Q: New Macbook Air - wifi connectivity problems

Dog school, you are right. Nothing comes close to the MBA that's on the market right now. I don't think anyone should be worried about getting one because if you do happen to be the unlucky people that get a defective unit, just return it for a new one. Explain to them the issue and after proving to them you're not an idiot, they will send as many replacements as it takes. I had one defective MBA sent to me with the volume and wifi problems so I sent it back, they sent me a new MBA and this one was scratched, I immediately sent it back and got a perfect MBA which I've had no problems with for almost a week now. The performance is awesome and so is the battery life, nothing else even comes close, that's why I dealt with this problem and you all should too because its most likely you won't even have the problems I had.

Would love to see better quality control from apple though, that's really gone downhill in my opinion. They should build their computers here so they have more control, it's not like they need that extra cash. I had issues with my iPhone 5 when I got it, there was a big scratch on the front and my replacement, I swear to god has the same problem my MBA had with wifi.  I can never finish a video on my phone because it drops wifi, no matter where I am. And they refuse to fix this because too much time has passed and it bugs be because I didn't think that it was my device at the time.

I too am attempting to "roll back" to .22 from .35...I've downloaded IO80211Family.kext however, when I went to System/Library/Extensions in Finder to move the existing IO80211Family.kext to the trash, to my surprise the Extensions folder is EMPTY???  PLEASE HELP....my latency issues are super annoying!  Thanks!  Oh, and BTW...I never installed the 1.0 WiFi update, however I did install an automatically downloaded software update yesterday.  Interestingly, I had ping issues prior to installing this update, although now they're much worse.  I purchased my machine the day it was released - 13 inch, I7, 512GB, 8GB.

meighancardenas -

You went to HDD/Library/Extensions

You need to go to HDD/System/Library/Extensions

Thanks so much orchetect....would you be so kind as to tell me exactly how I get to HDD/System/Library/Extensions?  The way I got there last time was pulling down on the "go" menu and clicking on "go to folder" and I put in /Library....clearly, that wasn't correct.  THANKS!!!

Orchetect:

Nevermind...I actually found it!!!  Quick question though...I've been reading that the 10.8.5 update is supposed to be released any day now and is expected to address this very issue (latency issue).  Should I still do the "roll back" to .22?  Will it affect my ability to update to 10.8.5 when it's released? 

THANK YOU!!!  I proceeded with the "roll back" and IT WORKED like a charm!!!  All my pings are now under 2..YAY!

Hi headcase!

I have been evaluating the new MBA.  This would be my first Apple purchase since I have been on Windows  forever. I really like the MBA, for one thing, because I was turned off  by Windows 8.  My requirements are that the PC be small, be light, be  portable, have an easy to use interface, be a reliable/quality device  from a vendor with good support.  I won't go into other more  software-based requirements because the MBA meets them. I discoverd the  wifi issues with MBA doing my research and have read every comment on  this site.

FYI, my background is over 30 years in  the computer software industry working mostly for vendors. I don't have a  lot of knowledge about networking. I am retired now living in  Charlotte.  

I looked at what seemed to be the  only comparable alternative (Windows 8 however) -- the new Sony VAIO Pro  (Haswell). Interestingly,I found there were reported Wifi issues with  this machine.

I am currently limping along with a  Dell that I do not trust (has problems).  So I need a need a new PC  sooner rather than later.

I thought your would be a great person to bounce questions/thoughts off of:

(1)  First, after  looking at all the posts, I have hope that I could get an  MBA with no issues. If It did have issues, making sure that it had the  .22 driver should alleviate any issues. Would it come from the factory  with the .22 driver?

(2) My current router is old  (3 years). I think I would buy the Airport Time Capsule just to make my  life easier and hopefully ward off problems. Also, I think the  integrated backup function would be good

(3) I am  condisdering buying the "one to one" support for the first year because  this is a new environment for me and to make the make the migration  easier.  Can I believe the guys at the genius bar will not mess up my  machine?  

(4) Should I wait to order an MBA? If so, how long?

Thanks! 

meighancardenas -

There's no guarantee what the wireless driver for the 2013 MBA in the 10.8.5 release will do, except per the release notes, remedy the known AFP performance issue that is unlrelated to this thread.  We will have to wait and see upon the public release, and I posted earlier here that I will test it and post my results shortly thereafter.

Per orchetect's point earlier on this thread, you can always just apply the 1.0 Software Update if you have any concerns before upgrading to the 10.8.5 release -- no biggie.

Hi Texan forever -

Responses in line:

(1)  First, after  looking at all the posts, I have hope that I could get an  MBA with no issues. If It did have issues, making sure that it had the  .22 driver should alleviate any issues. Would it come from the factory  with the .22 driver?

- Its likely that if you purchased a 2013 MBA now, it will still have the original .22 wireless driver, given how Apple tends to roll out updates vs. OS maintenance releases.  But the only sure way to tell, is to just buy one.  Either way, the ability to install the .22 driver is pretty trivial if need be.

(2) My current router is old  (3 years). I think I would buy the Airport Time Capsule just to make my  life easier and hopefully ward off problems. Also, I think the  integrated backup function would be good

- Yeah, as long as you're content with the wireless range of the unit, its certainly the most "plug & play" of all the wireless routers (and storage) on the market today.  Usually only networking power users like me tend to get a little frustrated with the lack of options on Apple's routers, but otherwise, highly recommended for the masses - very stable.  And by upgrading your 3 year old router to AC, you're enjoying the higher bandwidth for moving files around on your LAN, etc.

(3) I am  condisdering buying the "one to one" support for the first year because  this is a new environment for me and to make the make the migration  easier.  Can I believe the guys at the genius bar will not mess up my  machine? 

- In my experience, the Genius guys are well trained and know their stuff.  I have faith in their work.

(4) Should I wait to order an MBA? If so, how long?

Nah, if it were me... I'd pull the trigger now.  As I've said a few times now on this thread, really the 2013 MBA is a top notch machine -- one of the best models in my 25 years of consuming Apple desktops and laptops, as well as Windoze machines.  I honestly think the main issue affecting people is the more problematic .35 driver, and that's just software at the end of the day.  And based on my testing, $5 bucks says that you running a 2013 MBA with the .22 driver, wirelessly connected to a Airport Time Capsule, will be rock solid.

Just to keep everyone in the loop, my replacement air arrived and already had the 1.0 software patch installed (so .35 firmware out the box).

Needless to say it's been sent back and I've now for a refund. 

Did you test it with .35 driver or did you apply the .22 driver before sending it back? Why did you send it back: disconnecting or ping problems?

Exactly the same ping problems so even with my new 802.11ac time capsule, group VoIP meetings and RDP isn't reliable enough (or useable a lot of the time) for me to be able to rely on the notebook.

I also need it to work in boot camp as well so changing the kext in OS X doesn't fix the windows problem.

Hi

I have read some of the previous posts and am wondering where to start or not!  I resent having to muck around with the Netgear which works fine with my other PC and laptop.   I'm not technical either and am worried I would muck something up.   I intend to phone apple care this morning.  Did anybody manage to fix this connection problem?  Thanks.

I CAN NOT believe Apple is not addressing this WiFi disconnection issues. Why its taking sooooo long to come up with a fix?

Tried it with 2 different TimeCapsules (N & AC). iMac, iPad, iPhone, Apple TV works fine, but not the MacBook Air. Returned 1 already and trying the 2nd one - still having the smae issue.

TimeCapsule: up-to-date

MacBook Air: up-to-date [OS X 10.8.4 (12E3200)]

Airport Utility: up-to-date

PRAM Reset: Done

Called Apple care and they are not open after 9 pm EST. Mind boggling!

Where is the quality control and support?