we?

I got a solution for the problem on my home network from the early pages of this thread. I entered my router control panel, updated the firmware, and switched the encryption from the default WPA/TKIP to WPA2/AES. I have not had a single drop since in about 12 hours of computing. I think I would likely encounter the problem again if I took my MBA outside the home and used other networks, because most of the routers out there are running WPA/TKIP encryption.

I bought my MB Air the first of July and have had no wi-Fi problems at work or at home. However, I am currently traveling in Italy and my MB Air is having big problems trying to connect to local wi-Fi networks. Most recently we bought a TIM router with no success. I hope they send an update soon!

I bought a MBA for my wife' birthday from Apple store, and got it yesterday. It's the first time I buy a laptop from Apple. The machine is well made but when I tested it I found it drop wifi for every 10 seconds! I am unable to use Internet at all ! Then I googled and found I am not lonely with the same issue. Very frustrated and disappointed with Apple product. 😟

For reasons you all can imagine, this thread might seem pretty desperate. Just remember that those who have been selected to join the Appleseed program are not allowed to give feedback here and even if they find the offered fix successful, they cannot say so here. You might take that (and I wouldn't argue with you 🙂 ) as a good sign.

Chris

Sounds promising! I do hope Apple speaks up sooner then later. The silence has been deafening! Hope a fix comes out before too long.......and after spending a large amount of money on a MBA that refuses to play nice and stay connected to the Internet, I hope Apple does the right thing and chooses not to charge us extra for that fix! This has been and continues to be a major problem with my work and is expensive in the time and effort it takes to attempt to get anything done without stopping to reboot every 5-10 minutes!

Not that I have any special knowledge at all, I can't imagine a reputable company like Apple charging for a fix.

BTW, when you mention rebooting, don't you find that simply switching off Wi-Fi and then switching it on again will let you reconnect?

Chris

Toggling the wi-fi allowed me to reconnect when I was experiencing the issue before I fixed it by changing my router settings. It would just disconnect again shortly afterward, though. Rebooting the system had no discernable effect, nor did any settings I tried tweaking on the MBA itself. The voodoo solution of keeping the Network Preferences window open in the background didn't really work either, though at least that let me see when I was disconnected as the menu bar would keep showing a connection long after I had dropped.

Since the problems ceased for me after switching to WPA2/AES encryption, I would guess that the issue is centered around how the MBA's ApplePort adapter communicates with older encryption models like the WPA/TKIP configured as the default on many routers. Basically, it's future proofed in spades, but not quite now- or yesterday-proofed. 😉

I don't think that Apple charges for fixes per se, but it is amazing at times how things start working again when one gets the OS update immediately following a problematic one, i.e. Snow Leopard fixing Leopard issues, and Mountain Lion fixing Lion issues.

Actually Apple has charged for a fix in the past when problems have been present, so I would not be surprised if they charged for this.

At times I am able to simply switch the WiFi off and then back on, which still is frustrating, shouldn't be happening and takes time. At other times I have to force close a program, shut the Air off and then restart it. All of this increases the amount of time in using the Air for work whether it is switching it on and off every few minutes or needing to do a reboot. The amount of secrecy and Apple's unwillingness to speak to the issues of the MBA problems only adds to the frustration.

wofsie wrote:

Actually Apple has charged for a fix in the past when problems have been present

Please elaborate. When did this happen? And what was the issue?

Ta

In the past when system issues arouse with new products, the fix was when Mountain Lion was released. It cost $20 to purchase and download the new OS. While that may not be considered by some charging for a "fix", after purchasing it the various glitches were fixed. If the "fix" for the current WiFi issues can be fixed when Maverick is released, I suspect it will cost $20 or more to purchase the program. I don't mind paying for an upgrade to a new system, but in this case if the new MBA can't work with Mountain Lion and it was released prematurely, whatever fixes the issue should be free to those if us who have been living with the troubles with the new Air. If the Maverick system allows the new technology of the 2013 Air to work in the house as well as anywhere WiFi is available, my hope would be there would be no charge to us.

Okay, but then I need to ask what specifically was broken that ML fixed? (In my experience, I tried ML on my 2011 Air, but battery life sucked compared to Lion, so I downgraded).

In either case, if you're right and it'll have to take a Maverick upgrade to fix this, my MBA is long before returned to sender.

I just received it some hours ago, and so far I haven't been able to really test wifi, audio fluctuation or Photshop brush issues (except so far with this WPA2-based ASUS-backed wifi, it's been stable). My first setup I thought I could mount my iSCSI-based Time Machine backup and migrate after the setup assistant, but "duplicate user name" — d'oh! Then a re-install of OS X with a USB-based time machine fed to the setup assistant. Beach balls galore in Finder, a reboot and it never reached the desktop. Trying a re-install once more made the laptop hang after 15 minutes, and a hard reboot resulted in having to do an internet based reinstall. Currently running.

Apart from that, the keyboard seems quite crappy compared to my 2011 MBA. Squeeky sounds and a right Alt key that just seems to float around. Actually, the entire right side of the keyboard seems shabby.

Oh well, I'll stop ranting about that crap. What I wanted was to ask specifically what ML fixed. And then I'll return with a status once I've tested wifi and whatnot properly. I'll be doing a Win7 bootcamp install as well, so if any issues arise in OS X, I can compare to that.

Sorry for the rant.

No problem with a "rant"! I think we are all frustrated and tired of trying to use a laptop

That was supposed to conserve battery time and make life easier, not take all of the time and energy we are using in an attempt to make it work!

There are old posts and on this posting alone reference links to the fixes after ML came along. Those posts can probably answer your questions in more depth and detail then I can.

I know with my first new Air I got after it was first released in June, I installed the update that came up for the Airport express, and within 30 minutes the Air started having the WiFi issues. I suspect it would have started acting up even if I hadn't done the update. When I got my second and current Air it was not working with WiFi from the get go. Updating my router firmware and changing the channel to WAP-2 has worked much better in my home, though it still shuts down at least twice during he day. Took the Air to 2 different coffee shops and it wouldn't stay connected more then 10 minutes. I have not installed the Airport express update that comes up after discussing it with an Apple tech. I decided while it may make no difference, since the Air is staying connected for longer periods of time with the router changes, I am not taking any chances. I am just waiting for Apple to tell us what is going on and how to fix it. At this time I think we are all grabbing at anything that might make it better until someone tells us something from Apple.

Very frustrating. Sorry, I don't think I fully answered your question except to say look at some of the links provided on this post from earlier. Sorry for my rant!

I had experienced the same wi-fi connectivity issues as almost everyone else on this thread. I returned the computer, and was given a new one. I am just wondering if the problem will continue to persist and if it seems as thought it's affected all or the majority of 2013 MBA owners?

Since the new MBA that I swapped out is working well now (day 2 tried it on several different routers w/o issue), can I be confident in it? I have 14 days to try before returning it. Has anyone experienced having the computer for awhile without issue, and then having it return again?

Thanks!