Trying to help a friend diagnose his wi-fi problem

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Level 4

1,389 points

Trying to help a friend diagnose his wi-fi problem

A friend lives way way across town and I'm trying to help him figure out why his Mac won't connect to the Internet all of a sudden.

Another Mac in his apartment does connect, so the Internet modem and wi-fi router are definitely ok.

He is seeing "AirMac" in his network settings, but the router is not an AirMac. I don't know why he's seeing that rather than a more generic "Wi-Fi".

I tried having him delete that setting and then create a new setting. The network preferences dialog recreates it, but insists on calling it AirMac.

He can turn that connection on, select the SSID, enter the password and join the network and then top-most wi-fi select menu shows he is joined, but nothing connects - not Safari, not iChat, not iTunes.

I can't figure out what might be wrong. He can show me his screen via FaceTime on his iPhone, but I can't think of anything else to tell him to try.

Any suggestions? He is a super super super novice.

Thanks,

doug

iMac, Mac OS 9.0.x, iMac (21.5-inch Late 2009, 12 GB)

Posted on Jul 17, 2016 5:15 AM

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Answer 1

Bakhtina

Level 3

746 points

Jul 17, 2016 5:21 AM in response to Doug Lerner2

You're sure it's 'AirMac' and not 'AirPort'?

Because older versions of OS X called 'AirPort' what is today known at Wi-Fi. It's the exact same thing, but it's the old name. Can you try to have your friend check which version of OS X they have? The 'About this Mac' window will probably look different to your friend, but the OS version should still be there.

Also : it's still relevant to restart the router at least once, even if other devices are currently connected to it (of course your friends other devices will lose Internet access for a minute or two). Restarting the Mac which won't connect to the Internet at least once is also relevant.

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Answer 2

Doug Lerner2 Author

Level 4

1,389 points

Jul 17, 2016 5:25 AM in response to Bakhtina

It's "AirMac" and not "AirPort". I believe that is just a naming difference and here in Japan it was always called AirMac. But I thought that was the Apple brand router.

He tried restarting the Mac twice already. And we did try to power off and power on the router.

I'll try to check the OS X version.

Thanks,

doug

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Answer 3

Doug Lerner2 Author

Level 4

1,389 points

Jul 17, 2016 5:35 AM in response to Bakhtina

While I was watching his computer with him just now via FaceTime he was able to connect with Safari and do web browsing for a minute. But then he lost his connection again.

He is running OS X 10.6.8. Quite old.

doug

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Answer 4

Bakhtina

Level 3

746 points

Jul 17, 2016 5:43 AM in response to Doug Lerner2

You're right, found this on Wikipedia : 'In Japan, the line of products is marketed under the brand AirMac due to previous registration by I-O Data.'

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Answer 5

Bakhtina

Level 3

746 points

Jul 17, 2016 5:46 AM in response to Doug Lerner2

This article has a 'OS X Lion and earlier' section : How to troubleshoot Wi-Fi connectivity in OS X Lion or earlier - Apple Support

Too bad they didn't have Wireless Diagnostics back then.

By the way, it's nice of you to try and solve your friend's Wi-Fi connectivity issues.

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Answer 6

Doug Lerner2 Author

Level 4

1,389 points

Jul 17, 2016 5:47 AM in response to Bakhtina

I will check that. Thanks for your help.

doug

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Answer 7

Eric Root

Level 10

685,341 points

Jul 17, 2016 7:52 AM in response to Doug Lerner2

If your Wi-Fi source is capable of generating a 5 GHz Wi-Fi network, try that to help avoid conflicts with Bluetooth.

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)

Also try turning off Bluetooth.

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Answer 8

Doug Lerner2 Author

Level 4

1,389 points

Jul 17, 2016 8:01 AM in response to Eric Root

Unfortunately on his Mac at the moment the 5 GHz band signal looks too weak to join. There are no bluetooth devices at all in the apartment and bluetooth is turned off on everything capable of it.

Something has "changed" but I don't know what from here.

doug

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Answer 9

Eric Root

Level 10

685,341 points

Jul 17, 2016 8:54 AM in response to Doug Lerner2

Did you look at the links I posted?

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Answer 10

Doug Lerner2 Author

Level 4

1,389 points

Jul 17, 2016 4:52 PM in response to Eric Root

Yes. A couple I already had him try (e.g. the delete the network settings and reinstall a new one, as mentioned in my opening post), and a couple are just way way too difficult for him to do (e.g. anything with the Terminal - he is an unbelievable novice), and a couple are just impractical (doing an upgrade of the OS at the moment - especially without an Internet connection).

I may have to go over there myself when I have time, but he lives rather far away.

What is weird is that his wi-fi has been working just fine and this just started happening out of nowhere, according to him.

And it's intermittent. I can get him online to, say, the Yahoo Japan page and he can click a couple of links but then that's it. The Internet connection just stalls after that.

From what I can see via FaceTime is that the 2.4 GHz band seems to have a 4-out-of-5 bars signal strength (the router is in the room next to where his computer is) but the 5 GHz band seems to have almost no signal strength.

doug

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Answer 11

LilyLC

Level 4

2,834 points

Jul 17, 2016 5:06 PM in response to Doug Lerner2

I tried having him delete that setting and then create a new setting. The network preferences dialog recreates it, but insists on calling it AirMac.

He can turn that connection on, select the SSID, enter the password and join the network and then top-most wi-fi select menu shows he is joined, but nothing connects - not Safari, not iChat, not iTunes.

Does "delete" and "create" settings mean from the list of Preferred Networks list under the Wi-Fi tab of Advanced Network preferences using the minus (–) and plus ( + ) buttons?

Have you tried switching the Location (Apple menu > Location). If the Location is something other than Automatic, try switching it to Automatic. If the problem persists, try creating a new using Network preference "Assist me..." button at the bottom of the window and follow the prompts. Also see Using network locations OS 10.6+.

FYI: I've experience this problem a few times and sometimes choosing Automatic works and then I can re-choose my original location later. Sometimes it requires creating a new location and later re-choosing my original location works again.

HTH

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Answer 12

Doug Lerner2 Author

Level 4

1,389 points

Jul 18, 2016 5:07 PM in response to LilyLC

By "delete" and "create" I meant from the list of networks which appear on the left side of Network Settings preferences panel.

I don't see an Apple menu > location item on my Mac (running El Capitan) but I will see if there is such a setting on his older OS X. Unless you meant some other setting?

Thanks,

doug

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Answer 13

Doug Lerner2 Author

Level 4

1,389 points

Jul 18, 2016 5:32 PM in response to LilyLC

Anyway, none of that worked. We created a new location. We followed the steps in the "Using network locations OS 10.6+" link. We switched to Automatic. We changed the order of preferred networks to make sure the preferred network is his newly created wi-fi location. We made sure bluetooth is turned off on his machine.

His friend's iMac in the same room (running a later OS X) is connecting fine. I connected to that iMac via TeamViewer last night.

But this friend's iMac's Internet connection has just gone wonky. Sometimes a page (e.g. Yahoo page) will open. But then going to other links will just not load. And the iTunes store will not load. And most of the time (like just now) nothing will load.

One might say he should upgrade his OS X. But why would it stop working all of a sudden? And practically speaking, how would we upgrade without an Internet connection?

I suppose it's possible his wi-fi hardware has gone bad. Does that ever happen?

Thanks,

dou

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Answer 14

LilyLC

Level 4

2,834 points

Jul 18, 2016 5:46 PM in response to Doug Lerner2

By "delete" and "create" I meant from the list of networks which appear on the left side of Network Settings preferences panel.

Ah ha! You should really have to do that but since you or rather your friend has done that, if there are any other services in that list, make sure that the Wi-Fi (AirMac) service is at the top of the list. To do that, click the gear icon (to the right of the + and - signs), select "Set Service Order...", and then click on AirMac and drag it all the way to the top of the list.

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Answer 15

Doug Lerner2 Author

Level 4

1,389 points

Jul 18, 2016 5:48 PM in response to LilyLC

Yes, we did that. Did not help. It's at the top of the list now.

doug

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