i3 iMac loses WiFi frequently, please help!

[talkinghead]

The wife's i3 iMac has been working flawlessly for several months now. About two weeks ago it started losing WIFI connection to the router. It is easy to re-establish connection through Airport, but then 5-10 minutes later, it drops the connection again.
We use a D-Link router and my PC never, or hardly ever loses connection.
Any solutions are most welcome!

 

[talkinghead]

BTW, I now have tried the usual, like shutting everything down and re-start, manual DNS, etc.
What's weird to me is how it is so easy to connect for 5 - 10 minutes, then off it goes. Arrgh!

 

[brachson]

The wife's i3 iMac has been working flawlessly for several months now. About two weeks ago it started losing WIFI connection to the router. It is easy to re-establish connection through Airport, but then 5-10 minutes later, it drops the connection again.
We use a D-Link router and my PC never, or hardly ever loses connection.
Any solutions are most welcome!

1. I still would try out another router - fact it works with PC does not proove anything.
2. Have u tried both - manual and auto IP assign?
3. Can you try cable connection? U say its WiFi because only that you have tried but may be cable connection will have same issue?

only these 3 for now...

 

[talkinghead]

Would a low wireless keyboard battery cause a loss in WiFi connection?

Well, today I noticed that my keyboard battery was at 10%. Replaced the battery and haven't dropped connection all day. Hmmm!

 

[talkinghead]

Well, today I noticed that my keyboard battery was at 10%. Replaced the battery and haven't dropped connection all day. Hmmm!

Oops, spoke a bit hastily.
Had a couple of drops in the last two hours. Better, but still not right yet.

This is just weird.

 

[Bernard SG]

Maybe there's a source of interference that got boosted by the fact your KBD was low on battery, causing your bluetooth to over-amplify the signal?
Apparently, the interference is still around but less "effective".

 

[talkinghead]

Maybe there's a source of interference that got boosted by the fact your KBD was low on battery, causing your bluetooth to over-amplify the signal?
Apparently, the interference is still around but less "effective".

Interference... well, we do have Panasonic wireless (land line) phone system, one satellite sits near on the same table, however that phone was there from day one.

If I could just figure out why the frequency of dropped connection has increased dramatically.

 

[Bernard SG]

are you living in an individual house or an apartment?
Could be some neighbor's WiFi.

 

[MacHamster68]

or just a router that is not setup proper , because its working with a windows pc , that alone should give you something to think about
just kidding ,but the aluminum iMac's never had been ideal for wifi , my mate had to find that out too with his 27 inch , he is not allowed to move the router on the place where it stays now precisely , his wife drives him mad because she moves the router when she is dusting and just places the router wherever she likes on the bookshelf and he's losing connection too until he moves his router back where it should be , never let the router face the back of a aluminium iMac , side and front are perfect for reception as the aluminium acts like a satellite parabolic dish , and like satellite dishes pointing the back of a parabolic dish towards the satellite doesn't give you good reception

 

[talkinghead]

or just a router that is not setup proper , because its working with a windows pc , that alone should give you something to think about
just kidding ,but the aluminum iMac's never had been ideal for wifi , my mate had to find that out too with his 27 inch , he is not allowed to move the router on the place where it stays now precisely , his wife drives him mad because she moves the router when she is dusting and just places the router wherever she likes on the bookshelf and he's losing connection too until he moves his router back where it should be , never let the router face the back of a aluminium iMac , side and front are perfect for reception as the aluminium acts like a satellite parabolic dish , and like satellite dishes pointing the back of a parabolic dish towards the satellite doesn't give you good reception

MacH, as it turns out the front of the iMac is facing the router at about 45*, and its only about 20 ft. away. Again, this has not changed since the initial set-up. For 2-3 months there were almost zero drops, the over the last 2 weeks, the drops have gradually increased in frequency.

 

[talkinghead]

Partial Solution!

Apparently the WiFi antenna is located behind the Apple on the back of the display. Also apparently it is fairly directional. Therefore, facing the back of the iMac toward the router/access point will improve reception and minimize drops.

Example: My iMac is located between my router and my neighbors router. Originally the back was pointed toward the neighbor, which is about 8 times the distance away from my router. In looking at the networks available, the neighbors router, which is an "n", showed strong signal, and my router, a "g", only showed low to moderate strength. Some of this could simply be the quality of the router's signals.
I then rotated the iMac with the back facing my router, and checked "available networks". The neighbors router didn't even show up. My router signal elevated to medium strength, not great, but better than before. So far, not a drop yet (fingers X crossed).