Intermittent wifi connection (still after update fix)

Question

Intermittent wifi connection (still after update fix)

I have purchased a brand new mac book air, 13 inches, 8gb mem, I7 processor, 512 GB drive. My wifi connection is not reliable, drops frequently, and when it happens I do not always manage to reconnect. This is not a local wifi issue as other devices on the same network do not experience these issues. I made sure that i update my systems including with the last Apple fix a couple of days ago.

Here is what happens (several times a day)

- All of a sudden, the wifi icon in my menu bar turns grey.

- Sometimes, but not most of the time, i manage to reconnect by turning wifi off and then back on.

- When the previous attempt does not work, sometimes, but not most of the time, i manage to fix the problem by doing a shutdown of the system and restaring

- When this attemps does not work, shutting down my server and restarting it might work, at times

- Even this is not full proof! Sometimes, it does not work, and one hour later again, after restarting the system

- My local network is a hidden network, for security reason, with WEP protection.

- When it refuses to reconnect, it says that none of my prefered networks are available (while I know very well that my network is working, as other devices keep connected)

- When I try to reconnect by recreating the network ('join other networks'), it says quite soon 'connection time out')

This is driving me mad. Has anyone the same issues? Any hint?

Thanks a lot

MacBook Air, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on Jul 22, 2013 3:05 AM

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Answer 1

mario49

Community Specialist

Jul 24, 2013 8:03 AM in response to benoitfromganshoren

Hello benoitfromganshoren,

Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

For more information on this, take a look at:

Wi-Fi: How to troubleshoot Wi-Fi connectivity

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4628?viewlocale=en_US

Symptom: The network connection drops unexpectedly

Your Mac may not not stay connected to your Wi-Fi network reliably.
Your Mac may stop accessing the Internet during use.

Solution

Use these steps if your computer disconnects from its Wi-Fi network unexpectedly.

Check your range to the Wi-Fi router and reduce the effect of interference.If your computer is too far from your Wi-Fi router or your environment has too much Wi-Fi interference, then your computer may not detect the Wi-Fi network properly. The easiest way to check for range limits with your Wi-Fi network is to move your computer or your Wi-Fi router closer together and make sure that there are no obstructions (such as walls, cabinets, and so forth) between the router and your computer.See Potential sources of wireless interference for more information about interference and solutions.
Try connecting to a different Wi-Fi network. If your computer works fine when connected to a different Wi-Fi network, then the issue may be related to your network router or ISP. In that case, contact the manufacturer of your router or your ISP.

Best of luck,

Mario

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