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malofx

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 22, 2012
293
2,133
Los Angeles
Hey guys, so I've had this MacBook Pro for a while now, I was running on 10.9 for a very long time, till last year the wireless kept on dropping, so after many frustrating days I decided to upgrade to 10.11 hoping the problem would go away, wrong.

Problems: Wireless issues, connects but drops connection like ALL day everyday, so I decide to switch to wire, that doesn't work sometimes either, this is a problem that I have been dealing with for a long time, I've googled the crap out of it, and there are a ton of us with the same issue and no real fix, other than, remove wireless connection, change the MTU, renew DHCP lease, I work in IT, so I have the very basic knowledge to be able to pin down the obvious problem, so in this case, it is out of my league, I have 1) considered trowing it against the wall 2) buying a USB wireless adapter.

I'm out of ideas.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

MacBook specifications.

MacBook Pro 17, 500gb SSD, 8GB, MacOS 10.11.6
 

keysofanxiety

macrumors G3
Nov 23, 2011
9,539
25,302
Try change your router's wireless encryption to WPA2-PSK (might be called WPA2-AES) only. No mixed mode, no legacy mode, no WPA + WPA2. Any better?

A quick PRAM zap couldn't hurt either.
 
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malofx

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 22, 2012
293
2,133
Los Angeles
I've tried all of that, and the PRAM. I am completely out of ideas.

Thank you for your response.
 

MrAverigeUser

macrumors 6502a
May 20, 2015
895
397
europe
Load down ONYX (it is free) and follow the advices (after a new backup is made) .
It checks a lot and helps often.
Might take some time, depends on the problems detected.
But often the machines run better after all the work with Onyx. It is easy to use, but the extensive diagnostics take some time and you have to restart your machine maybe a dozen times, after every system repair.
You can also store the reports of the diagnostic and repair you did. This helps to get the right information if you need further help as well...

It is worth a try! ;)

ElCapitan 10.11.6 runs very well and fast on our MBPs of 2099 (!), 2011 and 2012... all equiped with SSDs and 8-16 GB RAM, of course..
 
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zarathu

macrumors 6502a
May 14, 2003
652
362
It may not be a software problem. It may be a hardware one. I have a place I go where I always thought that their server system was totally wonky. It had constant drop outs, and getting back on was a real pain. Every 15 minutes I seemed to get booted off. I was using a ThinkPad x200, running Linux Ubuntu 14.04. It ran fine at home and at most places.

I decided that while it did everything I needed, it was no longer fun, and I was stuck in the back waters of technology 10 years ago.

However when I switched to a very late 2103 rMBP 15 inch , none of those connection problems in that one place happened anymore.
 
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MrAverigeUser

macrumors 6502a
May 20, 2015
895
397
europe
might be more a problem of your router?

Did you try a different (older) MBP running OSX 10.11.6 in your (W)LAN ? Same problems?
 
Last edited:

nollimac

macrumors 6502
Oct 10, 2013
433
35
May I asked what router are you using? I have always used Apple Extreme for wireless access and never had a problem connecting any Macs I have.
 

MrAverigeUser

macrumors 6502a
May 20, 2015
895
397
europe
might be more a problem of your router?

Did you try a different (older) MBP running OSX 10.11.6 in your (W)LAN ? Same problems?


May I asked what router are you using? I have always used Apple Extreme for wireless access and never had a problem connecting any Macs I have.


We both have the same idea... ;)

There a lot of possible reason (=problems) concerning the router..

First, the "old" MBPs. Have still nothing but the 5Ghz "a"-channels.
Most of WLAN are still running on a-channels, because either the older Router or the PC or both have only 5GHz transmission.
So, this frequency range is sometimes very "crowded", I.e. I can see at least 20 different WLAN at home, mostly, my WLAN works nevertheless, but during "rush-time" one realizes that the data volume gets limited.

Modern Routers switch very easily and automatically Between all,the different frequency channels of the "a"standard, but you have to choose this "automatic mode" of the router and of the MBP.

The 2,5 Ghz "c" Channel is only usable with either modern a/c WLAN modules build-in
Or
With a modern a/c USB-stick easy to use (but there a not too much on the market for Macs) , these don't cost much at all, about 20-40 USD.

Since both, neither the LAN nor the WLAN don't work properly, your WLAN- Modul of your kachine itself is NOT the problem, your Problem might be NOT your MBP but either your Provider, your Router, a wrong WLAN mode or a problem of a too crowded 5Ghz channels.

The latter is easy to diagnose:
IF your Router supports a/c:
Try a machine with a/c or your own MBP using a USB-WLAN stick with a/c capabilities.

Try to reinstall completely your router after setting back the router

Or buy a new Router, if not working properly no more or only running 5Ghz channels...
 
Last edited:

nollimac

macrumors 6502
Oct 10, 2013
433
35
We both have the same idea... ;)

There a lot of possible reason (=problems) concerning the router..

First, the "old" MBPs. Have still nothing but the 5Ghz "a"-channels.
Most of WLAN are still running on a-channels, because either the older Router or the PC or both have only 5GHz transmission.
So, this frequency range is sometimes very "crowded", I.e. I can see at least 20 different WLAN at home, mostly, my WLAN works nevertheless, but during "rush-time" one realizes that the data volume gets limited.

Modern Routers switch very easily and automatically Between all,the different frequency channels of the "a"standard, but you have to choose this "automatic mode" of the router and of the MBP.

The 2,5 Ghz "c" Channel is only usable with either modern a/c WLAN modules build-in
Or
With a modern a/c USB-stick easy to use (but there a not too much on the market for Macs) , these don't cost much at all, about 20-40 USD.

Since both, neither the LAN nor the WLAN don't work properly, your WLAN- Modul of your kachine itself is NOT the problem, your Problem might be NOT your MBP but either your Provider, your Router, a wrong WLAN mode or a problem of a too crowded 5Ghz channels.

The latter is easy to diagnose:
IF your Router supports a/c:
Try a machine with a/c or your own MBP using a USB-WLAN stick with a/c capabilities.

Try to reinstall completely your router after setting back the router

Or buy a new Router, if not working properly no more or only running 5Ghz channels...

Yes, there so many variables such channel clashes...however, he works in IT so I believe he should know that. I thought that 2.4Ghzs was the more crowded one yet better able to penetrate walls. I keep my Apple Extreme on 5Ghzs, and it seems Macs like that...at least mine; however, mine is in bridge mode behind a Mikrotik 450G and has been running that now over 10yrs...talk about awesome!
 

MrAverigeUser

macrumors 6502a
May 20, 2015
895
397
europe
well... the TS seems no longer interested in his own Thread:

He´s posting photos here, but does not respond to helpful people... :(
 
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