Q: New Macbook Air - wifi connectivity problems

I had several issues with ML as well. The latency bug but also several drops of the wifi connection.

For me the .22 driver solved it for ML, but I haven´t tried this for Mavericks yet. But I can confirm that the latency bug is still there running Mavericks.

When I was trying to find the best solution I came across some other interesting issues:

1. There is no connection loss using Mavericks since I configured my Airport Express (the old one) with settings Wifi Standard g only (not b+g) and also changing WPA/WPA2 to WPA2 only. Might have been the solution for me or just one of these settings, I will test things out on the weekend. Latency is ok, but still not as it should be (1-200ms pinging the router, before the change it varied from 20 to 2000ms).

2. When I was trying the new configuration of my Express, I came across another interesting but sad issue:

As soon as I´m connecting my USB 3.0 Backup HDD to my LEFT USB 3.0 port, wifi connection screws up in no time. I´m not even able to reconnect to my network, it asks me to enter the password which is saved and then it says "Not able to connect..." After unmounting and disconnecting the USB 3.0 HDD it suddenly works again.

andQlimax wrote:

 

Ping latency is NOT the issue in this thead.

 

The issue is the connectivity DROP: suddently (every 10 / 30 minutes) you are not able to browse anymore, the wifi is connected with full bar but you have to wait from 5 to 30 seconds to have connections again or disable and enable wifi again. This is the issue that appaear with some modems/routers.

 

This is the problem people should test and really important to have it solved.

 

This weekend I'll let you know my experiece after the mavericks update.

JCC123 wrote:

That may have been the original problem but it's no longer a problem as most people have said that the ping problem is their main concern and can be easily reproduced EVRYWHERE, even at Apple stores with their demo units.

Incorrect JCC123. The wifi dropout is still the problem and is what this thread is about.

The latency ping issue is not the problem this thread is about, this was created by Apple bringing out a patch to try and solve the wifi dropout problem. The patch did not solve the wifi dropout problem, instead it added another problem, the latency issue.

People are solving the latency issue by rolling back to the orginal wifi software version .22. This must mean that they are back where they started from. They have a wifi connection that keeps dropping out.

If the wifi dropout problem had been solved properly, and not a thrown together fix, the latency problem wouldn't exist.

As Qlimax, Rosemember and Hunberry have said latency is not the problem.

This thread is about the wifi dropping out and that is what we need to have solved.

I agree drops are the issue.

In my case it is really strange. My MBA got 'infected' some four months after purchase with a lot of drops.

I had these bad drops up to a month ago, went through Applecare with reboots etc etc and the problem was still there on my office router, fixed elsewhere. Then it gradually got better, almost stopping completely. No drops, just erratic pings (which I monitor but is not a serious problem). 

Yesterday updated to Mavericks and back it comes again. Unpredictable drop frequency, none at all in one hour, then 2-3 in 10 minutes.

I will go back to Applecare and see where they're at. It's like a flu and somehow it can get better...makes no sense.

Yet no disconnects. I tested my own network with a TP-Link TL-WR841ND and tried AES and TKIP+AES.

I will keep testing because in lion it used to take some days before it started dropping.

I tried too on my university with enterprise config and worked fine.

Russets wrote:

 

andQlimax wrote:

 

Ping latency is NOT the issue in this thead.

 

The issue is the connectivity DROP: suddently (every 10 / 30 minutes) you are not able to browse anymore, the wifi is connected with full bar but you have to wait from 5 to 30 seconds to have connections again or disable and enable wifi again. This is the issue that appaear with some modems/routers.

 

This is the problem people should test and really important to have it solved.

 

This weekend I'll let you know my experiece after the mavericks update.

 

JCC123 wrote:

 

That may have been the original problem but it's no longer a problem as most people have said that the ping problem is their main concern and can be easily reproduced EVRYWHERE, even at Apple stores with their demo units.

 

 

Incorrect JCC123. The wifi dropout is still the problem and is what this thread is about.

 

The latency ping issue is not the problem this thread is about, this was created by Apple bringing out a patch to try and solve the wifi dropout problem. The patch did not solve the wifi dropout problem, instead it added another problem, the latency issue.

 

People are solving the latency issue by rolling back to the orginal wifi software version .22. This must mean that they are back where they started from. They have a wifi connection that keeps dropping out.

 

If the wifi dropout problem had been solved properly, and not a thrown together fix, the latency problem wouldn't exist.

 

As Qlimax, Rosemember and Hunberry have said latency is not the problem.

 

This thread is about the wifi dropping out and that is what we need to have solved.

Yes, and my suggestion is for you to go to Apple and demand that they give you a replacement. Problem solved.

There are litterally millions of current gen MacBook Airs out there and with the exception of a few of you, all of us have now perfectly operating wifi after the Mavericks update.

I know that sometimes it's difficult to accept that you're the person who unfortunately got stuck with a lemon, but that happens, even with Apple products. So, instead of wasting time trying to solve Apple's problems just go get it swapped out and start enjoying a great product. We all have better things to do than to act as Apple engineers.

THIS thread is about wifi drop on a user DISCUSSION FORUM.

It is clearly not trivial to get replacement for intermittent problem where it is not even clear what the cause of the problem is.

YOU JCC123 are waisting OUR time.

Arguing back and forth about whether ping times are or are not an issue for this thread is not productive.  Please stop.

Would other MBA owners who had the WiFi drop-out problem, please share your status with the Mavericks update?   Much appreciated.

I know this is not an MBPr thread, but anyone hear/read feedback re: whether the new MBPr's with a/c WiFi are having any drop issues?

I've waited so long to update a 2008 MB,  I'm on the fence now choosing MBA or MBPr; only 8 ounces difference in weight, and battery life of course shorter on MBPr.

This thread has 1,776 replies.

I find it really annoying that not ALL of those replies addresses exactly my wifi issue.

This is my thread.

Good times ;)

JCC123 open your thread "my ping is high"

anyway, back to the wifi drop, it's not an hardware fault, and that the reason why apple engineers keep contacting some of us to collect logs, and the reason why they keep updating wifi drivers..they contact us clearly for the wifi drop, not for high ping

they know that is a software problem with SOME (probably very fews ) routers, that's why you see relatevely few people with this problem

it's probably solved by mavericks, as someone said..I can test the router wich usually give me problems this weekend and will let you all know the result.

I had no problems on my 2013 MBA, which I have had about 90 days, until I downloaded Mavericks. Now it will not keep a wifi connection after it goes into sleep mode. I had never downloaded the first update and things worked perfectly wish I had not downloaded Mavericks. Prior to download I had the .22 driver and using WPA2 on a Cisco router that is about 1 year old. Also using high speed cable modem.

Nearest Apple store is 2 1/2 hour drive. Headed there tomorrow. Real pain in the rear and aggravating to say the least.

I have a 2013 MBA connected to an Airport Extreme 6th gen.  I have installed Mavericks and have not experienced any problems at all.  I have to admit that the ping times seem to be a little longer on the MBA but from a users perspective response time seems fine.

From my view this problem is a non issue. As long as I see comperable download times with my iMac, in 802.11n mode, I am happy.

I agree with andQlimax, this is not a latency issue.

I love wireless wrote:

 

I have not yet seen a lag when I remote in via SSH or any other program. Once you SSH'ed in and have commands going on, it should not lag anymore. Can you try on any other Mac like 2012 or 2011 Mac device and see if it has the same SSH lags as you have seen with 2013 MBA?

SSH over Wi-Fi is perfect on the iMac (late 2012, Mavericks), no lag at all. Same accesspoint (AirPort Extreme 802.11ac), same SSH server.

Since you didn't experience any lag on an SSH terminal on the mid-2013 MBA, I figure you must have had other traffic in the background (check tcpdump) , or you are constantly typing at a rate of 5 or more characters a second!  

Phil,

which brand of USB 3 drive is this ?

CSL (with ASMedia 1051 controller), this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aluminum-enclosure-backward-compatible-anthracite/dp/B00 E0KSZJY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382678921&sr=8-1&keywords=csl+usb+3.0

There is more time one the weekend so I will try one or two different enclosures from other brands, but since it is only a serious issue on the left port, I doubt that other enclosures will do better.

Somebody wanted to know about Mavericks-upgraded MBA's not having WiFi problems.

This is my second MBA. When I got it two weeks ago, I did a clean re-install with the latest OS (10.8.5 IIRC), and my only problem after that were the random ping times, which I don't really consider to be a problem. So, no dropouts, and it connected with a number of public WiFi hotspots, as well as at the office. I did not do any driver tweaking. After having installed Mavericks, it still has the random pings. No dropouts. I have yet to test it at public WiFi spots and the office, though.

Cheers,

Kim