New Macbook Air - wifi connectivity problems

Hey guys,


Hope someone can help?


I have a brand new Macbook Air which is able to connect to the internet for just a minute or two before suddenly it drops out. This is even though the signal still shows at full strength and all my other devices are still able to surf the net as per normal.


This device is straight out of the box so no 3rd party applications have been installed. I heard that the wifi has been upgraded to 802.11n on this machine, could that be an issue?


Do i need to return the machine or is there is a software fix for this problem?


Thanks heaps!


Vicky

MacBook Air, iOS 6.1.4

Posted on Jun 13, 2013 5:55 AM

Reply
2,163 replies

Jul 24, 2013 4:33 AM in response to M. R.

M. R. wrote:


attiland wrote:


Just buy it, the issue resolved. People still have issue is most likely with their settings not with the air. In the apple store they make sure you have the update installed, so nothing to be worried about...

What an absolute arrogant statement! Get lost -

some issues may have been fixed or partially fixed but not all connectivity issues are fixed!

factual, not arrogant.

Jul 24, 2013 4:34 AM in response to vhkim

Hello guys, I have this situation. It may seem strange but:



After the update to fix the wifi network in my office is perfect and i'm on WPA personal on channel 6 to 2.4 Ghz



At my home have a router with ADSL 2 + (quite poor) to WPA2 on automatic channel, and also browse them easily. The only difference is that as soon as I connect, wifi disconnects after about 10 minutes. Of course I check this with the utility network. However, the network connects automatically after 2 seconds and remains stable for other hours.


I really can not understand this situation. However, it seems to work. What is software or hardware problem?? This is a dilemma!

Jul 24, 2013 4:45 AM in response to NordTraveller

NordTraveller wrote:


attiland

Thre're no any "their settings". MBA is a small portative computer. It should work properly with any wifi router with which other devices work. By the present the wifi issue of MBA 2013 is not fixed.

There is "their settings" I have tried quite a few things, and I found some of the issue is related to issues with user settings. I have a chance to test more than one unt due to my job, and some settings need to be done to make it working like it should. I found the issue has been resolved, and a few initial setups needs to be done. If you read what was working for others, you will see they almost all done the same.

- Set up new network location

- Set auto reconnect when network available.

- Apply the patch

- connect to network, or just add to the list


Job done.


Issue starts, when there is no security on a network, OSX tends not to remember those networks, so user needs to add them manually.

Network diagnostic is not a tool to test WIFI connection. It runs a ping test only. as been said 2 lost pings is a lost, but think about it, how long is to connect to a network. no way you can authenticate it the timeframe of 2 lost pings, so the connection was always there, but packet has lost. The problem there is not WIFI connectiviti, more to do with signal strengh, wrong chennel settings on the router (conflict with other networks)


Have fun

Jul 24, 2013 4:59 AM in response to raducan.mihai

raducan.mihai wrote:


I live in Romania and I already checked the repair procedures. They honor the international 1 year warranty. But we do not have an Apple store in Romania, there are only authorized distributors, so they will probably not change it with any new one, they will just repair it. I asked the Romanian distributor if they had any complaints about the MacBook Air's (2013 model) wifi and they said no.No complaints at all. It seems strange. Here we usually use WPA2 encryption, if that makes any difference.


The dilemma I have: should I buy in Tokyo from an Apple store or go to a reseller. The price difference is almost 200 USD ! (I triple checked, the same model, year, configuration, etc). If I buy it from Apple store I know that they will replace it instantly if I have any problems, but if I buy it from a reseller....I don't know the policy.


But I will open a new thread with this question, because this is the "wifi problems", not buying advices

If I were you I would buy it in Romania, since if you have a hardware issue, you will have trouble to sort it at home. I live in the uk, but just been to 3 countries with the new air (Including Bucarest). The update came out while I was in Romania. Before the update I had issues, after it all has gone. On the way home both of the stops I had issue before was working just fine. Also have no issues at work anymore, where before I had to set up a different SSID with WPA2 because of the Air's issue, now the other network With WPA only is workin just fine too. Yes WPA2 was a key element of the workaround before. Now I have no issue with any of the encription...


Hope that helps

Jul 24, 2013 3:39 PM in response to vhkim

i've got a custom build air and it's had this issue since purchase. the update has done nothing to change it.


the connection drops after any sustained data transfer (youtube video, transmission download, etc).


using the network diagnostic tool i am notified about the drop and can only resume network activity by toggling airport on and off.


i'm using the air with an apple airport extreme (802.11n Gig Ethernet (early 2009)) which is running version 7.6.1 of the firmware. i'd updated to 7.6.3 when this problem first appeared, however the updated firmware crashed more frequentely and created issues for multiple macs & ios devices at home as well as an appletv.


my network is using wpa2 personal for encryption.


i decided against returning the air for a replacement unit as it seems to be software related, we'll see if i soon regret that decision.

Jul 25, 2013 3:33 AM in response to eppes

You are loosing your WiFi connection every 20 seconds???!!!

If so, call Apple, they will exchange it right away!


In my case, after the patch, I now loose the connection every 30 minutes up to 5 hours...

It's very strange. Sometimes, I can get 2 or 3 disconnection in the same hour, but it seems much less after the patch.


So the script I did help exactly to be able to watch Youtube video without waiting!

Before... Youtube was just waiting for the data transfer as the laptop still think it is connected to the router.

Now, with the script, it reset the wifi network card in 3 seconds (you can adjust that by editing the parameter) and the download continue as a charm.


Thanks for the feedback 🙂

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New Macbook Air - wifi connectivity problems

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