Connecting my external HD ruins wifi?? Mavericks

[DjElfo]

Hi,
I posted about my wifi problems and FINALLY found the answer. Its my external hard! I couldn't believe it. I was browsing a forum and someone discovered this for themselves and I was like no way.
Turns out, that was the problem. Its a 4TB Seagate Slim Fast Portable. Its my Time Machine backup and most of my important data.
I unplug it and my MBP connects to wifi perfectly, I plug it in, and it slows...then disconnects.
Wtf can I do to fix this? I cannot believe this is for real.
Thanks for any help!

 

[snaky69]

Hi,
I posted about my wifi problems and FINALLY found the answer. Its my external hard! I couldn't believe it. I was browsing a forum and someone discovered this for themselves and I was like no way.
Turns out, that was the problem. Its a 4TB Seagate Slim Fast Portable. Its my Time Machine backup and most of my important data.
I unplug it and my MBP connects to wifi perfectly, I plug it in, and it slows...then disconnects.
Wtf can I do to fix this? I cannot believe this is for real.
Thanks for any help!

Is your hard drive USB 3? THere is a known interference issue with USB 3 messing with wi-fi and bluetooth, and it isn't limited to Macs.

https://www.google.com/search?q=usb+interference&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

 

[simonsi]

Yep USB3 and interference is a known issue, not Mac related...

 

[DjElfo]

Thanks, I wasn't aware of that problem. Took me so long to figure it out, I'm surprised that no one responded to my posts with this issue or any of my searches turned anything up.

 

[DebianJunkie]

My Wifi was throwing out wrong password messages until I reset Pram and then everything was working.
Turn off your Mac, and then turn it back on while holding down the Command + Option + P + R keys. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time. Release the keys.