Macbook crashing Wifi

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Level 1

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Macbook crashing Wifi

My MacBook Air seems to keep crashing my wifi on my Sky Broadband.

I thought it was a broadband issue, however Sky have done lots of checks and sent a new hub and apparently it's fine.

The problem is definitely with Mac as when I turn the wifi off on it, all my other devices work, but when it's on it crashes occassionaly and then none of the devices work on wifi.

Also, I went to my friend's house the other day, who also has Sky and when I turned my Mac on her whole wifi stopped working - the moment I turned my mac off, the wifi worked again.

It's really annoying...any suggestions?!!!

Thanks!

MacBook Air

Posted on Mar 25, 2014 8:47 AM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Mar 25, 2014 11:12 AM in response to rozway1

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.

Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you boot, and again when you log in.

Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a Fusion Drive or a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal boot may also be somewhat slow.

The login screen appears even if you usually login automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

Test while in safe mode. Same problem?

After testing, reboot as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

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Answer 2

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Mar 25, 2014 12:02 PM in response to rozway1

Boot in Recovery mode. In the OS X Utilities screen, select Get Help Online. A clean copy of Safari will launch. No plugins, such as Flash, will be available. While in Recovery, you'll have no access to your saved bookmarks or passwords, so make a note of those before you begin, if they're needed for the test.

Test. After testing, reboot as usual and post the results.

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Mar 25, 2014 9:44 AM in response to rozway1

If you use iCloud, uncheck at least Photo Stream and Documents & Data in its preference pane and see whether there's any change. If you use third-party network backup or file-sync software, disable that. If you use a torrent client, remove it.

Otherwise, if you're running OS X 10.9 or later, you can see which processes are most active on the network.

Launch the Activity Monitor application in any of the following ways:

☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Activity Monitor in the icon grid.

Select All Processes from the View menu, if not already selected, and also select the Network tab.

Click the heading of the Sent Bytes column in the process table to sort the entries by bandwidth usage. You may have to click it twice to get the highest value at the top. What is it, and what is the process? Repeat with the Rcvd Bytes column.

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Answer 4

rozway1 Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 25, 2014 12:27 PM in response to rozway1

And what test am i doing? Sorry but I'm finding this all really unhelpful. I now have pretty much no wifi access as it crashes every few minutes and I don't understand what I'm doing which is no doubt making all of this work.

I am not an expert in Mac or tests or fixing issues - please can you describe things in a way so that I know vaguely what I'm doing?

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Answer 5

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Mar 25, 2014 1:20 PM in response to rozway1

You boot into Recovery by following the instructions linked to my last comment. Launch Safari to make sure you're connected to the Internet. Then see whether you have the same problem with the wireless network. That's the test.

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