Q: Late 2013 Macbook Pro Retina 13'' Wifi Issues

Dear 10.9.2 Beta 2 users, can you confirm if the Beta also fixes this issue that we are also suffering with as they could both be related to the wireless driver in the Macbook. It is in relation to the IPhone and hot-spot usage with the Macbook Pro:

https://discussions.apple.com/message/24590759?ac_cid=tw123456#24590759

Got my rMBP a few days ago (late 2013 - 256gb/8gb ram) whenever I sleep the mac and open it eg. 10 min later, wifi network disconnects me, and also disappears from the list of available networks until I turn WiFi off and on again?

OS X 10.9.1

Which router are you using? For a non-Apple router check if the workaround I mentioned on Page 23 works.

I have a late 2013 15" MBP purchased about 3 weeks ago and I've been having the same issues as everyone else (dropped connections, very slow after waking, etc).  I'm not suggesting this isn't Apple's issue to resolve (it clearly is), but after reading in other threads about possible incompatibilities with certain routers, I just replaced my Cisco 4200 Wireless Router with a Netgear AC1900 Smart Wifi Router.  It's been up and running for 24 hours with absolutely zero issues.  My speedtest.net download results went from less than 10mbps to over 50mbps.

I'm also running the Netgear AC1900 router and still have issues on the 5ghz network. Everything is pretty solid though on the 2.4ghz band. I still have the ping issue but that seems to go away when network activity is high.

Im using a mikrotik routerboard RB2011 pretty sure

I still get the exact speeds from Optus (Australia) 18Mb down, same as my old 2011 MBP

Sharing with you my wifi problem with the new Macbook Pro late 2013, 13".  I bought it a few days after it was released in the market last October.  After using it for some time, I began to notice that my MS Lync VOIP program would crash whenever I am in the VOIP call.  At some point, I began getting dropped wifi link (greyed out wifi) that the only way to recover is to be very close (1-2 meters) away from the base station (Time capsule).  As it happened often, I started checking my network and found out that my wifi has too high latency (same story as here in the thread). 

So just before New Year eve, I brought the laptop to the Apple Service Center here in the Philippines and they replaced the Airport card inside.  After replacement, the problem did not go away so they replaced next the Logic board and the display.  Still the problem of high latency ping times did not go away and I was then told by Apple hotline to bring it to a second service center for confirmation that the problem is indeed still present and hardware related and then they will replace it with a new laptop. 

Brought it to a second service center who confirmed that it was a Wifi hardware problem (still the high ping latency towards the base station) is present and this time, I was told that apparently they will need to have a 3x hardware replacement or repairs and if the problem does not go away, they will do a complete device replacement on the 4th repair.  It does not make sense to me given that this problem was in the first place already present since day one that Apple started shipping the latest 2013 MBP retina.  I have not used my laptop properly for almost a month now as it is always with the service center and Apple still has refused to replace it. 

Has anyone got the same experience or am I the only one? 

Galileo123, you are not alone. This problem is widespread and it is the software which is faulty not the hardware. Sure there may be a few instances where it is hardware but this is rare with apple kit.

I am using bootcamp windows 8.1 on my retina 13 to work around the wireless problem.

If you look a few pages back, the next version of OS X Mavericks will update the wireless driver and fix the wireless driver which is currently broken.

People posting about replacing  their wireless base station and/or laptop is not a fix for this issue.

I would recommend that people bootcamp install windows 8.1 to test  before agreeing or recommending a hardware swap. That also goes for the apple service geeks at the stores!

I am experiencing the same issues on a 15in rMBP. Bad pings, dropped connections, having to turn Wifi on/off after waking....incredibly annoying.

Shawn, I already am in the third time of hardware replacement and this time the Airport card is replaced inside.  Still the problem persist. Before that on the first and second round, the airport card (first) then the logic board and display(where the antenna is located) were replaced.  Per yesterday, Customer hotline decided to pull the unit out of the service center for replacement.  Reason is that they have exactly the same model as mine side by side and the reference model has no ping and wifi drop connection problem.  Mine, even after almost all of the parts inside were replaced, still exhibits the same problem.  Carl_UK has mentioned a software fix coming up in Mavericks 10.9.2, I am thinking that the fix might just be more of a work around on the underlying hardware (manufacturing) problem perhaps coming from component and manufacturing tolerances. 

I am also starting to wonder whether aynone in this thread has tested or observed the same symptoms when using ac (not b/g/n).  I am suspecting that with Bluetooth ON and ac this might be a worst possible combination where problems can pop up again (especially is you happen to have a unit with a combined component and manufacturing tolerances on the boundary).  

Unfortunately for me, this is only the latest in a long line of issues. I previously owned a Mid-2010 MacBook Pro. I was experiencing this weird phantom graphics glitch that would leave strange artifacts around open windows. After months of repairs, phone calls, emails, and chats, I just finally received this Late-2013 rMBP as a replacement a couple days ago. (The previous mid-2010 MBP had the logic board replaced four times, RAM once, the HDD twice, the display twice, a bad battery, and during the last repair they had also replaced the keyboard.)

I was very happy to finally get a replacement computer, which was also a significant upgrade from my mid-2010 model. Then yesterday, these wifi issues started appearing on my brand new replacement.

I sent an email to the customer service rep that has been overseeing my replacement indicating that I am willing to wait for the 10.9.2 release to see if that resolves my issue -- but, if it doesn't, I want to be able to get an outright replacement, and not have to go through multiple repairs (again.)

I have not yet tested my router with different ac/a/b/g/n configurations. I have however changed the channel my 2.4 and 5ghz bands are "broadcasting" on without any difference. I have tried with Bluetooth on and off with no noticeable differences. I have tested other devices in my house, multiple PC's, phones connected through WiFi, and no other device in my house displays the same problems.

galileo123 wrote:

 

I am also starting to wonder whether aynone in this thread has tested or observed the same symptoms when using ac (not b/g/n).  

Hi. I tested ac on a new airport extreme. The maximum speed that i measured was 10-15 MB/s read, which is not great for once. Then i tried to stream HD videos and i got random stuttering. By then ithought it might be the airport extreme, or Interference with other networks. I returned the router and rolled back to my old Trendnet 2,4 GHz n router.

Again, HD content streaming didnt work, low/adaptive bitrate SD content such as online TV was ok. But here comes the big problem: Many times, while i was simply surfing the web, the connection slowed down like crazy. Then pages got stuck while loading. Unbearable, really.

Then over Christmas i went to a place with 2,4GHz g WiFi. Here it worked ok, "only" it disconnected every once in a while. So i had to manually turn off and on the WiFi. Also i used VPN a lot, which seemed to help.

Finally, back home i called the "apple tech support" and they were not very helpful. I have no time to go to any repair centers. So i returned it and got a  full refund. I rolled back to my lenovo T420s (n wifi) and streamed the same HD videos via my trendnet n router: No stuttering at all! So it clearly outperformed the 802.11ac connection between two state-of-the-art apple devices. What a disappointment. :-(

Now i thought about this for a bit. I have already bought some apple accesories, mouse, keyboard, Ethernet adapter, so i ordered another one. If it shows the same problem, i will ask apple for the new driver that was given to some people. If it works, I am happy. If not, end of my apple days.. Wish me luck.

In response to the post above, my testing was done with both AC wireless and non-AC wireless, both bands exhibit the same sorts of problem.

Hello everybody,

I bought rMBP in October 2013 and last friday (24/01/2014) i started suffering wifi issues with a drop packets to my gateway and a big delay in other ones.

After read some other comments and blogs, i fixed my issue. For one hand, Kismet helped me telling which channels are using my neighbours and for other hand i've changed my AP settings to use 802.11abg , not N.

Finally, my rMBP is working fine!

I don't like this AP settings i would like Apple help me fixing this issue in my device for use 802.11N too.

Marc