MBA won't reconnect to known wifi automatically

sdsvtdriver said:

Is there a known issue with MBAirs and wifi connectivity? The GF's MBA won't reconnect to any wifi that it has connected to in the past. I thought it was just an issue with the 2wire modem she has at her place, but the MBA has the same issue at my house. Once I connect it, it won't reconnect after sleep. I have to manually turn off wifi, click 'join', then pick it out of the list.

My 2 MBP's has no issues whatsoever reconnecting to my wifi after sleep, restart, etc.

I removed the preference files they'd rebuild, no avail. Suggestions?

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I am having the same problem as you. Very disappointed.

Known issue

It's all over the apple support forums. Turn off bluetooth, that should fix it.

Not the best solution though...

kp416 said:

I am having the same problem as you. Very disappointed.

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Same here...very annoying, to say the least.

Have you tried to uncheck "ask to join new networks" on network settings?


Also, try to make a new location. Edit location and add a new one. Press apply and restart when you have done this.

sdsvtdriver said:

..My 2 MBP's has no issues whatsoever reconnecting to my wifi after sleep, restart, etc.

I removed the preference files they'd rebuild, no avail. Suggestions?

Click to expand...

Pick channels 36-48 if you are in 5 Ghz mode. Also make sure your network is not hidden as it sometimes complicates things.

Stupid question, but you are on 10.7.2 on the MBA?

bwhinnen said:

Stupid question, but you are on 10.7.2 on the MBA?

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Not a stupid question at all! In fact the most important one! Because until 10.7.2, I was also having major problems with wifi. This was not restricted to my 2011 MBA. It also affected my 2007 MBP. It's Lion. 10.7.2 alleviated the problem but not completely. Sometimes, I have to disable wifi for 30 seconds, and turn it back on to latch on completely. But that is happening more and more infrequently since 10.7.2. Good luck

Confuzzzed said:

Not a stupid question at all! In fact the most important one! Because until 10.7.2, I was also having major problems with wifi. This was not restricted to my 2011 MBA. It also affected my 2007 MBP. It's Lion. 10.7.2 alleviated the problem but not completely. Sometimes, I have to disable wifi for 30 seconds, and turn it back on to latch on completely. But that is happening more and more infrequently since 10.7.2. Good luck

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I know it wasn't

Same here, although I found that post 10.7.2 I only have issues connecting if I am on the very edge of good reception and waking from sleep...

I was having the same issue, 2011 mba with 10.7.2, resetting the SMC has resolved the problem for me:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964

let us know if it works for you.

OMG it started happening to me last night!

And i just turned my MBA 5 mins ago, i had to click on my wifi.

This behavior starter on my 2011, 11" AFTER I updated the latest update. It doesn't connect any more to certain wifis.

Weird this is, using virtual XP from the same machine the wifi connects from windows.

So it seems to be something that came with 10.7.2 update.

same thing was happening to me after the 10.7.2 update, I tried deleting the saved wi-fi setting and connecting again and it seems to be working now.

aelive said:

same thing was happening to me after the 10.7.2 update, I tried deleting the saved wi-fi setting and connecting again and it seems to be working now.

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How you deleted it? just removed from list of known connections?

kilonet said:

How you deleted it? just removed from list of known connections?

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yeah exactly. it seems to be working so far.

WiFi Problem Solved Finally

Like everyone else I have been living with this annoying WiFi problem on the MBA. It would never ever re-connect to my WiFi. I would waste time re-connecting etc. Sometimes the WiFi indicator would have the "!" mark to indicate no internet connection which was bs.

So after numerous Genius bar appts (one yesterday 10/22) they still deny the problem. For some reason the Apple Wifi re connects in the store which is weird, thats the only re-connect I ever get with the MBA.

As usual, the so called "Genius" in Cerritos said to re-install Lion which is crap because I had another problem last summer with 100% battery/cpu utilization, they said to re-install Lion then as well. Turned out it was a problem with the Parallels icon in the task tray.

So I solved the WiFo problem myself. Turned off blue tooth.
Now it re-connects every time like it should.

APPLE THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE WIFI - BLUETOOTH RADIO IN THE MBA. Denying the problem and making Customers suffer through a Lion re-install is not acceptable. That solution may not even work.

I had also done all of the other suggestions - trash pref lists, remove the sys config etc etc.

One note - when I booted with my external Snow Leopard drive the WiFi problem disappeared.

Lion sucks i may just go back to SL.

SocalMacGuy said:

APPLE THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE WIFI - BLUETOOTH RADIO IN THE MBA. Denying the problem and making Customers suffer through a Lion re-install is not acceptable. That solution may not even work.

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Just so you know, I recently bought a Macbook Air 13" which had Lion preinstalled.

Bluetooth is turned off, but I'm still having the same problems with the wifi, so there has to be another cause.

Lion doesn't automatically connect to my home network when I turn on the laptop, and also disconnects each time I close and open the lid. I have to connect to the wireless network manually each time.

WiFi Reconnection Problems

The Genius Mgr confirmed his own MBA will not re-connect to WiFi either and informed me that the probable reason the problem isnt re produceable in the Apple store is the way their DHCP is setup, and multiple AirPort stations.

If you can take your new 2011 MBA into the Apple Store, I would have them delete the config files (like mine) and try the bluetooth off solution.

Seriously, the BT off works like a charm. I think there is a problem with the (most likely Broadcom) WiFi/BT radio.

The Genius Mgr offered to replace the board in the MBA but would need the machine 3 days. I will just live with it for now and when I need BT manually re-connect to WiFi.

sdsvtdriver said:

This helps, but does not resolve.



Yes.

It is odd. When the lid is opened, sometimes it won't connect. Cycling wifi off and on doesn't do anything. Manually joining sometimes works, however sometimes I get "no networks found" error. I have found closing the lid and reopening will fix it. May take a few open and closings, but eventually locks on.

This is not what I expect from an Apple product... Especially when I have another one on the way for me!

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That is interesting, mine on 10.7.2 works perfectly now, I was having issues with 10.7.1, but not anymore. What wireless AP are you using? What is dishing out the DHCP lease?

I run a AEBS (G3) and latest Time Capsule here both broadcasting a wireless network with the same SSID/password (at opposite ends of the house), DHCP is farmed out by a DLink DIR-655 router (wireless disabled on it), they are DHCP reservations not a normal lease. I have both MBA's and an iMac connected to the 5GHz only SSID and all work as they should.

Having the same issue...

me too ..... (Europe)

Another question:

I bought a MacBook Air 11" and just ordered an OPTOMA Videoprojector Pico PK301. My question is: how do I connect the Thunderbolt connection to the mini-HDMI entry in the PK301? I could not find a cable for this on the internet nor in Apple's online shop.

Best regards, Marcel