Mavericks Severe Wifi Issues

[ckeck]

Since installing the full release of Mavericks on my Haswell iMac my wifi connection is dropping about every 1-2 hours. Nothing is able to resolve (Safari, IM accounts, email, etc).

The connection status still looks normal however. It's not showing any kind of error in the menu bar. I have to manually shut off wifi and turn it back on in order for things to come back. Renewing the DHCP lease doesn't do it either.

Anyone else experiencing this? After 2-3 days is resetting my wifi every hour or two I'm about to put something through the window.

No other devices in the house are having an issue with wifi, so from what I can tell it's isolated.

 

[satcomer]

I have been seeing this in Haswell Mac Books all over the internet. Have you tried making a new System Preferences->Internet, Locations yet to see if that helps?

Plus are you connecting at 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz?

 

[Dorv]

I doubt this is related in the least, but:

I had a similar issue with my new rMBP. Turns out the powered USB hub (which I wasn't powering due to the length of the cord) was drawing too much power down the same channel as the wifi card.

 

[jclardy]

My rMBP has had WiFi issues when waking from sleep - the bars will animate like it is trying to connect, but then it just stops. So I have to click on my network every time I open the lid, after waiting 30 seconds for it to fail the first time.

It does this with both auto-join networks that I have and only started after the Mavericks upgrade.

 

[drisley]

Just got my Haswell iMac 27" three days ago and experiencing probably the exact same issue.

After not using my iMac for a few hours, say going to bed, when I go to use it again, the wifi shows me as connected, but there is no internet access or data throughput to the router of any kind. But the iMac shows me as connected to my router just fine.

Router is a linksys wrt160n 2.4GHZ router, I get great speeds and power since my router is only 6 ft away (across a hallway so can't use a cord).

Have to turn wifi off then back on to get data flowing again.

No problem with this router with my old PC for 2 years (not one issue or disconnect or "dead connection" as is the case here).

Since installing the full release of Mavericks on my Haswell iMac my wifi connection is dropping about every 1-2 hours. Nothing is able to resolve (Safari, IM accounts, email, etc).

The connection status still looks normal however. It's not showing any kind of error in the menu bar. I have to manually shut off wifi and turn it back on in order for things to come back. Renewing the DHCP lease doesn't do it either.

Anyone else experiencing this? After 2-3 days is resetting my wifi every hour or two I'm about to put something through the window.

No other devices in the house are having an issue with wifi, so from what I can tell it's isolated.

 

[satcomer]

On the affected Macs try one of two possible fixes.

1) Get into your router and change the channel.

2) This fix is easy & scary the first time you do it but safe.
a) In your Mac open System Preferences->Network pane and turn of your wireless i this pane.
b) Stating in the Network pane use the - sign to delete your wireless car (don't panic). Then once that is gone use the + sign to add back your wireless card making sure you save this change using the 'Apply' button. The using this news card to rejoin your wireless network. If you are on now don't forget to use the 'Apply' button to save the new configuration.

Good Luck.

 

[cerberusss]

I don't get the same symptoms, once mine has a connection then it will stay on. However when I open the lid, or when logging in after returning to my MBA 2013, it won't pick up the network automatically.

I'll have to pick it manually, and it takes up to 30 seconds to get a connection. Nor the iPhone or the iPad have the same problem, and work flawlessly. So it's the MBA or its OS that's the problem.

 

[drisley]

On the affected Macs try one of two possible fixes.

1) Get into your router and change the channel.

2) This fix is easy & scary the first time you do it but safe.
a) In your Mac open System Preferences->Network pane and turn of your wireless i this pane.
b) Stating in the Network pane use the - sign to delete your wireless car (don't panic). Then once that is gone use the + sign to add back your wireless card making sure you save this change using the 'Apply' button. The using this news card to rejoin your wireless network. If you are on now don't forget to use the 'Apply' button to save the new configuration.

Good Luck.

Thanks! As far as the channel goes, I changed my channel from AUTO to 3 or 4 on my router 2 years ago. My building has a lot of networks (200 suites) so those were the best with no interference and fastest speeds, so my router was already on channel 4 with great connection and thruput, full 30Mbps all the time on my 30Mbps ISP.

On my old PC with a usb wifi dongle, never had a single disconnect or "dead connection" in 2 years, not one. But my speeds were not as good, maybe 10-15 Mbps (router is only 5-6 feet away from both computers). So the iMac wifi is more powerful for sure, just stalling out somewhere.

As for the 2nd option, I will try that and see what happens.

It's not a matter of disconnecting, it's just a matter of staying connected, but no throughput.

Thanks for the advice, will see if this helps!