Mac Mini Dropping WiFi

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Level 1

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Mac Mini Dropping WiFi

I have a Mac Mini (Mid 2011) and recently it began dropping wifi. This started about two months ago, and I think it may be related to a firmware update because prior to that it had no problem. Initially, it seemed to drop wifi when the unit went into screensaver mode or when I put it into sleep. No it seems to do it whenever I'm idle. I've checked and double checked all of the settings, and I cannot find a setting with the option to power off the wifi when during sleep mode or when the screen saver turns on, etc.

I have a Mac Pro (Mid 2012) and it doesn't seem to have this problem. I also have a MacBookPro (Mid 2012) and I also haven't seen a problem with that either. We have two PCs on the network, but none of them exhibit this problem.

It may seem like a small thing, but sometimes it can take in upwards of 10 minutes for the Mac Mini to establish a connection. Any ideas?

Mac mini (Mid 2011), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), Logitech Rumblepad

Posted on Aug 21, 2013 11:15 PM

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Answer 1

Joe Bailey

Level 6

12,227 points

Aug 22, 2013 9:48 AM in response to jackvane007

There are a lot of things that could account for what you are encountering. The first thing I would do is check the WiFi signal strength and noise level from other sources including WiFi networks at your Mac mini's location. The fact your other Macs and PCs are working does not necessarily reflect conditions at the specific location of your Mac mini. Sometimes a distance of only a foot or two can make a BIG difference. If you don't already have one, there are a number of free WiFi scanner and and sgnal analyzer apps available from the App Store.

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