AirPort - can wifi searching be turned off?

[PJohnson]

Is there any way to stop AirPort from constantly searching for wifi networks?

I connect to my home wifi and don't want it to keep searching for other networks. I suspect this behavior is what is causing my wifi to keep dropping intermittently. Yes, I am fighting the same problem as many others and have yet to find anyone who has solved it.

Thanks in advance.

Phil

 

[satcomer]

One trick to stop from Airport dropping connections is to open System Preferences->Network tab, 'Advanced' button, and uncheck the box to use IPv6 since your wireless router doesn't support IPv6.

 

[PJohnson]

I did turn off IPv6 as well as changing the wifi channel to avoid conflicting with nearby networks. It still drops out a lot, every few minutes most of the time. Once in a while, I get an hour or two of solid connection.

Any other ideas? I'll try most anything at this point.

Phil

 

[satcomer]

Well it does require you to reboot and trust in OS X. So follow these steps (in order):

1. Turn off the Airport in your Mac.

2. Navigate to /YourHardDrive/Library/Preferences/ (the Main Library, not your Home Library) and find the folder "SystemConfiguration". Then delete the files com.apple.airport.preferences.plist, com.apple.nat.plist & com.apple.network.identification.plist.

3. Immediately reboot (leaving the Airport card OFF!)

4. Upon the restart go to /Applications/Utilities/Keychain Access and find any saved passwords for you wireless network.

5. Go back to System Preferences->Network pane and at the top of the pane use the "Location" drop-down and create a new Location calling it what ever you like. Then hit the Apply button. This will get rid of that unstable "Automatic".

6. Turn on Airport card and rejoin your wireless network.

7. Pray this reset works.


Plus download the free application iStumbler 99 to make sure no other network is interfering with your network.
Good luck.

 

[PJohnson]

I tried the procedure above without success.

I have narrowed it down to one specific wireless network that is nearby. It's a weak signal, but enough that my Mac drops connection to my home wireless (which is 20 feet away) whenever it looks for other networks and 'sees' this one.

So, I'm back to square one...

How can I tell my Mac to ignore other networks or not search for other networks at all???

Phil