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iMac Wifi issues.... Going insane. PLEASE help/input

E

exileskimer

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 30, 2010
71
0
So my iMac has been working perfectly fine for two months now. It's the base model 2011. I started playing diablo 3 recently so the only logical explanation I can drum up is an overheated broken wifi card

All of a sudden my iMac started dropping wifi connection every minute about. I was running mountain lion so I was like ok let's wipe the iMac and go to lion. Fresh start. No go. Still drops.

Figured ok maybe it's my airport extreme. Completely redid my home network. And got a new airport extreme. No go.

Figured it was maybe uverse. Reset uverse completely. No go


None of my other devices... iPad, iPhone, android have any wifi problems at all

Just my iMac. I'm going insane. Can't figure this out for the life or me.


Could it be a bad wifi card?

----------

Also when it does work. Speed tests show it is only going about 1/20 of the network speed that all other devices get
 
From reading your diagnostic steps, I think you were insane before your wifi issues.
 
Lol. I did do normal troubleshooting steps before I tried all the extreme ones I listed lol.

Everything from resetting SMC to making new network locations....


Anyone have any thoughts?
 
Is your network password protected?
Did you use the same SSID or a new one in recreating the network?

One of the problems seems to have to do with keychain corruption.
 
forty2j said:
Is your network password protected?
Did you use the same SSID or a new one in recreating the network?

One of the problems seems to have to do with keychain corruption.
Click to expand...

Currently its unprotected. I've tried protected

And remember I've completely restored the pc
 
exileskimer said:
Sometimes it will fix it, sometimes it won't. Regardless, the "fix" doesn't last for more than 60 seconds
Click to expand...

Don't understand your reply. WiFi Diagnostics is part of Lion Core Services and might help you troubleshoot your issue. It's a program you run.
 
exileskimer said:
Thought you just meant the assistant/diagnostics in wifi settings

Yah I have it up now. Want me to record what it says?

What should I be looking for
Click to expand...

I've never used the tool to troubleshoot a problem, but from what I have seen using it on a working system, the logging feature seems like it would show error or exceptional conditions if one is having wifi issues.

Maybe we can both learn something here!
 
LaWally said:
That is an ugly chart. I ran the performance monitor on my system and the signal was a nearly constant -37 and the noise a nearly constant -90. Your signal fluctuations make me wonder if you've got interference.
Click to expand...

Nothing has really changed in the house... All my other laptops and iPads and everything work fine....

How could I go about fixing the interference?

Can you show me what yours looks like?
 
LaWally said:
That is an ugly chart. I ran the performance monitor on my system and the signal was a nearly constant -37 and the noise a nearly constant -90. Your signal fluctuations make me wonder if you've got interference.
Click to expand...

Here is my chart.
 

Attachments

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exileskimer said:
Oh **** lol

Any ideas about hOw to fix interference
Click to expand...

I'm wondering now if your chart is illustrative of a bad wifi card. If we assume your router is putting out a good wifi signal (because your iPhone and iPad connectivity is good), then maybe what this chart shows is a wifi card that is not receiving a constant signal. That could explain the dropped connections.
 
Taking the iMac to a friends house. If its doing it's there. I got to assume its a bad card

What do you think?

Btw. I appreciate all the helP!
 
Same issue here. Different ISP and all

Trying one more system restore here

Then bringing it in to genius bar tomorrow

Thanks again for all the helP
 
Too many variables to figure out still. You need to start eliminating some....

Start simple, and work to more complicated steps.

First... connect your iMac to the router with an ethernet cord.... If it still drops out then it's not Wifi, it's something else.

Then swap out the router for known working one. If it still drops out, it's not the router.

Are you on ADSL? Has someone removed the noise filter? Is the land-line telephone still firmly connected. In fact, unplug all the phones. Is it still dropping out? If not... problem may be with the phones.

Are the phones cordless? Unplug them and check. If the dropouts continue, plug them in one by one.

Have you changed Wifi channels? A neighbour may have installed something new.

Are you sure the internet connection from your house to the ISP is clean? Phone and and iPads don't really tax the connection the way a computer can. Plug a borrowed computer directly into the modem, and see do one of the speed checks. See if the connection speed is what you expect. If not, it's modem or ISP issues.

Your issue sounds, incidentally, just like a friend of mine. She was going mad with dropouts, even though her daughter's iPhone was fine. The phone company (ISP) finally sent someone who checked everything and said that actually they were aware of an issue in their switching office. She was pretty mad because she had been talking to phone support who had her doing all sorts of gymnastics (both virtual and actual) - though they knew it was in their offices.

In my experience, start with the easy stuff... and then assume it's the ISP's fault. If you can't eliminate the ISP as the source of the problem, then start with your own setup.

Luck.
 
exileskimer said:
Taking the iMac to a friends house. If its doing it's there. I got to assume its a bad card

What do you think?

Btw. I appreciate all the helP!
Click to expand...

I was going to suggest something like that. I would agree all things point to a bad card if the problem is repeated at your friends house.

BTW, iMacs are great until you have to lug them around.

----------
exileskimer said:
Same issue here. Different ISP and all

Trying one more system restore here

Then bringing it in to genius bar tomorrow

Thanks again for all the helP
Click to expand...

Don't forget to take your ugly chart with you ... and maybe a copy of mine too.
 
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