Wireless not working well with new MBA 13"

[maayank]

I bought a new MBA 13" with an i7 (Samsung SSD with a LG panel, so all in all I'm happy ) and received it about a week ago.

In the first few hours the wifi seemed to work alright, but ever since there are many periods (of several hours) where it's just not usable - either a ping to the router (an old Edimax 6104Wg) fails or it has some ridiculous timings like 5600ms

I've tried many network configurations both for my mac and router, but nothing seems to solve the problem. My Acer Aspire One netbook and my iPhone 3GS work with the wireless network seamlessly.

1) Has anyone experienced something similar?
2) Any suggestions for a solution?

Thanks, MK

[maayank]

O.K., for future reference: after much googling and trying, it seems like there really is a problem with Lion and the new MBA WiFi chipset.
I finally solved it by replacing the 802.11 kext with an older version.
I posted a recap of the whole experience (and solution instructions) here: http://thoughts.maayank.com/2011/08/...k-air-and.html

[nniicckk]

I have had no problems with WIFI. In fact, I am getting higher speeds with it compared to an old MBP that also supports 802.11n. The router is an older Airport Extreme. Also worked fine with some public hot spots.

[tekkietekkie]

Originally Posted by maayank

O.K., for future reference: after much googling and trying, it seems like there really is a problem with Lion and the new MBA WiFi chipset.
I finally solved it by replacing the 802.11 kext with an older version.
I posted a recap of the whole experience (and solution instructions) here: http://thoughts.maayank.com/2011/08/...k-air-and.html

doesn't work for me on a brand new 13.3 MBP 2011

my firmware seems to be different though

what a joke apple is right now with so many complaining and them doing nothing, I called their tech support which was useless a week ago, my mackintosh works PERFECTLY but my MBP doesn't work worth a crap

Software Versions:
CoreWLAN: 2.0 (200.46)
CoreWLANKit: 1.0 (100.43)
Menu Extra: 7.0 (700.42)
configd plug-in: 7.0 (700.57)
System Profiler: 7.0 (700.3)
IO80211 Family: 4.0 (400.40)
WiFi Diagnostics: 1.0 (100.26)
AirPort Utility: 5.5.3 (553.20)
Interfaces:
en1:
Card Type: AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0xD6)
Firmware Version: Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.100.98.75.6)
MAC Address: e4:xx
Locale: FCC
Country Code: US
Supported PHY Modes: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Supported Channels: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112, 116, 120, 124, 128, 132, 136, 140, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165
Wake On Wireless: Supported
AirDrop: Supported
Status: Connected

[maayank]

tekkietekkie, can you ping your router's ip and post the results? Interesting to see if have the exact same problem, or if in your case it's manifested in another way.

We both have very similar initial firmware versions, so I'm sad to hear it didn't work for you What happens when you install the earlier firmware? Do you get a message that no hardware was found or does it recognize the hardware with the old firmware version, but just lousy connectivity?

[tekkietekkie]

Originally Posted by maayank

tekkietekkie, can you ping your router's ip and post the results? Interesting to see if have the exact same problem, or if in your case it's manifested in another way.

We both have very similar initial firmware versions, so I'm sad to hear it didn't work for you What happens when you install the earlier firmware? Do you get a message that no hardware was found or does it recognize the hardware with the old firmware version, but just lousy connectivity?

After I reboot the wifi adapter is gone, it's not under network settings and it doesn't show up under system info either, I might try 10.6.3 after to see if that works

[xraydoc]

No problem here, but using an Apple wifi base station, which likely explains why I've not had any trouble.

[efet]

Same issues here.

[ubiquity75]

Originally Posted by xraydoc

No problem here, but using an Apple wifi base station, which likely explains why I've not had any trouble.

Sadly, this is incorrect. I've detailed my own odyssey with the issue Maayank describes on the Apple boards, and I'm currently running on an Airport Express N. The issue persists.

It's absurd to suggest a pervasive WiFi problem is due to not using Apple hardware at the router level. Imagine trying to control for that issue in a workplace, while traveling, in cafés, etc.

Unfortunately, Maayank's great solution of stepping back to an earlier revision of various portions of the networking framework did not work in my case, but I'm glad it did for him. It's still no solution of any permanence, of course, as applying this causes a loss of AirDrop functionality as well as other issues. The good news is that he got things working for the time being. I continue to experience this problem, however.

----------

I've also created a thread on MacRumors to document the problem here, as well.

[lovelaptops]

Originally Posted by ubiquity75

Sadly, this is incorrect. I've detailed my own odyssey with the issue Maayank describes on the Apple boards, and I'm currently running on an Airport Express N. The issue persists.

It's absurd to suggest a pervasive WiFi problem is due to not using Apple hardware at the router level. Imagine trying to control for that issue in a workplace, while traveling, in cafés, etc.

Unfortunately, Maayank's great solution of stepping back to an earlier revision of various portions of the networking framework did not work in my case, but I'm glad it did for him. It's still no solution of any permanence, of course, as applying this causes a loss of AirDrop functionality as well as other issues. The good news is that he got things working for the time being. I continue to experience this problem, however.

----------

I've also created a thread on MacRumors to document the problem here, as well.

What really got me steamed is when Apple phone support told me, with my stepdaughters brand new MBP 13, that they cannot and will not help troubleshoot a wifi problem if the wifi router is not an Apple product! I tried calling back 3 times and got the same response. Only option: return the MBP and go for a Windows computer that gets 40 mbs at 15 ft and 30 mbs at 50 ft. Also, the MBPs and MBA's are nearly impossible to sync with a standard wireless printer. You get connections only 50% of the time, though the same router produces perfect results, 100% of the time, with modern (and not so modern) wireless N cards from 50 feet (and two stories) away. Fix this, Apple, or you are off my shopping list!

[Spike88]

If running Lion, have an indepth look at the contents within:

http://osxdaily.com/2011/08/08/mac-w...ss-connection/

Note: Review all the reader comments as well. Perhaps some of those suggested "workarounds" might work on your new MBP as well.... For example "Keychain cleanup (all wi-fi passwords) solved the problem.
MBP 2006".

Good luck.

.

[ubiquity75]

Originally Posted by Spike88

If running Lion, have an indepth look at the contents within:

http://osxdaily.com/2011/08/08/mac-w...ss-connection/

Note: Review all the reader comments as well. Perhaps some of those suggested "workarounds" might work on your new MBP as well.... For example "Keychain cleanup (all wi-fi passwords) solved the problem.
MBP 2006".

Good luck.

.

Thanks for this. I have tried many other workarounds, including various manipulations of the Keychain - wiping extraneous entries for the same network, "always allow"ing applications' access via the Advanced settings, etc.

I echo the commenters' concerns with the bash script in that link. The issue is unlikely to be related to specific router hardware incompatibilities, unless Apple's own router hardware is implicated: I'm experiencing this problem with an Air and an Airport Express N. In fact, I've experienced it with three routers of different brands/models.

Here is another take on the keepalive script fix, from a guy in the Apple Support forums. I've yet to implement it, as my goal right now has been to document and gather information in a comprehensive way. I'll report back once I do.