Wi-fi off and will not turn on - MacBook

I was sure my wifi adapter was dead, but the AtlantaElise solution worked for me too. I feel silly for not thinking of it! I think you may have to hit "apply" once more between steps 2 and 3. Thanks!

I had the same issue on a friends late 08 unibody macbook. i opened it up, checked the cables that attach to the wifi card, it's in the hinge, so strange design wise if you ask me since the exaust is right in front of it. i put it back together and I wiped the OS since she had a backup and gave me consent, and even after the restore, wifi still was not working. i had a usb wifi adapter, i told my friend she can use it. it's an asus usb-n10 adapter, fairly small. here's where things get very strange. I installed it with the drivers from the asus site, connected it with no problem using the asus connection software. then i see that the wifi bars were visible again. i click on it, connect to my wifi and it was fine. i unplug the usb wifi adapter, internal wifi was still working. reboot, still working. rebooted another 5 times, still working. i did this last friday, december 27th, still working without the usb adapter to this day. and i hope it keeps working! such a strange "fix", but perhaps initiating another wireless device helped wake the internal one up.

Thanks. Worked for me too!

Elise's solution worked for me. Brand new 2013 11 inch macbook air. I encouraged my wife to switch to a mac and this is the third panicked call I've gotten in two weeks since getting the computer :-( So much for macs just working.

Hi AtlantaElise, you are such a lifesaver. Thank you so much for your solution! It worked on my sister's laptop, which is barely a month old! It's been having problems with its Wi-Fi connection (hardware not installed) and we've gotten it reformated, and we were so devastated when the Wi-Fi acted up again. But thanks to you, we got it working again! Super super grateful, you have no idea. God bless!

I have upgraded to mavericks, and that is when this happened to me on my 2010 MacBook Pro. I tried the fix but after about 30 minutes the wifi goes dead again and I must again apply the fix and restart. I have submitted my own question on the discussion but no response has come yet. I'll post a link here, where I have listed all the fixes I have tried that worked but not for more than 30 minutes.

Here's what I said

garfieldster22

Jun 3, 2014 12:03 PM

Last night whilst using my mid2010 Macbook Pro, My wireless card appeared to have turned off completely, randomly. In the menu bar, the wifi looked like it was connected, but when I clicked on the rounded-triangle shaped icon, it just gave the option to click to turn on wifi. I clicked it again and again, but to no avail. The wireless card would not turn on. After googling the issue on my phone I found that if I cleared the files in library/Preferences/systemconfiguration/ and then rebooted, the wireless would work perfect for about 20 minutes, at which point the problem would resume until I repeated the process. Now, I cannnot even see the wifi option in the networks panel of system preferences, and when I click the + sign to add it, the wifi is not listed as an available connection. I am almost certain this is a software isse and I can't afford to take my computer in for repairs. The ethernet port appears to work for now, but it too was disabled during this time as well a couple times.

I also zapped the PRAM, but no changes are apparent.

MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2010), OS X Mavericks (10.9.3)

I have this question too (0) Reply Categories: Internet & Wi-Fi, Using OS X Mavericks Tags: wifi_issues, wireless_adapter_malfunction, malfunctioning_wifi, wifi_software_problems

I've loaded the Maverick update 10.9.4 and my old problem with wifi 'off' at startup has returned - this, after Apple's update notes declare the problem fixed. Fortunately, AtlantaElise's fix still works (see page one of this thread). I've seen other threads that seem to describe garfieldster22's problem and am hoping I don't fall into the same pattern of wifi connections being interrupted for no apparent reason.

Just had this issue on my wife's MacBook. Tried the suggestion by AtlantaElise and it all works perfectly again. Thank you!

this scheme works for the 2008 macbook pro 15" until reboot when it must be repeated (every reboot.)

holds connection after sleep, though.

Who ever gave the tip about deleting the airport access and restarting the mac. Thank you it worked like a charm!

Early 2008 macbook

Brilliant!

Worked for me!

I highly recommend that fearless owners of elderly Macs try iFixit. They publish easy-to-follow guides to teardown specific models and replace specific components. They sell tools and tell you where to buy replacement parts. I have been doing my own upgrades and drive replacements for 15 years, and it just gets easier.

The unibody Airport card replacement guide is here: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Unibody+Model+A1278+AirPort+Card+Replacemen t/8987.

This repair is categorized as difficult.

They also have an incredible iPad app.

Many thanks from Montreal. Wifi back on the job in a jiff.

merci again

bjg

SOLUTION IF AIRPORT IS NOT FOUND AFTER RESTART!

Hi ChrisZam,

I had the same problem with my MacBook Pro from 2011 (operation software 10.6.8). After a year my wifi stopped working, I went to the mac store and had to pay 175 euro's for a new airport card (the problem was so far that my mac uninstalled his own airport card -_-). after the fix, it worked just fine but the problem reappeared a year later... by searching the web I found a solution that spared me money but cost my guarantee (my mac was 2,2 years old). I opened my mac and carefully pulled out the cable connecting my wifi card with the motherboard (please make sure your mac is completely off!). After that I reinstalled it back in the motherboard, that fixed the problem. Unfortunately it was a temporary fix... when the problem reoccured I did the same thing over and over again.

Note: the problem can occur faster after each attempt.

Just today (3-21-15) I found this post on my quest on finding a permanent fix for this problem. (TNX AtlantaElise! Great job!) Only I had the same problem with the restarting of my mac that the Airport is not shown in the + of the network system preference. Fortunately i found the solution for this fix!

SOLUTION:

First you follow the steps of AtlantaElise. If the airport wont show up in your network system preference, shut down your computer and reset PRAM:

1. Shut down your computer

2. press and hold Command - Option - P - R

3. Startup your computer

4. When your computer starts up for a second time, release the buttons.

(This is for 10.6.8, find on apple support if the PRAM is the same with your operating system!)

Everything would be just normal and your airport would be automatically been reinstalled. If not, check your network preferences and add AirPort like AtlantaElise mentioned.

Hope it would help (you or some one else),

Gr GB