Q: New Macbook Air - wifi connectivity problems

Maliath,

I have it workking with the Asus RT-N 16. This is what I am running on it:

Router Model Asus RT-N16

Firmware Version DD-WRT v24-sp2 (06/08/12) mega - build 19342

CPU ModelBroadcom BCM4716 chip rev 1

CPU Clock480 MHz

What does the non working dd-wrt firmware and CPU models say for you ? Try the version I am using. I see no issues with it.

Just wanted to give a summary of my experience so far:

My router: Netgear WNDR3700v2 running the latest official stock firmware

this router has several devices wirelessly connected to it including an older Macbook Pro (late 2007), two iPhone 5s, a couple of android tablets, an xbox, and a windows HTPC all working flawlessly throughout this ordeal.

Summary:

I ordered a 13" i5/8gb/256gb model from the website the same day they were released at the WWDC. The device that came immediately had wifi issues. It would connect to my home wifi and would work for anywhere from 1 minute to 15 minutes and then it would lose it's connection. After dropping, the machine would no longer be able to see ANY wifi networks until it was rebooted or it came back up from sleep mode. This happened both on the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz networks.

Turning wifi on and off via software had no effect after the wifi dropped. If i turned it off and on prior to the drop, then it would function correctly until it dropped. I took this unit back to the apple store and it exhibited the same behavior on their wifi network. It did seem to take longer to manifest though. The genius felt it was a software issue and not hardware related. I don't necessairly agree with his diagnosis but either way the laptop was exchanged. I needed a working unit for a trip later that week and didn't have time to order another one from the online store.

The new unit I came home with was a 13" i5/4gb/256gb model and that machine worked perfectly on my home wifi. It had no issues whatsover and the wifi never dropped. It also worked great on the hotel wifi at the resort I stayed at.

I ended up returning the 4gb unit and placed a new order for one with 8gb of memory. The new CTO unit is being "processed" and I assume it will arrive sometime later this week. Hopefully it will not be a dud.

Is this a common issue or it happens by chance? Anyone don`t have wifi issue?  Was going to buy the new air til I saw this post last week

I can also confirm that it works fine on a Belkin F9K1001 v3 running the stock firmware F9K1001_WW_3.00.03

I have been on this router all day, connected to a WPA2 (AES) wireless network.

Hi gmc Don`t know why I can only see your last reply when I log off apple account. I read through this discussion yesterday but can`t remember all detail, how did you solve the problem? Have you try with other wifi like public wifi or hotel? I want to buy one in two weeks so I can get tex refund when I go abroad, or you recommand me to wait til this solved by apple?

I've held off on replacing an almost 5 year old 2.4 Ghz Intel Core Duo 2 Macbook, 13",  for more eight going on nine months now. This is a bummer.  My first 'hold' was when new 2013 MBPr's were having loud fan issues.   Apple released a firmware fix for the 15" MBPr about 3 weeks after the blogs lit up with the problem,  but to my knowledge did not release the same fix for the 13" MPBr - and I want  13" size.  Customers are still reporting fan problems with the 13" MBPr.

When rumors about new MBA's having ac WiFi ramped up, I decided to wait longer and go for 13" MBA and a new Airport Extreme Base station & Airport Express. With  MBA  Haswell,  lighter, longer battery life,  faster WiFi vs.  (still overpriced) Retina display seems fine. I think it might be a while before we see 12 hour battery life with a Retina display.  I never watch movies/t.v. on my laptop, I have a beautiful home theater for that - but speaking of my HT, there's no  Airport Express with a/c WiFi yet and that's how I connect my home theater to my WiFi network. The incoming cable internet signal is wired to an outlet in the lower part of my duplex, and that's where it needs to stay.  Without an a/c Airport Express upstairs, my bandwidth to my HT will not be upgradeable, yet.  Unless i buy one new AE Time Capsule and one AEBS - which seems so overkill and $$$. 

So.

I'll hold off another month or so, until  Apple releases a firmware update.  It should not take longer than that.... but as a long time Apple customer of 30 years, it is sad to see these quality and timing issues. 

Who thought it was a good idea not to roll out ac airport express simultaneously?

flinlov, I only saw your response in my email, not on here... odd.

I haven't 'solved' the issue on my end, though I have figured out how to reduce it's occurrence.  I am going on the road for a week, so it will be interesting to see what happens at the hotel.  I am bringing my airport express, just in case...

I know they are working on it, and i am sure they will resolve it.  I have the option of returning up until Friday the 28th, but I don't think I will be doing that.

Was about to purchase the new MacBook Air, but after reading so many complaints regarding New MBA's wifi problems. I think I have to wait till Apple officially admit and fix the issue. Hope they will do it asap.

An Apple engineer called me this morning and I spoke to him for one hour. Apple is very much aware of this issue and are actively trying to figure out what is causing it. So far they don't seem to have a solution.

All in all this is good news. At least it is something.

Yeh me too, can`t see your reply in this page, thats weird. Thank you, I will wait for one more week to see hows going with this problem, have fun with your trip, tell us if your device is good on your way.

Try changing security to WPA2 Personal and Security Key to AES. This helped me in the sense that the wifi connection is automatically being picked up after dropping for a couple of seconds. No security also seems to work well.

No perfect solution but better than restarting all the time.

I just wanted to let you know that I got an email by an Apple engineer.

<Edited by Host>

Same. I received an email like this last night.

It is legit right?

Hi everyone,

I purchased my MBA 13" three days ago in Paris, and I am also experiencing some wifi connection drop issues...

but it seems to drop only for my internet browser!! google chrome is stuck, but my torrent client is still able to download as if everything was normal ... strange, no ?

what do you think about this? has anyone experienced the same thing ?

so, I called to Apple Support (Czech Republic) and they gave me this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379
I'll give it a try and post here back.