Late 2013 MBP 15" WiFi problem in clamshell mode

[nigelbb]

I have encountered a problem trying to use my Late 2013 MBP Retina 15" running Mojave in clamshell mode with an 4K external monitor. It works fine until I close the lid & then WiFi stops working despite the icon in the menu bar showing five bars of signal. I have Googled & found others have suffered the same problem with no apparent resolution other than leaving the lid open.

I only want one screen while using the big monitor. The scenario is that I have been working on my MBP screen then plug into the big screen & want that to become my single active screen with all the windows flipping over to that screen. If I don't use clamshell mode I have to manually move all my active windows to the external monitor.

Currently my only solution seems to be to use wired Ethernet but that is yet another cable to hook up.

Does anyone use a Late 2013 MBP Retina 15" in clamshell mode? Does WiFi work OK?

 

[chscag]

Have you tried relocating your router? How about switching from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz? The WiFi antenna on your machine is located in the lid behind the display unless Apple has relocated it in your model.

 

[nigelbb]

Have you tried relocating your router? How about switching from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz? The WiFi antenna on your machine is located in the lid behind the display unless Apple has relocated it in your model.

It's already on 5GHz & neither moving the router nor the MBP cures the loss of WiFi. The signal strength icon on the menu bar still shows five bars so it doesn't look like it should be a signal issue.

Shipping a laptop designed to be used in clamshell mode with a WiFi antenna that gets disabled when you shut the lid seems an astonishing oversight on the part of Apple if true. In my experience plenty of people use laptops in clamshell mode so if this were a zero-day issue with all 15" Retina MBP then I would have expected a lot more discussion in the last seven years apart from the half a dozen threads that I found.

I'm interested to know whether anyone else is using a MBP in clamshell mode & whether the WiFi works for them. If there are then it's more likely that I have a configuration or software issue rather than an unfixable hardware issue.

 

[Audit13]

I can use my late 2013 13" Pro in clamshell mode but the signal strength varies when I change router location.

Are you able to use it in clam shell mode with a wired connection?

 

[jerryk]

I have encountered a problem trying to use my Late 2013 MBP Retina 15" running Mojave in clamshell mode with an 4K external monitor. It works fine until I close the lid & then WiFi stops working despite the icon in the menu bar showing five bars of signal. I have Googled & found others have suffered the same problem with no apparent resolution other than leaving the lid open.

I only want one screen while using the big monitor. The scenario is that I have been working on my MBP screen then plug into the big screen & want that to become my single active screen with all the windows flipping over to that screen. If I don't use clamshell mode I have to manually move all my active windows to the external monitor.

Currently my only solution seems to be to use wired Ethernet but that is yet another cable to hook up.

Does anyone use a Late 2013 MBP Retina 15" in clamshell mode? Does WiFi work OK?

I have never had a 2013, but both my 2015 and 2018 15" MacBook Pros worked fine on Wifi in clamshell mode with external monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

 

[nigelbb]

I can use my late 2013 13" Pro in clamshell mode but the signal strength varies when I change router location.

Are you able to use it in clam shell mode with a wired connection?

I already had a TB to Ethernet adaptor so this is my workaround although it is one more wire to hook up when connecting to the monitor.

 

[Nolan O'Reilly]

I have a 2015 15" retina and am not having total loss of wifi when using clamshell mode but pretty close. It cuts in and out and will say that it has a full connection the entire time.