Granny Smith
Level 2 (279 points)
Notebooks

Q: Macbook Pro WiFi Mystery

My Macbook Pro has been working perfectly with FAST WiFi at home. I went to a hotel and connected to their WiFi. Immediately I noticed something wonky because after about 2 minutes of being connected my cursor would freeze. I'd restart and the same thing happened. I disconnected and my curser was fine. So...I just stopped using the WiFi for that one night.

 

I arrived at home this afternoon and when I connect to my home WiFi my computer is acting strangely. I get lengthy spinny beach balls when simply changing tabs. I'm unable to scroll up on a page when it finally loads, etc.

 

I have 75Mbps download at home and all my other devices are fine. It's as if something in that hotel WiFi has infected my computer.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Screen Shot 2016-08-14 at 9.27.36 PM.png

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Posted on Aug 14, 2016 7:31 PM

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Granny Smith

Q: Macbook Pro WiFi Mystery

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Rysz,

    Rysz Rysz Aug 14, 2016 7:43 PM in response to Granny Smith
    Level 7 (20,202 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 14, 2016 7:43 PM in response to Granny Smith

    Try Safe Boot mode by holding down the Shift key at startup. Safe Boot is quite slow because the OS performs a bunch of cleanup and verification tasks, so give it time. After you're completely logged in, restart normally.

  • by Granny Smith,

    Granny Smith Granny Smith Aug 15, 2016 4:29 PM in response to Rysz
    Level 2 (279 points)
    Notebooks
    Aug 15, 2016 4:29 PM in response to Rysz

    That did not resolve anything. Sorry.

  • by BobTheFisherman,

    BobTheFisherman BobTheFisherman Aug 15, 2016 4:33 PM in response to Granny Smith
    Level 6 (15,252 points)
    Aug 15, 2016 4:33 PM in response to Granny Smith

    Try this: Use Wireless Diagnostics to help you resolve Wi-Fi issues on your Mac - Apple Support

  • by Granny Smith,

    Granny Smith Granny Smith Aug 17, 2016 6:36 PM in response to Granny Smith
    Level 2 (279 points)
    Notebooks
    Aug 17, 2016 6:36 PM in response to Granny Smith

    I'm still having the same problem. Here is a random list:

    1. Several other laptops in the house and WiFi is running just fine on those machines.
    2. Restored laptop from a time machine backup on a day before the problem became evident.
    3. Ran wireless diagnostics per "Bobthefisherman". Not entirely sure how to read the report it generated.
    4. Websites will eventually come up, but very slowly.
    5. Downloaded an 18MB file and once it connected it downloaded very fast. So, it seems that there is intermittent connections that allow a page to load or a file to download.
    6. I went into airport utility and updated it (Airport Extreme)

  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Aug 17, 2016 8:16 PM in response to Granny Smith
    Level 9 (60,677 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 17, 2016 8:16 PM in response to Granny Smith

    Are your settings for Domain Name Server (DNS) that same ones being used by your working devices? are they blank?

     

    If you cannot throw off this problem, I suggest you use:

    System preferences > Network > Wi-Fi > (assist me) > (assistant) ...

      ... to answer the questions and set it up again from scratch, taking care to specify a new, NAMED Location-file, not "Automatic". Then each time you go somewhere else, set up again and specify a new location-file, specific for the settings needed at the new location. To flip between Location-files, just choose the appropriate one from the pop-up and all your settings are instantly changed for the new network.

  • by Granny Smith,

    Granny Smith Granny Smith Aug 19, 2016 8:37 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Level 2 (279 points)
    Notebooks
    Aug 19, 2016 8:37 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

    None of the above as solved my problem. I started from scratch with a new location in my network settings.

     

    When I do this, about 3 or 4 webpages load normally and then everything goes into "grind mode."

     

    Is there a way to totally trash all my network settings and restart? I'm trying to avoid a complete re-install. The other question would be how to troubleshoot/diagnose if this is a hardware issue?

  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Aug 19, 2016 10:17 AM in response to Granny Smith
    Level 9 (60,677 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 19, 2016 10:17 AM in response to Granny Smith
    Is there a way to totally trash all my network settings and restart?


    Yes. THIS, that i suggested above does exactly what you describe:

    System preferences > Network > Wi-Fi > (assist me) > (assistant) ...

      ... to answer the questions and set it up again from scratch, taking care to specify a new, NAMED Location-file, not "Automatic".


  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Aug 19, 2016 10:18 AM in response to Granny Smith
    Level 9 (60,677 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 19, 2016 10:18 AM in response to Granny Smith

    what are your settings for DNS Servers?

  • by Granny Smith,

    Granny Smith Granny Smith Aug 19, 2016 11:37 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Level 2 (279 points)
    Notebooks
    Aug 19, 2016 11:37 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

    10.0.1.1 is the only DNS Server I have listed.

  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Aug 19, 2016 12:10 PM in response to Granny Smith
    Level 9 (60,677 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 19, 2016 12:10 PM in response to Granny Smith

    That is not adequate. That says that every alphabetical reference you ever make will be resolved by your Router (whose "strictly local" address is 10.10.1.1, not visible from the Internet).

     

    --------

     

    The "right way" to resolve this is to connect to your Router as Administrator, and write down what numbers it is using for its own DNS. These two addresses are generally passed down by your Internet service provider, and are generally good.

     

    You can force your Mac to use those be removing ALL DNS numbers, then be sure to click ( Apply ) and close the System Preferences window, then do a Restart. If you are lucky, your ISP's preferred numbers will be shown as your Mac's numbers after the Restart.

     

    Another "brute force" way is to manually enter a DNS service such as the one provided by google (which comes with a privacy "price") 8.8.8.8 and 4.4.4.4

     

    Another brute force way is to use OpenDNS, which does not capture your information as it goes by (they their make money from advanced services to big companies) 208.67.220.220 and 208.67.222.222

     

    If you are outside the US, using these services may slow your Internet connections, unless they are also available closer than the US versions. But for now, one of these solutions should get your Internet perking along.

  • by Granny Smith,

    Granny Smith Granny Smith Aug 24, 2016 1:14 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Level 2 (279 points)
    Notebooks
    Aug 24, 2016 1:14 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

    Well...the journey led me to the genius bar and after sitting there for about an hour and a half it was determined that my problem exceeded their genius-ness and there was nothing they could find or do. However, we determined that if we erased the HD and started over it would be fine. So, that's what I'm doing.