MBA wifi issues

[fswmacguy]

Just some commentary here:

Of all the routers I've dealt with, Belkin routers have given me the most trouble of all. Dropped connections, some users unable to connect forcing me to have to reset the router, general connectivity issues via wifi, etc...

I've never had a more problematic brand of router. Just recently, my mother couldn't connect to a router at her apartment. She phoned me up and sure enough it was a Belkin.

 

[omniatlas]

Anyone found a solution yet? My connection still 'halts' after a couple of minutes use, and I have to turn off and on airport for it to work again.

Found a huge thread about wifi problems on 10.6.5 -- http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2644274&start=195&tstart=0

 

[omniatlas]

Try repairing your permissions and see if it works -- I did and noticed a lot of airport utility problems.

 

[Mike84]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

I feel like this issue will not be fixed until apple addresses the issue with a firmware update.

 

[omniatlas]

I switched from WPA2 to WEP and the connection seems pretty stable now. Strange how WPA2 doesn't work.

I also tried switching the router to 'N' mode only and airport would not connect.

Seems like I can only connect in g-mode.

Anyone have an explanation?

 

[double329]

I found that using 2.4Ghz band on my MBA is bit slower than usual compare to my other laptop that is connected to the same router using the same 2.4Ghz. When I switch MBA to 5.8Ghz band, I got the speed that I should get. I got ~35mbps. With 2.4Ghz, I usually get around 7-13mbps. This is the same router. I am using D-Link 825 dual bands. I ONLY use 5.8Ghz on my MBA

 

[Mike84]

I switched from WPA2 to WEP and the connection seems pretty stable now. Strange how WPA2 doesn't work.

I also tried switching the router to 'N' mode only and airport would not connect.

Seems like I can only connect in g-mode.

Anyone have an explanation?

It is kinda odd that it works in that manner, though, Apple argues that all of their computers are more compatible with WPA instead of WEP. At least that is what I have been told by Apple tech support.

 

[GeekGuys]

This problem is common when you have devices such as LCD/plasma, microwave ovens etc around the router or the wireless device.

The thing to do is to check the channel chosen. Try changing the channel on the router (say from 1 to 7) and see if this helps. Normally a jump/drop of 3-4 channels is enough to give you a good strong signal.

The other issues can be to do with IP4 vs IP6. If you have a mix of devices that use IP6 this can confuse routers, especially older ones that don't have strong IP6 support.

I had a router on Channel 1 and I had slow wireless and all my devices would 'forget' the network on a daily basis. I changed the channel to 7 and now it has been stable for 6 weeks without a single drop and much faster as well.

 

[ItWasn'tMe]

I've also been having these problems with my 11" MBA, seemingly worse in the last 24hrs. Restarting fixed the problem initially but now has no effect and the connection will just time out.
I also had the same problem in recent months with my iMac and was resetting my router several times a day... I could really use a fix for this too!

 

[omniatlas]

I found that using 2.4Ghz band on my MBA is bit slower than usual compare to my other laptop that is connected to the same router using the same 2.4Ghz. When I switch MBA to 5.8Ghz band, I got the speed that I should get. I got ~35mbps.

How do you switch to 5.8 ghz band?

I've also tried different channels with no success.

 

[double329]

How do you switch to 5.8 ghz band?

I've also tried different channels with no success.

First, 5Ghz only available on the N protocol. Second, you will need to have a router that can do 5Ghz as well as 2.4Ghz. Some router can do only one frequency at a time and other can do both simultaneously. For the simultaneous router, you can simply configure the 5Ghz section just like you configure your other router, SSID, Security, etc... I believe for non-simultaneous router, you need to switch the freq at router. Once all that configured. You simply tell your MBA to connect to that SSID

 

[omniatlas]

First, 5Ghz only available on the N protocol. Second, you will need to have a router that can do 5Ghz as well as 2.4Ghz.

Hm, I have a N router -- I don't see an option to setup 5ghz, but I do see an option to setup a secondary SSID; I'll give it a shot and configure both SSID with the same name and password?

 

[newdeal]

...

I am having no problems on my time capsule however I was having a bit of an issue at first with the internet not working. Switched to a manual IP instead of automatic and now works perfectly.

 

[double329]

Hm, I have a N router -- I don't see an option to setup 5ghz, but I do see an option to setup a secondary SSID; I'll give it a shot and configure both SSID with the same name and password?

I don't know which router you have and I don't know how other manufacture presented that feature to user? The D-Link that I have clearly indicated 2Ghz and 5Ghz section. You don't want to configure them with the same SSID (Just think of it as second router). You can have the same passwd but NOT SSID. If you really want to use the same SSID, you can just suffix the SSID with 2 and 5. You said you see secondary section. But be sure that isn't a guest zone section. Most router now a day also included guest zone SSID, which is different.

 

[omniatlas]

But be sure that isn't a guest zone section. Most router now a day also included guest zone SSID, which is different.

I have a LevelOne router -- http://global.level1.com/Home-Products/Broadband-Routers/150Mbps-N/WBR-6002/751.html

Yes, it is a guest section -- I guess it doesn't have an option to change it to 5ghz then. Using Network Utility, I am only connected at 54 mbps. Strange.

RSSI is also -74 with a transmit rate of 36; is that pretty bad for being in the room next door to the router?

 

[double329]

54mbps??? that sounds like g NOT N. The N protocol is up to 130mbps with 2.4Ghz and up to 300mbps with 5Ghz. Be sure you configure your router to do N and g or something like that. it sounded like your router is configured to do G only.

 

[omniatlas]

54mbps??? that sounds like g NOT N. The N protocol is up to 130mbps with 2.4Ghz and up to 300mbps with 5Ghz. Be sure you configure your router to do N and g or something like that. it sounded like your router is configured to do G only.

Yup, its in N mode (I think).

Under options -- 802.11 Mode -- 11b + g + N is selected.

I tried selecting N only, but then the macbook air wouldn't connect.

Bandwidth is set to 20 + 40 MHZ AUTO.

 

[SoFL]

I'm using a Westell VersaLink model 327W. The ISP is ATT (former Bellsouth). At anyone given time, the following computers/devises are connected:
MBA 13", 2.13 GHz, 4GB, 251 GB
MB 13", 2.4 GHz, 4GB, 320 GB
MBP 13", 2.53 GHz, 8GB, 500 GB
iPod Touch 4th gen.
iPod Touch 1st gen.
DELL Inspiron E1505
Nintendo WII
Nintendo DS

No connection problems.

 

[linkandzelda]

The only wifi issues i've had with my 13" are range issues. My old laptop could pickup my network with 2-3 bars but the Air got nothing or occasionally 1 bar, which was totally unusable. I moved the router and it's fine now. I also tested the network on 2 DLINK routers and don't get any timeouts or drops. Have yet to test it on my MiFi and a belkin.

 

[ianjohn27]

Me too.

I've had my MBA 13" for a month and have sporadically had tons of problems. First i noticed lots of latency, and found that my old MBPro was speed-testing at 3x the rate of the MBA on the very same network. Then I had intermittent problems with the MBA forgetting my preferred network, dropping it, etc. I was having to restart all the time, which only worked 50% of the time. On both networks I was connecting to Airport Extremes. I've also had some range issues where the problem can be fixed by coming into the same room with the router, but it's at five bars at the original location (and I have an exceedingly small house).

In every instance other machines on the same network had no issues. This definitely seems like some kind of firmware problem with the MBA.

I keep hoping to see an apple update that addresses this!

 

[double329]

I do, believe that the wifi driver in the MBA really needs some improvement. At this point, I don't know if Apple acknowledge the issue. I suggest, those who feels the paint to contact Apple. As I mentioned earlier, I see slow performance when using 2.4Ghz with N protocol.

 

[omniatlas]

Fixed my connection by setting Configuring IPv6 to off under Network in System Preferences.