macbook freezes when wifi is on

Question

Level 1

8 points

macbook freezes when wifi is on

I've had this laptop since 2009, and for the past year or so i keep having problems with it freezing. I've put off this problem for a while, mostly bc i can use an ethernet cord without if freezing, but since moving into a new apartment i can only use wifi.

So the problem is my macbook will completely freeze every so often when i have my wifi turned on. the mouse and keyboard freezes, (command+option+escape doesnt work) , to clarify it just freezes completely, there is no spinning wheel or anything, and the only thing i can do is a hard power off. even when i'm not running many programs, it will still freeze. sometimes i can go hours without it freezing, and sometimes it will freeze within minutes of turning on the wifi.

i've tried resetting PRAM, doing virus scans and cleaners, i think back when i had OS X 5 i tried repairing permissions (i have since upgraded to OS X 6). i dont know what to do!

does anyone have any ideas about what i can do?

if i have to take it to the store, any idea what it would cost, and would they have to erase the hard drive? (i dont want to erase my hard drive, reinstalling programs and everything is too much of a hassle/stresser for me).

thanks

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Aug 19, 2013 11:41 AM

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Answer 1

Ottanta7

Level 1

4 points

May 8, 2017 3:03 AM in response to idonda

Thank you Idonda!! I didn't know how to restore my mac 13" (2008), I really thought it had reached its end. I had already reinstalled Snow leopard with no results. But it went back to life after turning off the iPv6 :) thank you!

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Answer 2

PattyHB

Level 1

4 points

Aug 11, 2017 1:11 PM in response to paulinax

Had the same problem with Cincinnati Bell Fiberoptics and the Zyxel modem. The solutions I read here and other places online with the IPv issue were helpful but not complete. I talked to countless Cinti Bell technicians and then finally found one that was helpful. THE SOLUTION: Make sure that you leave the IPv4 turned ON using DHCP and turn OFF the IPv6. That solved by problem! Thanks everybody!

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Answer 3

paulinax Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 19, 2013 11:55 AM in response to paulinax

also i have 2gb of RAM, in the activity monitor it says im using 1.38.

my computer isnt slow or anything. i tried using CCleaner to get rid of junk files and stuff but it only got rid of 60mb. i don't know if that has anything to with my computer freezing or not....

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Answer 4

MortyN96

Level 1

0 points

Jan 19, 2014 8:48 AM in response to paulinax

I'm having exactly the same problem, I've done a factory reset back to Snow Leopard and updated it through to Mavericks again, but no luck. I've got an appointment booked at a Genius Bar tomorrow so will let you know how it goes!

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Answer 5

paulinax Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 19, 2014 5:42 PM in response to MortyN96

this question is pretty old. but i took it to the store and they couldnt find any problems with it!!!!!!!!! so i just assume its a logic board error or corrupt airport card or something since that macbook was from 2008.

i bought a wifi USB adaptor for it to work through the wifi, and kept my airport turned off and that fixed the problem. my computer was still a bit slow though so i just went ahead and bought a new macbook pro.

hope that helps though:) cause wifi adaptors are pretty cheap, so you could look into that if you want.

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Answer 6

Jul 11, 2015 6:22 AM in response to paulinax

I have lost two MacBooks the exact same way. One a 2011 model and the other a 2008 model making my loss total over $2000.00. That hurts! 😠

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Answer 7

idonda

Level 1

9 points

Dec 21, 2015 4:26 AM in response to paulinax

I solved this problem setting IPV6 to OFF in network settings => airport => tcp tab.

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Answer 8

my ginger

Level 5

4,928 points

Dec 21, 2015 11:52 AM in response to paulinax

Is your operating system Snow Leopard? Do you get any freezes, slow downs other than when using safari? Do you have any software such as MacKeeper or CleanMyMac installed? Have you tried going into the router and changing the channels? Are there any plugins in your safari extensions you do not recognize? Have you tried using network diagnostics in system preferences, network, assist me? You could download and run an EtreCheck and post it here. http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck

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Answer 9

Jun 15, 2016 9:16 AM in response to idonda

After 3 rounds of troubleshooting, the 10.6 Mac would work perfectly under testing at my shop, and then fail within 5 minutes or less at the customers' site -- every time.

Thanks, Paulinax! Based on this post I switched ipv6 off, and TA-DA! NO more problem.

The customer has an AT&T standard-issue Wifi modem router, with standard AT&T configured wifi (e.g., ATTxxx network name). I did not adjust any settings on the router. At my shop, I use Comcast via an Apple Airport base station.

The 10.6 Mac worked fine with ipV6 on at my shop, but would freeze within moments of joining the WiFi LAN at the customers' site. So, some kind of interaction between Mac OS 10.6 and the ipv6 as doled out by the AT&T router was causing this behavior. One for the books!!

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Answer 10

Aug 10, 2016 6:12 AM in response to idonda

Great answer! I have a Mac (10.6) and changed from Ethernet to wifi; since then the computer started to freeze right after booting up and this solution solved the problem

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Answer 11

idonda

Level 1

9 points

Jul 25, 2017 9:19 AM in response to Ottanta7

I'am glad you solved the problem 🙂

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