Late 2013 Macbook Pro Retina 13'' Wifi Issues

My new MBPR's wifi is very slow and constantly drops the connection, although it is showing that it is always connected. If I restart the computer it fixes the problem for a little bit then it starts again. I have a 2012 Macbook Pro on the same network with no isseues, and I will have to use it sometimes just to be able to browse the web. Is there any way to fix the issue on the new Macbook?

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013), OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Nov 7, 2013 7:38 AM

Reply
814 replies

Feb 25, 2014 2:37 PM in response to cb12394856

cb12394856 wrote:


No good here. Router ping times for my 4 week old MB Retina Pro are all over the place, and download speeds half either the cheapo Windows box or my Nexus 5.



Perhaps I spoke too soon. Turned wifi off, deleted preferred network list, re-connected. Since then, my wifi has been more stable than at any time since I first bought the MB (a month ago). Ping times (to router) are still more scattered than any of my other devices, but there have been no real-world symptoms (ie. actual download speeds or perceived latency) since deleting the preferred networks. And even looking at the pings, there are none of the extraordinarily long ones (hundreds of ms) that had been occurring before the update.


I'll reserve judgement for a couple of days, but things are looking better right now.

Feb 25, 2014 2:39 PM in response to Alex15DE

Alex15DE wrote:


update done. it seems to work fine, but i already did the update fix from this thread here (which solved my wifi problems). does the new mavericks update replace the driver from this driver fix!? or do i still have the driver installed from the fix....?

What's your Broadcom firmware version now? Post-update, on my 2013 Retina MB Pro, mine is 6.30.223.154.63

Feb 26, 2014 1:44 AM in response to Alex15DE

Alex15DE wrote:


Mine is: Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (6.30.223.154.63) after Update yesterday to 10.9.2, but i think its the same Version as in the Wifi-Fix a few weeks ago, right!? Does 10.9.2 have this Driver included? Or didnt the 10.9.2 update replace the driver from Wifi-Fix?

That's the same version as mine (post 10.9.2 install), and I never installed the beta.

Feb 26, 2014 8:41 AM in response to ShaneD90

if you have a bluetooth turned on then the wi-fi internet speed drops off drastically on a 2.4 GHz router at your home problem. then the OS X 10.9.2 UPDATE IS GONNA BE FINALLY MOTHER F$&@'N gonna resolved the issue of your late 2013 15" macbook pro retina (nvidia card version). at least for me that is.


Wi-Fi Internet speed with bluetooth on (mac os 10.9):

2.9Mbps


Wi-Fi Internet speed with bluetooth off (mac os 10.9):

19-20Mbps


Wi-Fi Internet speed with bluetooth on and off (mac os 10.9.2):

19-20Mbps


If you plan on going to the Genius Bar, Forget It! they will just gonna say "this is the first time we encountered this issue" routine. yeah right. and do note that the band at the apple stores use for wi-fi is 5GHz not 2.4GHz for testing that i know of. i know because i ran the wi-fi diagnostics there. so when they test your bluetooth wi-fi problem on your macbook it will have the problem.


I hope that the next update 10.9.3 doesn't ruin again the fix.

Feb 26, 2014 11:23 AM in response to lfic

I TAKE BACK WHAT I JUST POSTED. The 10.9.2 Update worked for a while for me then it's back to the wi-fi slowing down whenever the bluetooth is turned on and the magic mouse and apple wireless keyboard is connected. I think it got jinx. So the short answer is NO. The update didn't fix the bluetooth wi-fi problem. What can you do? deal with windows os or deal with os x? it's a love hate relationship. you love it when it works you hate it when it doesn't. So either buy an AC router 5GHz for about $100+ or more to remedy the interference. or turn off bluetooth and buy a wired keyboard for $50 and a wired cheap mouse and not dealing anymore changing the batteries. of course turning off the bluetooth is not acceptable!

Feb 26, 2014 12:49 PM in response to Alex15DE

Alex15DE wrote:

does the new mavericks update replace the driver from this driver fix!? or do i still have the driver installed from the fix....?


It didn't for me. The IO80211Family.kext is v6.3 in 10.9.2 update, which is the same as the most recent fix/beta posted earlier. (The extension is v6.0 though 10.9.1.)


I know it didn't replace it because the modified dates aren't identical. The 10.9.2 update installs the extension with mod. date 14 Feb 2014. The fix/beta has mod. date of 20 Sept 2013.


Just to verify, I restored the original v6.0, reran the 10.9.2 Combo, which installed v6.3 with mod. date 14 Feb 2014. Restoring back to v6.0 (and restarting), "restored" the wifi problems:

  • High ping latency: 20-270 ms to local gateway
  • Dropped wifi even though wifi icon shows connected - web pages don't load, and Airport Utility shows no devices
  • System Report (and option-click wifi icon) showed connected via 802.11n, despite using new/current Airport Extreme & Time Capsule, 2m way.


The v6.3 kext with "Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (6.30.223.154.63)" with either the beta/fix or in the 10.9.2 update fixed all the above:

  • Ping times reduced to <2 ms
  • No dropped wifi
  • System Report (and wifi icon) show connected via 802.11ac

Feb 26, 2014 7:49 PM in response to Eric.

The update actually made it worse. So, assuming Apple had noticed this problem, I updated to 10.9.2. I restart after installation of the update. Right off the bat, the internet does not work. So I have to restart. I open a few webpages and the internet begins to load them, then cuts off. I open up terminal and ping my router. I get this:

PING 192.168.1.254 (192.168.1.254): 56 data bytes

...

64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=148 ttl=255 time=2.278 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=149 ttl=255 time=2.027 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=150 ttl=255 time=2.409 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=151 ttl=255 time=1.898 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=152 ttl=255 time=1.676 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=153 ttl=255 time=2.028 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=154 ttl=255 time=1.922 ms

...

Looks normal. Then I open up chrome and try to open a webpage. And the page fails to load so I check Terminal's ping.


...

Request timeout for icmp_seq 242

Request timeout for icmp_seq 243

Request timeout for icmp_seq 244

Request timeout for icmp_seq 245

64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=198 ttl=255 time=48976.523 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=199 ttl=255 time=47975.854 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=200 ttl=255 time=46974.798 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=201 ttl=255 time=45973.968 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=202 ttl=255 time=44973.817 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=203 ttl=255 time=43973.641 ms

... (and so on)

Then I quit chrome. Everything looks normal again with the ping speeds. Then I try loading Google.com in Safari. Same effect: when I try to load a page, the ping speeds just inflate. And when I quit Safari, everything goes back to normal.


I tried this multiple times; there is definitely a correlation between my loading a webpage and the ping speeds when my internet connection "drops".


NOTE: This dropping of the internet connection only happens every so often while loading a webpage. Other times, though, my internet speeds and pings are normal and I can browse normally. Every thirty minutes or so, though, the above incident happens and I have to restart my computer to get the internet working again.


Please tell me that Apple is working on a permanent fix. Seriously.

Feb 26, 2014 9:43 PM in response to nimbin77

nimbin77 wrote:


Hmm, the software update didn't seem to work, huh? Well, so far, I've had the wi-fi card replaced, which didn't make a difference. It went back to Apple for a 48 hour check over. They've had it for 10 days so far, replacing the antenna, and are now waiting on a logic board to replace. Make of that what you will, folks....


I suspect this thread has collected together a bunch of unrelated problems, some of which might be fixed by the update, and some not. My MB's wifi, for example, was never affected by bluetooth, whereas others' clearly have been.


I wouldn't say 10.9.1 totally fixes my particular wifi issue, but it's improved it to the point where I wouldn't notice there was anything wrong if I wasn't already alerted to it. While previously all internet use would periodically stall or stop, now it's fine and pretty similar to other devices in the house. I get the occasional symptom with a continuous ping to the router (4 or 5 consecutive very long pings or the odd timeout), but nothing I would notice from continuous ordinary internet and LAN use. As I'm working at home, I've now had over 24 hrs of steady wifi use, and I'm quite happy.


Good luck with the hardware investigations.

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Late 2013 Macbook Pro Retina 13'' Wifi Issues

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