Level 1

9 points

Internet connection issues

My internet is very unreliable when I am using Windows with Boot Camp. Usually it doesn't work when I first open my browser, sometimes it says it is connected but it has no internet access, and sometimes it just disconnects out of nowhere. This also means that it is hard for me to get to the login page for public networks where I have to log in, and downloads and updates randomly stop. I do not have any of these problems when using OS X.

One temporary fix I found is disconnecting and reconnecting to my network, but it later stops working again. It also sometimes starts working again if I wait for a while, but it is still a problem.

I already tried the Internet Connections troubleshooting option but it says everything is fine. I also tried the Network Adapter option, and it said it fixed something the first time I used it, but it did not help.

Computer: MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012)

Processor: 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5

Memory: 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Operating System: OS X El Capitan 10.11.6, Windows 7 on boot camp

Posted on Nov 6, 2016 7:48 AM

87 replies

appleuser295 Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 8, 2016 7:34 AM in response to Loner T

I couldn't find any utilities, but I monitored my connection for 12 minutes and it gave me a zip file; should I upload any of its contents?

Also, I saw someone mention drivers being updated incorrectly on a similar thread, so maybe I should try to reinstall the Boot camp drivers? Will there be problems if I repeat the installation when they are already installed?

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Nov 8, 2016 8:52 AM in response to appleuser295

Create a Windows System Restore point, then use BC Assistant to download the Apple BC drivers and run setup.exe from the Bootcamp folder after you download them to a USB Flash drive.

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Nov 8, 2016 9:13 AM in response to appleuser295

Wireless Diagnostics is located in /System/Library/Core\ Services/Applications. In Finder -> Go -> Go To Folder and enter

/System/Library/Core\ Services/Applications

and once it is running, click on Window -> Utilities (this is Mavericks, newer OSX versions may be slightly different), click on Performance or Wi-Fi Scan. You should see screens similar to the following. The second screen shows the RF signal information. This should help with connectivity issues.

appleuser295 Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 8, 2016 9:16 AM in response to Loner T

Can I just download the drivers directly into Windows?

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Nov 8, 2016 9:21 AM in response to appleuser295

Can you run Apple Software Update and check if it provides any updates? It will not repair the drivers, though.

appleuser295 Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 8, 2016 9:57 AM in response to Loner T

Here is the graph from the OS X side:

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Nov 8, 2016 10:10 AM in response to appleuser295

Are you able to connect to the SSID which has these graphs and log in to connect to web sites?

appleuser295 Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 8, 2016 10:16 AM in response to Loner T

Isn't an SSID a password?

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Nov 8, 2016 10:19 AM in response to appleuser295

No. SSID stands for Service Set Identifier. It is the name of a Wireless service. Some SSIDs are 'Open' (no password required), others have varying degrees of Security (WEP, WPA, WPA2, etc..) and may use passwords and/or certificates.

appleuser295 Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 8, 2016 10:23 AM in response to Loner T

Yes, I can connect to it, since it's what I'm using to post all these comments

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Nov 8, 2016 10:34 AM in response to appleuser295

Can you switch to Windows and connect successfully to the same SSID?

appleuser295 Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 8, 2016 10:55 AM in response to Loner T

Yes, didn't you read the original post? The problem is it's unreliable.

I'll check for the updates tomorrow. If it doesn't do anything, can I download the drivers directly into Windows to use them?

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Nov 8, 2016 10:56 AM in response to appleuser295

Run Windows, pick the same SSID and leave a graph in real-time running in a window. Leave it visible and run your browser/application tests and compare the RF graphs between OSX and Windows. An additional test is to turn off BT, and re-run the same tests and see if it makes any difference.

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Nov 8, 2016 10:59 AM in response to appleuser295

appleuser295 wrote:

can I download the drivers directly into Windows to use them?

It may be better to use the BC Assistant side and a USB to do it once.

appleuser295 Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 8, 2016 11:22 AM in response to Loner T

What's BT? Also, do you have any suggestions for what could be causing the problem?

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Internet connection issues