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Problems with WiFi randomly disconnecting

E

ericDylan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 6, 2012
101
0
I have a 2010 MBA and all has been good until recently. My internet connection keeps getting lost. It says I am connected to it in the status bar, but, every now and then, it just stops connecting.

When I am browsing, I don't get any kind of error message or anything. The blue progress bar in the address bar just stops moving. I have found that restarting the computer is faster than letting it resolve itself (if it even would, I have never sat waiting longer than a minute or two).

I know it is not the connection because I can connect my phone to the WiFi and use it. Plus, the internet works immediately every time I restart it, which leads me to believe it is a computer problem. I am also somewhat sure it is not safari because, when it happens, I have tried opening up firefox to no avail.

Has anyone else had this problem or have any idea how to fix it?

It is rather annoying.
Thanks,
Eric
Click to expand...

I posted this a few weeks ago and a member suggested I delete my WiFi cache or something and I did. It seemed to work for a while, but the problem is back and it is worse.

Since doing all of that, I have secured my router with WPA 2 (before it was open).

Now the problem seems to be worse. Before I would be showing full bars and have no internet. Now, it disconnects and shows it is disconnected. It will do this repeatedly as I am browsing the internet. To reconnect, I have to manually go to the status bar WiFi icon and select my router (and it will usually connect, but not always. sometimes it will refuse to reconnect for up to 5 minutes) even though I have it set to remember it and connect to it automatically.

Any help would be much appreciated. This problem has made simply browsing the web a tedious task. My warranty runs out on July 11, so I would like to try anything you guys suggest soon, so I still have time to go to the apple store to check it out in case the problem persists.
 
have you tried doing a power recycle? switch off your modem first and then your router and switch them back on after few minutes in the same order and then check your MBA to see if it works. this may or may not be a solution to your problem but it might be worth a try.
 
It is a problem with Lion, it happens on my MBP, MBA, and iMac in different locations. Ever since I have upgraded to Lion it has happened
 
I thought about the router, but I use it with my phone, PS3, 2 other PCs, and an iPod. If it was the router, wouldn't it affect those devices as well?

It is an old router (about 4 years old), so I guess it is possible, but it seems less likely than other possibilities.

Since it seems to have gotten worse after I secured the router with WPA 2, would it help if I made the network open and just hide the SSID to protect it from other people.

edit: also, does anyone know if Mountain Lion also has this problem? I have been thinking about installing that anyway.
 
If it is not a problem with the Lion then definitely try the power recycle.
when i had wifi issues (but this was with windows machines) my laptop would be connected to internet when my wife's laptop wouldn't. more than once i've had a computer connected to the internet while 1 or more couldn't connect.
 
I had this problem with every transmitter I owned (Belkin, Netgear, Motorola, etc.) and bought an Airport as a last resort. It was very pricey compared to the Staple's models above. But I have never had a problem since I made the switch.
 
which brand of router is it?

I had a Fritz Box and massive problems with disconnecting. Looks like the mixed b/g/n Wireless network of the Fritzbox doesn't mix well with Apple.

Since I use an Airport Extreme to provide wireless the problems have disappeared.
 
Its a Belkin router. I guess I will skip stopping by the apple store since it doesnt seem to be a hardware problem and they can't do anything about software.

I may break down and by an airport at some point, but it seems like a waste considering all my other stuff works with the belkin.

Well, thanks for all the help.
 
I used a Belkin router at my old apartment. I had the same problem. It would disconnect, often rebooting on its own. Sometimes I couldn't reconnect for a while, and I would just get the "connection timeout" error.

Prior to that, I was using an Airport Extreme with no problem, and I am currently using an Airport Express with no problem.

I don't know why it is so hard for other companies to make reliable routers, but pretty much every brand router I have tried other than Apple has been terrible in one aspect or another. I've tried Belkin, Dlink, and Linksys. They all had problems with random reboots and connection drops.
 
dcorban said:
I used a Belkin router at my old apartment. I had the same problem. It would disconnect, often rebooting on its own. Sometimes I couldn't reconnect for a while, and I would just get the "connection timeout" error.

Prior to that, I was using an Airport Extreme with no problem, and I am currently using an Airport Express with no problem.

I don't know why it is so hard for other companies to make reliable routers, but pretty much every brand router I have tried other than Apple has been terrible in one aspect or another. I've tried Belkin, Dlink, and Linksys. They all had problems with random reboots and connection drops.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what is happening with me. I think it may not be the fault of those companies. It seems that the fault lies with Apple–at least partly. I say this because every other wireless device I use works perfectly with my router. It is just my MBA that poses a problem. I am going to college next year and plan on getting a new MBP and iMac, so I will probably get an Airport Extreme then. Until then, I will make due I suppose.
 
The wifi problems are still persisting. My warranty is up on the 11th. Should I go to the apple store?

I was thinking about installing the ML DP4 to see if that stopped the problem, but I am worried it might make it worse or void my warranty (I am not a dev). I just don't know what to do. This problem is really annoying.
 
majordude said:
I had this problem with every transmitter I owned (Belkin, Netgear, Motorola, etc.) and bought an Airport as a last resort. It was very pricey compared to the Staple's models above. But I have never had a problem since I made the switch.
Click to expand...

So you can't use an Apple laptop at the library, Starbucks or bookstore? Only works with Apple Airport routers?
 
Since you are still under warranty, explain this issue to a Genius, and ask them to replace your WiFi card. Could be you have a bad WiFi chip (Broadcom). If this doesn't happen, I might investigate to see if Broadcom has an updated firmware release for the WiFi card. I notice in marginal signal conditions having Bluetooth enabled on my Air will interfere with WiFi and make it drop. Turning off Bluetooth then cures the WiFi problem, but this is only in weak signal conditions AT the local library.
 
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