"The wi-fi network X could not be joined" problem with 2008 MacBook.

Question

Level 1

7 points

"The wi-fi network X could not be joined" problem with 2008 MacBook.

I have a recurring problem with my Macbook - 13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008 (running Mavericks 10.9.2) whereby the wifi suddenly drops out and displays the following message:

"The Wi-Fi network "wireless network name goes here" could not be joined. Try moving closer to your wireless router. Alternatively, run Wireless Diagnostics to troubleshoot."

The wifi will be working perfectly normal one second and then the next it drops out completely. When I click on the wifi icon my wireless network is displayed there and when I click it the above message is displayed. It does this for a period of time (usually about 30 mins+) and then snaps out of it. Rebooting the router does nothing, rebooting the machine does nothing. Other devices continue to work (my phone, for example) when this occurs.

There's no reason for it to happen, no settings are being changed / have been changed. It just sometimes drops out completely, which is causing problems as it's normally during hours when I am working on the machine.

Any ideas what is causing this to happen and is there a remedy?

Thanks!

MacBook, OS X Mavericks (10.9.3)

Posted on Jun 10, 2014 9:02 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

213JB

Level 2

385 points

Jun 10, 2014 9:34 AM in response to AHF

Test by going to Macintosh Hd > Library > Preferences > Systemconfiguration.

In this folder, locate and move to the desktop the following files.

com.apple.airport.preferences.plist

NetworkInterfaces.plist

preferences.plist

Reboot the computer, connect to your wifi and test.

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Answer 2

dib.mac

Level 1

12 points

Jun 10, 2014 7:05 PM in response to 213JB

This didn't work for me. I have tried everything else I have found and I can't connect to either of my home wireless networks after things were working fine for several months. I'm wondering if my radio is broken.

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Answer 3

AHF Author

Level 1

7 points

Jun 17, 2014 10:13 AM in response to 213JB

Thank you for the suggestion 213JB, sadly this didn't work for me either.

I should point out that my router is right next to me while I try this, so it's not an issue of distance etc.

Any ideas?

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Answer 4

Eric Root

Level 10

684,579 points

Jun 17, 2014 10:17 AM in response to AHF

Troubleshooting Wi-Fi issues in OS X

Wireless Connection Problems - Fix

Wireless Connection Problems - Fix (2)

Wireless Connection Problems - Fix (3)

Wireless Connection Problems - Fix (4)

Wireless Diagnostics - About

Also try turning off Bluetooth

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Answer 5

dib.mac

Level 1

12 points

Jun 17, 2014 12:19 PM in response to AHF

I had a Genious Bar apt yesterday after my WiFi was totally disfunctional for days (Couldn't connect to either of my WiFi base stations.) at my cabin in the woods. Of course when I came to town, it all worked perfectly. The genious bar guy tossed EVERY file in Systemconfiguration. Now when I got home all is working and I can connect to both my WiFi base stations. Note that I had tried removing just the three files mentioned above and a whole bunch of other crazy things I found in other threads with no results.

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Answer 6

Jan 10, 2016 1:33 PM in response to AHF

I had same problem and i got it fixed by playing around my router. I am a tech guy and figured out that this problem is caused by interference of my neighbor's wifi network as we were on same channel. His router's signals were very strong as he lives next to my apartment. i changed my wifi channel from his channel and was able to connect again. All you have to do is login to your router and from settings change wireless channel to a different value. it was set to 1 in my case and i changed it to 11. Every router has different login credentials and settings. you can find those mostly printed on router or in manual provided with that router.

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