Q: MacBook Pro Early 2011 WiFi unstable connections

Try the basics first:

   Change your router channel number.  Most times this works & is all you have to do.

Disconnect & reconnect your modem.  unplug it for about 10 seconds.  Plug it back in.  Do the same for Apple’s routers.  Wait for everything to reboot.

System Preferences>Network

Click the Assist Me button.

In the next window that pops up, click the Diagnostic button & do the necessary.

Research Knowledge Base for network problems that pertain to the OS that is currently installed on your computer.   See these basic networking KB Articles:  http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1401 AirPort troubleshooting guide

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4628  Wi-Fi: How to troubleshoot Wi-Fi connectivity

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2712 Using network locations in Mac OS X

Manually provided DNS server addresses are higher priority than DHCP's

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1714 Solutions for connecting to the Internet, setting up a small network, and troubleshooting

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What to do when you can't connect to the Internet

Also, run the Airport Utility app which is located inside the Utilities folder.

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If using a  Linksys router, contact LinkSys Customer Support and/or post in their forums.

If using Apple's Airport, please re-post over in one of the AirPort Forums.

AlRobidoux wrote:

 

Thanks for the assist, however it has nothing to do with the status of the router or the modem as there is a phone that is connected to the network and has been all day long without a single dropped connection while my MacBook Pro has been dropping connections left and right. I have tried to do a wireless diagnostic and am currently waiting on it to do the report so I can see what it says the issue is. Will post it when I get it. And a side note, as I write this, I have had the wifi drop twice in a matter of 30 seconds.

Doesn't mean a thing.  If a channel is "crowded," expect dropped or no connection.  Anywho, you do what you deem best.  I'm just offering suggestions.

The channels of routers are not being used by just your router.  Everybody in your neighborhood are using the channels.  The majority of people use channel 6.  Since you do not want to mess w/yours, will not offer alternate channels.

Baby Boomer, you may be right in certain instances but in AIRobidoux instance, you are 100% wrong. I have been suffering from the same exact problem as her. I tested it out today using my girlfriend's 2010 MacBook side by side with my early-2011 MBP. My wifi connection keeps dropping while hers goes strong the whole time. It has nothing to do with the router.

I took my MBP into Apple to see about this and a hardware issue. They did diagnostics and did not find anything. I know there is something definitely wrong with my computer because 1) other people are experiencing the same thing, and 2) my girlfriend's MacBook stays connected all the time.

Please someone help!

It's been over a year since this thread's last reply and my macbook pro early 2011 is still experiencing Wifi connectivity problems. I have had to resort to using ethernet, but sometimes my computer won't even start up. Since experiencing these problems, I have purchased a Macbook Pro 15" retina display and haven't experienced any problems at all. Although I have a newer model, I still have uses for my 2011 macbook pro and it has been rendered useless due to its inability to start up (it only starts up when connected to wifi, ethernet doesn't do the trick). I appreciate all help, thanks!

I may be super late on this, but have you tried a PRAM reset? Lol