mac osx 10.9 Mavericks wifi issue

I don't quite understand your comment. You are right that while in sleep mode, the computer will not be pinging, that's because the wifi link will be down. this is equally true for the bluetooth interface (i assume -- I don't use bluetooth). but as you say, once you wake the computer, the ping resumes and the wifi connection remains.

my post's main purpose was to indicate you don't need some random person's app. you can use already provided tools for this workaround. secondary purpose for the post is/was, to hopefully arouse enough attention to this issue and workaround, that just maybe, apple will fix this issue.

best,

No, the Ping does NOT resume until the wifi is done being stupid and finally connects to the router. So yeah, the Ping resumes once it's connected but the continuous ping did NOT help the wifi to connect any faster. The problem remains. I still have to disable bluetooth or disable and re-enable wifi to get it to connect. A ping only works if the wifi is already working, which takes approximately 500 years. If your problem is wifi randomly going to sleep or something while the machine is awake then I could see how a periodic keepalive ping might help that, but that's not my nor many other commenters' issue.

What I'm saying is that a continuous ping did not help to wake the wifi up any faster. I still have to wait upwards of five minutes for it to connect or timeout on its own, or disable and re-enable wifi once or twice, or disable bluetooth. Disabling bluetooth makes the wifi connect instantly after coming out of sleep which is why some people in this thread have suspected a power management issue (mavericks prioritizing power to bluetooth over wifi). When the computer goes to sleep the wifi does too after a minute (if you wake the machine up within a minute or less wifi remains active). Once the wifi is asleep it's getting it to wake back up that's the problem. So far only disabling bluetooth causes wifi to wake up instantaneously when the machine wakes up. Starting a continuous ping before sleep did not affect this situation at all.

two things for this workaround:

1. you must start the ping when the wifi is "healthy" and keep it going.

2. you must be pinging the correct IP address; that of your wifi router. it sounds to me that you are not pinging the router IP, because if you are in state where your MBP's wifi is not connected, it is unlikely that you can ping the router.

Here is a screenshot of commands to get the router IP while wifi state is "healthy", and starting the ping process.

There is an app on the Apple App Store that fixes this:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pingfixer/id808479246?ls=1&mt=12#

why does anyone need an app when the workaround is so simple and available with tools already provided?

secondly, no one should require an app nor a workaround. apple SHOULD fix this issue.

and if anyone does want an app... here is a free shell script that does what the explained workaround does.

Copy the contents of the code below into a file, call it wififixer.sh then run it from a Terminal window as such:

$ sh wififixer.sh

again, note that the script must be started when the Wifi is in a "healthy" state and be allowed to run undisturbed.

The code:

#!/bin/sh

#

# This code is being released to Public Domain.

#

# THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND

# ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE

# IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE

# ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE

# FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL

# DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS

# OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)

# HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT

# LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY

# OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF

# SUCH DAMAGE.

#

# The purpose of this program script is to find the default gateway

# and continuously ping it every 15 seconds, in order to workaround

# Apple's BUG in their Wifi (AES) framework/driver, where Wifi

# connectivity is lost without continuous packet exchange.

#

# This BUG has been persistent in iOS 6 onward. It was also introduced

# with release of MacOS Mavericks 10.9.x.

#

# Reference: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5663520

# Find out IPv4 default gateway in route table.

gw=`netstat -rnfinet | grep default | awk '{print $2}'`

# If not found in route table, print message and exit.

test -z "${gw}" && echo "No (default) Gateway found." && exit 1

# ping the gateway every 15 seconds

ping -i 15 ${gw}

@no237

I know what a default gateway is man. I'm a developer for a living. I started the continuous ping while wifi was active and healthy (leaving bluetooth enabled because disabling it fixes it). The wifi DISCONNECTS after the machine has been asleep for a couple minutes and the continuous ping that was active at that time does not prevent this from happening.

When I open it back up the ping is still going, just timing out over and over because wifi has disconnected. As soon as I enable/disable wifi a time or two then it connects and the ping stops timing out. I'm telling you that a continuous ping does not stop the machine from shutting power off to the wifi card after being asleep for a few minutes.

A continuous ping may fix some other issues but it's definitely not keeping my late 2013 macbook pro from sleeping the wifi after a few minutes. Regardless, this is not a fix. The wifi is SUPPOSED to go to sleep when the machine is asleep. It's just also supposed to wake up immediately when the machine wakes up and it does not (unless bluetooth was disabled before the machine went to sleep).

I don't know how to more clearly state that a continous ping does not cause OS X to magically keep the wifi card awake and connected while the machine is sleeping.

This is NOT a driver or Mavericks issue. I am running a 15" Macbook Pro Retina and run both windows 7 as well as Mavericks.

Closing the laptop lid or sleep in windows will disconnect the wifi. I cannot create network using the SSID either.

I experience the same problems as all of you in OS X.

Running a Roadrunner SBG6580 Cable modem on time warner extreme with the following software:

It is software independent and hardware related. Not a single other wireless device including other older macbooks experiences similar behavior...

-d

And that was my suspicion originally (hardware issue). ICK! @daign is yours a late 2013 15" MBP? If so then I think you and I have the same issue and that it's hardware related. I think there are multiple wifi issues in this and other threads and that we don't all have the exact same problem. I suspect mavericks is responsible for some of the others' issues but your comment really makes me suspect the hardware in the brand new MBPs.

*sad face*

the problem, at least the one I am having, and others as well, has nothing to do with closing the laptop lid or putting it to sleep. The Wifi interface fails to communicate after a short while. This did not happen pre 10.9. It started immediately after 10.9 upgrade.

same MacBook Pro hardware, same Wifi Router, Same Wifi Configuration. Only change was the OS update: going from 10.8 to 10.9.

you are not helping.

Well that answers why you and I keep going back and forth. I had a feeling there were multiple issues in these threads. Man, Apple really botched things at the end of 2013! Brand new MBPs with a possible hardware design flaw between bluetooth and wifi and Mavericks with all the wifi issues the rest of you are having.

...and the Mavericks issues hardly stop at wifi.

no237 wrote:

...

you are not helping.

I missed your little quip at the end of your post afer the first read-through. We're all in the same boat dude (victims of Apple releasing flawed products). Don't tell others they aren't helping by coming into these discussions to add input and post specs about their setups. They absolutely ARE helping. More information is better not worse. You are the one who is not helping by pretending your issue is the only one that matters and treating everyone else like they're idiots.

We've now figured out there are multiple issues at work here and are in a better position to learn more and perhaps better inform Apple. Relax.

Chevex,

That comment of mine "you are not helping" is directed at the very bold comment by daign stating "This is NOT a driver or Mavericks issue". How does someone not involved intimately with Apple's source code able to claim such a fact? and with such authority?

Fair enough. Let's all just try to keep it civil and not jump to conclusions and keep providing information as we find it.

...and not charge each other money for shell scripts :P

It seems Apple are not going to fix or even acknowledge this as a problem any time soon.

I have now reverted back to Windows based machines, they are just more reliable !!!!!, it might sound odd but its a good job I experienced this issue when I did, as the company I work for was considering migrating to Apple O/S from Windows , but seeing first hand the lack of support from Apple it looks like we had a lucky escape.

regards

Nick