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Anyone finding WiFi a bit of a mixed bag on 2011?

NutsNGum

NutsNGum

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Jul 30, 2010
2,856
367
Glasgow, Scotland
I've had the 13" Air since the 21st now, I am still noticing quite frequent drops in WiFi connectivity - more so than with any other computer in the house, including the iMac which also has Lion installed.

I've set it to a static IP address, this hasn't resolved the problem. I've also changed my DNS host, this also hasn't really resolved the problem. My modem is evidently not the issue either, as, as I have mentioned, the iMac is working fine.

I considered posting this earlier, but I wanted to be sure it was a genuine problem and not just me being a dimwit.
 
NutsNGum said:
I've had the 13" Air since the 21st now, I am still noticing quite frequent drops in WiFi connectivity - more so than with any other computer in the house, including the iMac which also has Lion installed.

I've set it to a static IP address, this hasn't resolved the problem. I've also changed my DNS host, this also hasn't really resolved the problem. My modem is evidently not the issue either, as, as I have mentioned, the iMac is working fine.

I considered posting this earlier, but I wanted to be sure it was a genuine problem and not just me being a dimwit.
Click to expand...

I actually have it the other way round. My iMac randomly drops the connection, my MBAs appear to be okay except that the 11 inch model doesn't automatically rejoin the network when it wakes up.

Have you checked the Console? What sort of info are you getting every time it disconnects?
 
Router

It could be the wifi side of your router is on the way out. The iMac using Airport has a better connection signal than an MB. One thing you could try if your router supports it, is to switch the band from 2.4 to 5.

I use 5 for my Apple kit and it eliminates interference. One cautionary word if you are using any Windows based kit......It won't work on the higher band.
 
I had to go back and redo my network settings on my airport extreme after I installed 10.6.8. Drop outs were driving me crazy until I did.

Coming from an 08 aluminum macbook, I love the connectivity on mine. Pulls in a clear signal anywhere in the house, and shows a slew of wifi connections belonging to my neighbors.
 
Cheers for the info Macman, sadly my router doesn't support 5Ghz or I'd have no problem moving onto it.

Ubuntu are you referring to the console router? I haven't actually checked that.
The Wifi just sort of hangs there, like it can't really resolve itself. I guess it's probably a DNS issue, I might just have to try a different provider.

Thanks for the help fellas.
 
My MacBook Pros (2011 13 inch, 2010 15 inch) and two iPhone 4's constantly dropped my wifi. My 2011 13" Air has never had a problem, and neither has the 15 inch MBP since I updated to Lion a week ago.
 
NutsNGum said:
I've set it to a static IP address, this hasn't resolved the problem. I've also changed my DNS host, this also hasn't really resolved the problem. My modem is evidently not the issue either, as, as I have mentioned, the iMac is working fine.
Click to expand...

Neither of those things have got anything to do with wi-fi connectivity.

Those are to do with TCP/IP which is on a higher layer than the wi-fi connection.

Chances are there's a loose antenna plug inside your machine.
 
HellDiverUK said:
Neither of those things have got anything to do with wi-fi connectivity.

Those are to do with TCP/IP which is on a higher layer than the wi-fi connection.

Chances are there's a loose antenna plug inside your machine.
Click to expand...

Pardon me.

Untitled-1.jpg
 
NutsNGum said:
Changing DNS seems to have fixed it. Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...

Oh really? How did you change the DNS? I don't know a lot about it but wouldn't the two macs have the same DNS on the same network? Would you mind explaining it a bit to me because I'd love to try this for my iMac.

Thanks
 
Are you guys using Lion by any chance?

I really think that Lion was released with an inherent bug that only presents itself in certain situations/configurations.

I have a 2010 MBA. Previously on SL my wifi connection would be rock solid. Never had a problem.

But, once upgrading to Lion I often drop connection.

I've been reading people posting about wifi problems since Lion.

To remedy the problem all I do is turn off Airport, then turn it back on.

$.02
 
I´ve had some issues with losing WiFi.
Have resorted to using DHCP with specified IP address, working good so far. I am suspicious about my D-Link router, it may be the culprit. However, it works great with 2 iPhones, iPad 1 + 2 and a Windows laptop.

Still, I want the Airport Extreme Base Station, simply to be able to have dual 2.4 + 5 Ghz support.
 
The 2010s had documented issues with wifi dropping as well, and Apple suggested setting the wifi router to certain channels. Of course, this is not possible on public wifi networks, which is where it seems to occur the most.
 
Definitely, I was flabbergasted when my 11 inch 2011 MBA couldn't connect to the internet yesterday. For some reason I had to re enter the password. Then for a good half day on it afterwards, internet on it for video viewing apps was painfully slow. It cleared up at the end of the day, leaving me quite confused.
 
Ubuntu said:
Oh really? How did you change the DNS? I don't know a lot about it but wouldn't the two macs have the same DNS on the same network? Would you mind explaining it a bit to me because I'd love to try this for my iMac.

Thanks
Click to expand...

They probably should I suppose, however, being a relative novice at fiddling with that sort of thing, I had a few of mine on different settings.

To change your DNS settings, go to:

WiFi/AirPort > Open Network Preferences > Advanced > Click the DNS tab at the top > in the DNS servers panel click the + at the bottom > add your dns server.

I use OpenDNS, which is at 208.67.222.222 or 208.67.220.220

Google provide a free DNS service: 8.8.8.8 - bit easier to remember!

You need only enter one number. My ping has dramatically improved since switching, handy for the odd xbox game.
 
I Have a similar Hang issue

Here is my setuo, Macmini Server as Gateway, (10.6.8) Timcapsule first gen. as intranet router,
Airport Express extending range. Late 09 Mac Book Pro seems to always Hang when doing normal web browsing etc. Turning Wifi off then on from the laptop seems to fix.
I changed frquencies to 5ghz, but now I-phones & Kids I-pod touch don't work.
Have a 2GB Timecapsule that was given to me. Was anything updated in this version? Or can I set up a seperate network just for 5 Ghz?
Let's hear from the networking guru's !
Thanks !
 
Macman45 said:
It could be the wifi side of your router is on the way out. The iMac using Airport has a better connection signal than an MB. One thing you could try if your router supports it, is to switch the band from 2.4 to 5.

I use 5 for my Apple kit and it eliminates interference. One cautionary word if you are using any Windows based kit......It won't work on the higher band.
Click to expand...

That's strange (Using 802.11an 5ghz on my Lenovo X220si ) windows does indeed support 5ghz, just check the wifi card supports it...
The miss-information being spread around (as if fact) is astonishing.

Wifi is a tricky beast, does the problem get better if you are in another room? have you tried manually setting your MTU? I have a major problem with Wifi on a Macbook Pro, the (my) only option is to use a Airport Express connected as Wifi Client then share the connection through the Ethernet Port with a cable to my laptop .... very 'Portable'
 
once every 10 minutes or so, my wifi connection will stop sending packets. lasts about 30 seconds.

Typicalyl doesn't disconnect me. so downloads and transfers still resume afterwards. But it is sort of annoying.

I thoguht it was my router, my previous one was about 7 years old. So i bought a new N one, and despite having great connectivity it still randomly just.. stops sending / receiving.

If i watch my activity monitor while i'm doing anything online, I see it go from whatever normal traffic is, to 0 packets sent received.
 
NutsNGum said:
They probably should I suppose, however, being a relative novice at fiddling with that sort of thing, I had a few of mine on different settings.

To change your DNS settings, go to:

WiFi/AirPort > Open Network Preferences > Advanced > Click the DNS tab at the top > in the DNS servers panel click the + at the bottom > add your dns server.

I use OpenDNS, which is at 208.67.222.222 or 208.67.220.220

Google provide a free DNS service: 8.8.8.8 - bit easier to remember!

You need only enter one number. My ping has dramatically improved since switching, handy for the odd xbox game.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure that changed your DNS server.
I think to change your router's DNS server you need to go to your router's settings, not the computer's settings.
This is wierd...
On my router's settings I have my ISP's DNS address, while on my computer's (windows laptop) DNS I have the router address (192.168.2.1).

Anyone can explain what the PC's dns is for?
 
As a general comment, I can say that Lion brought some Wi-Fi issues to the MacBook Air, but it is slowly getting better with each update. Hopefully the 10.7.2 and later 10.7.3 updates fix this entirely.
 
orfeas0 said:
I'm not sure that changed your DNS server.
I think to change your router's DNS server you need to go to your router's settings, not the computer's settings.
This is wierd...
On my router's settings I have my ISP's DNS address, while on my computer's (windows laptop) DNS I have the router address (192.168.2.1).

Anyone can explain what the PC's dns is for?
Click to expand...
A lot of home routers can "pretend" to be a dns server. They don't typically though, and they just forward whatever request your PC makes to the DNS server that the router connects to.

If you set your DNS server on your computer to a different IP address, your computer will use the new DNS server.

Consequently, if you leave your PC's DNS server as your routers, and then change your routers, it will work the same, but everyone on the network will now be using the new DNS instead of just the local machine
 
my connection's not dropping, but certain pages just wouldn't load at random. Also I keep getting that 'safari can't open the page' error all the time.
 
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