andybee21

Q: Wi-Fi Packet Loss

I have a "New MacBook"/"MacBook Retina". The device Wi-Fi is unusable in my home.

 

This issue is not the same as others I've found on these forums related to DNS etc. Once connected to an AP, every 60 seconds or so the device will experience around 20-30s of packet loss (not host unreachable). This is measured by pinging a local IP address (e.g. the IP of my iMac or home server). Other devices on the same Wi-Fi/AP do not exhibit the issue - including an iMac, MacBook Pro, 2x iPhones, an iPad and an iPad mini.

 

  • I have tried using a couple of different Wi-Fi access point vendors (ZyXEL and Netgear) and both exhibit the same issue.
  • I have ensured there are no neighbouring devices on same channels.
  • I have tried placing the MacBook right next to the AP to ensure the strongest possible signal.
  • I have tried disabling AC, then N, then G support with no improvement in situation.

 

The only reliable connection I can maintain from the MacBook to another device is to use the Hotspot feature on iOS. Once doing this, pinging the iPhone's IP on the temporary wi-fi network has no packet loss.

 

Is this a known issue with the MacBook? Could it be a hardware fault? I'm guessing if I use an AirPort I may have success (based on the experience with the iPhone) but I don't really consider this acceptable behaviour.

MacBook, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Jan 17, 2016 1:00 PM

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