Late 2013 Macbook Pro Retina 13'' Wifi Issues

The problem is that Safari uses this new "App-nap" feature that makes Flash apps without focus (background, no mouse over, ... ) go to sleep or at least get a lot less resources assigned.

Chrome doesn't have this feature yet so it keeps playing like it used to do.

Try this - it's not a permanent fix, you need to apply it each time you reboot.

In terminal, type the following:

defaults write com.apple.Safari NSAppSleepDisabled -bool YES

I totally understand that it's frustrating as ****. I had the same feeling when I bought a sparkling new rMBP and it seemingly performed baaaad. Did a lot of investigating and this is the only logical explanation.

NO - its not a problem of power nap.

have the same results streaminng in firefox. I tested it with safari active, monitor turned on and verifying which apps are in nap mode.

I believe while straming something from Internet sources as you described there is no enough workload to trigger card to wake-up.

As soon as card is "busy enough" - no problems with latency and packet lost

I believe the solution is to simply modify something in card firmware (which I hope apple is working on ...)

Same issue here :

MaBook Pro retina late 2013.

I have the same exact problem on my 15 inch Late 2013 Retina. Yesterday I picked it up after 2 weeks at the local repair shop without them being able to solve the issue. They changed the wi-fi module, screen (in case any antenna was broken) and even the motherboard.

Apple accepted to exchange the computer for a brand new one but I seriously doubt that it's going to make any difference.

As was noted earlier in this thread, ping with the default 1 second delay is not a useful diagnostic tool for the late 2013 Retina MPBs. The WIFI chip sleeps after 1/4 second of inactivity. So, assuming no other network activity, ping results will always be ugly on these machines unless the delay is reduced to less than 0.25s like so:

ping -i 0.2 <router ip address>

or to test outside connectivity:

ping -i 0.2 www.apple.com

For most real world usage, the aggressive WIFI sleep doesn't cause a problem - either latency doesn't matter or there is enough traffic to prevent sleep during streaming or downloads. Some activies such as remote terminal sessions are affected, which can be a bit frustrating, but it is by design and exchanging computers won't help.

My workaround is to just run a continuous "ping -i 0.2 ..." in the background when I want to keep WIFI from sleeping. Ugly, but it works.

I'm sure some folks on this thread have real connectivity problems that extend beyond the sleep issue. But for ping results to be useful, you must include "-i 0.2".

hello ekinfromankara,

I've got a late 2013 rMBP 15'' and it behaves the same as your computer.

normally erratic/slow pings, but when downloading a big file in the background or using ping -i 0.1.

The ping response times improve a lot.

Well,

I took my 13" MBPretina into the local apple store today. Explained the intermittent WIFI problem. The tech at the Genius bar didn't even open up the laptop. After I told him that the laptop was less than 30 days old, he said that I have 3 options: 1) exchange via apple online, 2, let techs open the laptop and try to repair (he doubted it would work), 3) have store order another model with my specs (since store was out of models with my config). I chose #3. Hopefully apple will send updated hardware/firmware in the next week...

Interestingly, the paperwork that I received says under the diagnosis:

Issue: Custimer states that unit has intermittent wi-fi connectivyt

Steps to reproduce: Please see previous cases with AppleCare

Proposed resolution: Replace Computer

Me thinks Apple knows about this issue due to high volume of customer visits and is keeping this on the DL.

On another note, I ran into a random person at the next table at lunch with a 15" mbpRetina and they had the same problem, but didn't know it was as wide-spread. He said he used an app called "caffeine" that kept his system from sleeping. Might be a "band aid" for the interim.

Hi guys,

Have the same problem of erratic/slow ping + wifi connectivity issue with my new late-2013 rMBP 13''.

My old mid-2010 MBP works perfectly fine on the exact same network so it definitely comes from the laptop.

After almost an hour trying to troubleshoot and fix the problem with AppleCare (I refered them a few times to this discussion) they suggested the problem might come from the WiFi Chipset.

I am now waiting for monday to take it to the Apple Store for exchange... although I doubt it will help as it seems that pretty much everyone with a new rMBP late-2013 is affected.

Hope Apple is working on this!

If i might ask a simple question? how do you check your ping rate? I also have a brand new 2013 macbook pro retina 13" - I have already had it place, the first time for the hardrive.. have been having real slow internet connectivity specifically at work, using a netgear wifi router.

I am past the 14 days by a week or so. If this new laptop is also defected, I would like to know so i can work on a replacement. Can anyone advise me how to test?

Much appreciated.

David, if you live in the US and purchased your computer through Apple's online store, there is an extended return policy for the holidays. See the first paragraph at http://store.apple.com/us/help/returns_refund

Not sure if this applies if you're not in the US or if your purchased it in a physical store, but I hope this helps.

I'm getting my replacement rMBP this afternoon and keeping my fingers crossed the slow connectivity was a hardware issue that has been fixed since they delayed my order by 3 weeks.

I got my second macbook pro on Nov 14th, so unfortunately I am out of the 14 day window. I would think if this is going to be a widespread problem for apple, they would probably put some program in place to fix or replace the new machines once the issue is resolved.

Most times my internet connectivity is fine. It is just when it is connecting to a wifi network, or after the machine goes to sleep and looks for the network again.. oh, and it seems like the speed is not as robust as it was with my old macbook pro 2009.

The problem is this issue's impact on real work is relatively small. Apple may simply try to ignore it.

As mentioned before - I only noticed it because my wife was complaining she couldn't listen to her favourite radio via Internet. And this radio buffering was bad so many interruptions.

In reality most users doesn't bother with ping so they don't notice

I agree with the others that it is designed to save power - which is fine, but it does not wake up in some cases - which is wrong and should be fixed.

I see the problem while streaming youtube or time machine backup

as soon as I start manually transferring file - no problem with latency.

The problem is this issue's impact on real work is relatively small. Apple may simply try to ignore it.

I doubt that - I use my rMBP on a work network with 20-30 clients. The rMPBs are messing with the network for everyone. I don't think Apple can ignore that.

Changing the router channel from Auto to 6 completely fixed connectivity issues for me.

My work just purchased me a new rMBP 15" and I am having the same issue described by everyone else. What bothers me is that apple hasn't come forward and provided any information regarding the issue. Is this a faulty hardware issue?...if so, I will get a new machine. If this is a new OS issue that can be solved via firmware update I can wait until that comes out. I certainly don't want to send this box back, wait for a new one to arrive, and then experience the same problem–AND have to setup my env all over again.

Apple -- What is the point of this forum? For people to ***** to each other about these things? Hack together solutions themselves? Please be more proactive and engage with your users and customers. After all, all we want to do is use your product.