On 2015 MacBook Safari not responsive after waking from sleep

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Level 1

31 points

On 2015 MacBook Safari not responsive after waking from sleep

I promised a lady I would try to get help with her Mac's problem.

She is on her second new MacBook that Apple exchanged for her when they couldn't fix this problem on her first MacBook. The first one had the same problem. It seems that when she wakes her beautiful gold MacBook from an extended sleep and opens to the page it was on before it went to sleep Safari will not respond when links on the page are clicked on. For instance, when I tried it this is what it did for me. I went to the Wikipedia home page and clicked on random links on the page and they worked and all was good. I then closed the lid and let it sit for about 20 minutes. I let it sit that long because we have found that the laptop has to be closed for at least as long as the System Preferences > Energy Saver pane is timed for. She has it set for 15 minutes, so, after 15 minutes I open the lid and the display shows the Wikipedia page that was showing before I closed the lid. I then click any link showing on the page and nothing happens. I try another link and nothing happens. I then start typing a search in the URL box and, like it's supposed to, it starts filling in suggestions. So that tells me the internet is working, right? So, I select one of the suggestions and Safari takes me there. Everything works fine after that.

This problem just seems to happen after an extended sleep and when clicking links in the page that is shown when it first wakes up. Immediately opening another page works normally. Closing the lid and waiting a few seconds and then opening works normally, too.

When she took her first MacBook in to the Apple Store they couldn't figure it out so they gave her this second MacBook. When the same thing happened on this one she brought it back in and they played around with it and finally told her that she will have to live with this. She didn't know if this was normal, so she asked me. I told her no, this is not normal. I told her to take the MacBook back in with her 6 ft 220 lb husband in tow and kick it up a level. She hasn't done that, yet, but in the meantime I promised her I would try to help her.

I have tried this on a different wifi network and it does the same thing there. I have also removed the /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration folder and this didn't help either. She hasn't had the computers long enough to start saving files, plus the first MacBook was NOT migrated to the second, so there is nothing on the second one that was also on the first one.

I will probably get suggestions to try this and try that but, unfortunately, I don't have the MacBook. She does. So I will have to relay suggestions to her, or go to her house and do them myself. But any and all suggestions are appreciated. I'm stumped.

Posted on Sep 4, 2015 7:16 PM

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Answer 1

Sep 4, 2015 7:27 PM in response to plcmms

Restart the internet modem and Wi-Fi router if she uses one then restart the Mac to test.

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Answer 2

plcmms Author

Level 1

31 points

Sep 4, 2015 8:07 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

Thanks Carolyn. Sorry I didn't mention that but it has been done, more than once. We also tried it on a different wifi network and the problem remained. I also didn't mention that I did a Safe Boot. That didn't make a difference either.

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Answer 3

Eric Root

Level 10

684,039 points

Sep 5, 2015 6:25 AM in response to plcmms

She is entitled to 90 day telephone support from Apple. Try contacting them.

Apple Support Contact

Apple Support contact - Telephone

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Answer 4

plcmms Author

Level 1

31 points

Sep 5, 2015 6:54 AM in response to Eric Root

Yeah, we can do that.

My plan was to go to her house this morning to try a couple of things I thought of last night. I want to do a Safe Boot and see if this problem continues in Safe Mode. Next I want to create a second user account and try it there.

I think I will go ahead and try those things and afterward we'll call Apple and let them know what happened with those two tests.

Thanks Eric. (I guess you had no ideas? -- just wondering)

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Answer 5

plcmms Author

Level 1

31 points

Sep 5, 2015 8:38 PM in response to plcmms

What a day.

I went to her house this morning to try the Safe Mode and second user thing and got no joy. While sitting there we discussed the problem and she told me that she had her router changed out between the first and second MacBooks and the present router has been reset a couple of times. She has called Apple Support and talked to a couple of different people and the second one made an appointment for her at the local Apple Store. After her second visit there that’s when they told her she would have to live with this problem.

Here’s where it gets interesting.

After my tests this morning she asked me to go to the Apple Store with her since she would not be able to understand their explanations and I agreed to. When we got there and tested the MacBook on their wifi it worked fine. After several tries it would not disconnect like it did on her wifi. Apple was very patient in trying to find the problem but unfortunately couldn’t since it didn’t act up there. So, we decided to stop in to the Starbucks store next door and jump on their wifi and see if it did it there. It also worked fine there. Needless to say we were frustrated.

Now with it working on these wifi networks we decided to drop back and rethink this. On our way home I asked her to let me take it home and try it on my wifi. I have a 2nd generation Airport Extreme. I did and it worked fine on my wifi. She took it to Best Buy this evening and tried it on their wifi and it worked fine there, too.

So, it disconnects on her wifi and another wifi at a computer club we belong to, and does not disconnect on four other wifi networks we have tired.

I am beginning to believe that the router might be the problem. The ISP installed for her an Arris DG1660 router and I’m wondering if it may not be completely compatible with the new technology that is in the MacBook.

I have seen this happen before when I have helped people with new devices that would not connect to other devices in the network. After much effort I was able to isolate the problem to either an old or low quality router installed by the ISP. When a new Apple router was installed everything worked.

With this in mind she is going to get the ISP to install a different brand of router.

I wonder if anyone else has heard of this happening?

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Answer 6

plcmms Author

Level 1

31 points

Sep 28, 2015 10:26 AM in response to plcmms

I thought I would post this so every one would know what the fix was.

The lady called a friend of hers who has a different router that was installed by the ISP and asked her if she could test her MacBook on her wifi. She did and the MacBook never lost connection.

She called the ISP and told them to change the router out to a different brand. The previous router changeout she went through between the first and second MacBook was a direct replacement. They did and now her MacBook works flawlessly. She's happy.

I've seen this recently in a handful of cases over the past year or so from this ISP where their Arris routers don't work with certain devices, most of the times it was printers. I convinced the customer to replace the ISP's router with an Apple router and every time that fixed the problem.

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