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Airport card has very poor range

P

peck2000

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 22, 2006
18
0
I've just bought a second-hand Mac Pro 3GHz Quad. I fitted an Airport card (AR5BXB6), but it seems to have no range at all.

My G4 Dual 1.25Ghz with an 802.11b card (sitting right next to the Mac Pro) gets three bars of wireless signal, but the Mac Pro can't even see the Linksys wireless router (WAG354G).

I've tried swapping out for other Lynksys routers (I have several). No good.

I can get an internet connection if I connect the Mac Pro to the router with a (long) ethernet cable, but that's not an ideal solution.

I also got a good wireless connection by bringing the router right next to the Mac Pro but again, that's not the point of a wireless network.

Is this low wireless range a common problem with Mac Pros?
 
Actually I have great range with my new 15" MBP and BTO Mac Pro machines.

However in my experience there are some variables that others I know have experienced.

Using purely Apple components whenever possible, I've had nothing but stellar results.
 
Attach an external antenna to it. Mac Pros are infamous for their (bad) wifi reception because of that big metal case they live in.
 
Get this and say goodbye to WiFi problems! I get consitent 20+ Mb on my Comcast connection, wheras my WiFi connection (through Airport Extreme) was always flaky, fluctuting between 2 and 15 Mb.
 
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Most of the times I've seen this problem is because someone forgot to attach the antenna wires to the airport card, or they aren't connected or seated properly.
 
eljanitor said:
Most of the times I've seen this problem is because someone forgot to attach the antenna wires to the airport card, or they aren't connected or seated properly.
Click to expand...

I thought this might be the issue so I've taken the card out and reseated it a couple of times. Taken the antennae off and re attached. Still zip.

So I've ordered another wi-fi card as the only other thing I could think of is that the current card is dodgy.

I'll let everyone know how that goes ...
 
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