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cutter74

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 15, 2012
77
10
I own a Mac Mini late 2012 and today I noticed that if I enable my Wi-Fi, the Mac Mini does not detect any wireless networks. It's not really a big issue for me since I am constantly connected via Ethernet but I would like to know if there's something I can do to regain wireless functionality.

One thing that pops to my head and could be related is that a few months back, I opened my Mac Mini in order to install a second hard disk. Although I was extremely careful not to break any connectors, I guess it might be possible that something went wrong.

On the other hand, If I had damaged the wi-fi, should't OSX refuse to detect my WiFi card to begin with? When I go to "System Preferences", "Network", I am able to turn on Wi-Fi on without problems, it's just that I can't detect any wireless networks around me whatsoever. I am also pasting the output from wi-fi section of System Information

Software Versions:
CoreWLAN: 5.0 (500.35.2)
CoreWLANKit: 4.0 (400.35)
Menu Extra: 10.0 (1000.33.2)
System Information: 9.0 (900.9)
IO80211 Family: 7.0 (700.52)
Diagnostics: 4.0 (400.68)
AirPort Utility: 6.3.4 (634.17)
Interfaces:
en1:
Card Type: AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0x10E)
Firmware Version: Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (7.15.124.12.10)
MAC Address: 88:53:95:2c:25:b9
Locale: ETSI
Country Code: X3
Supported PHY Modes: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Supported Channels: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112, 116, 120, 124, 128, 132, 136, 140
Wake On Wireless: Supported
AirDrop: Supported
Status: Not Associated


I have tried all the obvious troubleshooting steps (reboot Mac Mini, reboot Modem/Router, disable Ethernet on Mac Mini, disable and reenable Wireless on the Router but nothing seems to help. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
 

cutter74

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 15, 2012
77
10
I did try that. However all I'm getting to is a screen where wi-fi is enabled and searching for networks (without finding a single one).

Normally this would be an open and shut case that the wi-fi antenna is disconnected/broken/defective but OS X reports that the wi-fi antenna is present and the OS is able to turn it on and off. Is there something I can do on OS X? I don't know if it's relevant but I upgraded to Yosemite from Maverick instead of performing a clean install. Maybe something went wrong there?
 

DZ/015

macrumors 6502a
Mar 23, 2003
875
26
New England
How does the OS see the antenna? I know it can see the airport card, but I was not aware it could detect an antenna.

As previously stated, check your antenna connection.
 

paulrbeers

macrumors 68040
Dec 17, 2009
3,963
123
I did try that. However all I'm getting to is a screen where wi-fi is enabled and searching for networks (without finding a single one).

Normally this would be an open and shut case that the wi-fi antenna is disconnected/broken/defective but OS X reports that the wi-fi antenna is present and the OS is able to turn it on and off. Is there something I can do on OS X? I don't know if it's relevant but I upgraded to Yosemite from Maverick instead of performing a clean install. Maybe something went wrong there?

Seeing as how an antenna is nothing more than a wire hanging off a card, I would love to know how OS X knows there is an antenna or not.... I've never seen this diagnostic tool within OSX for this but then again I may be wrong and would love to be wrong since it would be helpful when diagnosing wifi problems.
 

cutter74

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 15, 2012
77
10
Well, I opened the mini and everything seemed to be in place. Just to make sure, I removed and reattached the antenna connector from its socket and carefully reinstalled the antenna plate. After booting the mini, I am still unable to detect any wireless networks when I turn on Wi-Fi.

Any ideas are more than welcome...
 
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