Q: New Macbook Air - wifi connectivity problems

I`ve had a few of mine vanish too...mysteriously.

Worked like a charm. Thanks orchetect.

PING 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1): 56 data bytes

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=2.328 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=3.158 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=10.971 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=2.035 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=4 ttl=64 time=3.162 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=5 ttl=64 time=7.476 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=6 ttl=64 time=2.156 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=7 ttl=64 time=1.738 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=8 ttl=64 time=1.840 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=9 ttl=64 time=2.634 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=10 ttl=64 time=2.401 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=11 ttl=64 time=1.410 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=12 ttl=64 time=10.249 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=13 ttl=64 time=3.277 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=14 ttl=64 time=2.607 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=15 ttl=64 time=1.833 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=16 ttl=64 time=6.094 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=17 ttl=64 time=3.565 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=18 ttl=64 time=1.950 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=19 ttl=64 time=2.787 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=20 ttl=64 time=1.630 ms

Hello Guys,

Thanks to all of you guys for posting such valuable thoughts in this thread. I have a MacBook Air 2013, i7, 8GB, 128 SSD. I have tried all the methods suggested by both apple tech support and this forum and it is definitely getting better but i'm not sure whether the problem is fully rectified. Let me list out whatever I did and may be you guys can help me out here.

First right out of the box, I installed the 1.0 patch without testing the wifi on machine. I used it with a Linksys WRT54G2 router (WPA). It worked fine but I didn't had the knowledge of ping tests or .22/.35 driver issues then and so I didn't care about it much. It seemed to work fine but had some drops occasionally. When I tried to use wifi on a Belkin F5D8235 "N" router (WPA2 Personal) that's when I happened to see complete wifi drops (my older MacBook Pro 2010 still works like a charm here!). I called Apple phone support and after several times of trying (this is my second Mac air within the last month!), they suggested and made me redo the patch update 1.0 upon telling them that I already did and was aware of what they were talking about...Fail.... The person even suggested to connect an ethernet cable directly to a MacBook Air (!!!) to do some network testing. Really??? It's a MacBook Air!!!...Fail... They also suggested to reset the NVRAM/PRAM...Little better. Wifi started to work at the least. I was suggested to update firmware on both of my routers...Little better.

Upon trying all those methods, I stumbled upon this thread with all these great information. So I started trying all the methods suggested here. I tried buying and installing the EdimaX ew-7811un wifi card. The network was getting better and all of a sudden there was a network blackout and since then I stopped using that. I wasn't quite convinced to use an external device to make this $$$$ product work. I tried ping times with the patch 1.0 and it was around 25-30 ms. The last but not the least, I tried re-installing the OS X and I didn't install the patch 1.0. Definitely better ping times than the previous OS X with the patch, with some occasional drops. I'm not sure whether the ping results are good/best? Also about the hardware itself. Is it good or bad?

Do you guys think I should return this machine and wait and buy a new one until they fix these issues. Fyi, I'm still under the 30-day period.

Thanks for all the help.

-----------------

Ping has started…

PING google.com (173.194.33.34): 56 data bytes

64 bytes from 173.194.33.34: icmp_seq=0 ttl=55 time=12.979 ms

64 bytes from 173.194.33.34: icmp_seq=1 ttl=55 time=15.768 ms

64 bytes from 173.194.33.34: icmp_seq=2 ttl=55 time=19.474 ms

64 bytes from 173.194.33.34: icmp_seq=3 ttl=55 time=194.666 ms

64 bytes from 173.194.33.34: icmp_seq=4 ttl=55 time=16.174 ms

64 bytes from 173.194.33.34: icmp_seq=5 ttl=55 time=18.943 ms

64 bytes from 173.194.33.34: icmp_seq=6 ttl=55 time=19.286 ms

64 bytes from 173.194.33.34: icmp_seq=7 ttl=55 time=20.750 ms

64 bytes from 173.194.33.34: icmp_seq=8 ttl=55 time=14.426 ms

64 bytes from 173.194.33.34: icmp_seq=9 ttl=55 time=16.170 ms

--- google.com ping statistics ---

10 packets transmitted, 10 packets received, 0.0% packet loss

round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 12.979/34.864/194.666/53.319 ms

Just remember, as I alluded to earlier for orchetect when he wanted to take the risk of manually reinstalling just the original .22 wireless driver on his 2013 MBA (as opposed to restoring your Mac OS via normal methods):

1) if you look back on the support forums over the last few years, this very method can introduce other complications for your Mac, as there may be other modifications and file dependencies within the OS update, beyond just that one driver file change

2) furthermore, once you try to upgrade your Mac to the next OS release (e.g. 10.8.5), other issues can likewise crop up at that point in time

3) in turn, Apple support would likely say to the owner "hey man, your on your own" until you wipe clean, given the inherent complexities introduced when you do something like that

orchetect understood the risks before taking the plunge (its just software at the end of the day, so nothing major)... but for the casual user, just a heads up before you leap. 

And for others who are still having connectivity issues with the original .22 driver, per my earlier posts, try another router that I tested against before installing the .35 driver that came in the 1.0 Software Update.  Some folks are using routers that are many years old, and its like driving a brand new Ferarri that is using 8 year old gasoline.  In fact, as someone who is in the networking industry, I can only say that in many instances the problem lies with the router and not the laptop.  Remember that it always takes two to tango in the wireless dance.

But hopefully all this will be a moot discussion once the next rev of the wireless driver comes out from Apple engineering and Broadcom's engineers, in terms of the dropped connections with the .22 driver for a minority of 2013 MBA owners, and the latency issue with the .35 driver for all 2013 MBA owners.

satpak -

Per my last post and earlier posts on this support thread, my advice is try using another router (like the ones I tested against) and sticking with the original .22 driver and see what your results are.  I suspect you'll be seeing 1-3ms ping times and solid connectivity.

Thanks headcase.

I was under the impression that re-installing the OSX from scratch would automatically roll back to the .22 driver? I'm not sure how else I would bring back the .22 driver. Can you please suggest methods?

Yes you are correct, satpak. 

I was referring to the manual method that orchetect used, by manually reinstalling the .22 driver onto his MBA that already has the 1.0 Software Update installed, and hence has the more problematic .35 driver in it.

The normal means to roll back to the .22 driver is by booting from your Recovery Partition, and rolling back the entire OS to the 10.8.4 that originally came with the Mac.  See instuctions online on how to do that.  If too cumberson, you can either:

a) wait until Apple comes out with the next rev of the wireless driver

b) use the manual method orchetect used (and has been done before, per my last post), and deal with any issues should they possibly arise.  But hey, its just software -- just giving folks the heads up in taking that "easier" approach

Ah. I see.

Should I try his method too. I already tried and reinstalled the OS X (..restart Mac and hold down the Command and R keys) and haven't installed the patch, as per your advice.

Upon looking at others' ping times, mine seems to be bad (12-15 ms) and there was one around 190 ms. Is that normal? Could that mean bad hardware?

Sounds like you already installed the 1.0 Software Update and running with the .35 driver.

You can easily confirm what wireless driver is running on your MBA, by going to About This Mac --> More Info --> System Report --> WiFi and look at the last two digits of the firmware (.22 or .35).

Here is the information:

Firmware Version:          Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (6.xx.xxx.74.22)

Ok then you're good. 

I recommend confirming your ping times for 20-30 pings against that router's address (e.g. 192.168.0.1 or whatever address its at), and see what your experiencing.

Alright. Thanks headcase.

I think now its around 5-6ms but still I have a couple of them around 10ms. Here are the results:

Ping has started…

PING 192.168.2.1 (192.168.2.1): 56 data bytes

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=6.337 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=6.708 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=5.342 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=6.605 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=4 ttl=64 time=21.090 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=5 ttl=64 time=6.779 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=6 ttl=64 time=4.961 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=7 ttl=64 time=8.676 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=8 ttl=64 time=9.610 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=9 ttl=64 time=6.405 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=10 ttl=64 time=6.352 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=11 ttl=64 time=6.143 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=12 ttl=64 time=8.034 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=13 ttl=64 time=6.220 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=14 ttl=64 time=5.528 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=15 ttl=64 time=7.663 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=16 ttl=64 time=1.445 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=17 ttl=64 time=9.065 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=18 ttl=64 time=4.774 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=19 ttl=64 time=7.838 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=20 ttl=64 time=6.245 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=21 ttl=64 time=4.851 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=22 ttl=64 time=9.290 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=23 ttl=64 time=6.874 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=24 ttl=64 time=8.384 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=25 ttl=64 time=7.702 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=26 ttl=64 time=5.787 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=27 ttl=64 time=6.768 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=28 ttl=64 time=1.685 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=29 ttl=64 time=6.989 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=30 ttl=64 time=10.138 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=31 ttl=64 time=6.152 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=32 ttl=64 time=6.125 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=33 ttl=64 time=5.862 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=34 ttl=64 time=6.275 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=35 ttl=64 time=10.065 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=36 ttl=64 time=11.670 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=37 ttl=64 time=7.247 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=38 ttl=64 time=6.232 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=39 ttl=64 time=6.504 ms

--- 192.168.2.1 ping statistics ---

40 packets transmitted, 40 packets received, 0.0% packet loss

round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 1.445/7.161/21.090/2.955 ms

Looks solid.  The higher ping times can be affected by lower wireless signal strength, interferance from other devices, etc.

Now go have fun on the Net.

Thanks headcase. I may also look into some newer wireless routers.

Sounds good.  Stronger wireless coverage from one of the top routers is always a good thing.  See the list of models I tested against (all rock solid when running the latest router firmware), or refer to SmallNetBuilder.com for the latest rankings.