OS X 10.8.2 wifi issue

[s.hackler]

It's Fixed!

I've been on the phone with Apple for 50 minutes.

-Select network preferences from the WIFI drop down menu
-Select WIFI on the left
-Check Ask to join new networks
-Click Advanced in the bottom right corner
-Delete all your preferred Networks (hit the minus button)
-Check Remember networks this computer has joined
-Check Require Admin to change network
-Check Require Admin to turn WIFI on/off
-Hit the + button to add your preferred network back
-Hit OK
-Hit Apply
-Click the lock on the bottom left hand


Hopefully y'all are able to fix your computer's network issues that way!!

 

[Mike MA]

1. First try a Reset Your PRAM to see if it helps.

Just for my understanding, doesn't the support link you mentioned explicitly say that no network settings are stored within NVRAM/PRAM memory?

 

[satcomer]

Just for my understanding, doesn't the support link you mentioned explicitly say that no network settings are stored within NVRAM/PRAM memory?

Yea I know but a lot of users say this helps. I was just throwing that out there, sorry.

 

[Mike MA]

Yea I know but a lot of users say this helps. I was just throwing that out there, sorry.

No, that's still a very interesting support document. Thanks for sharing.

 

[iLog.Genius]

Same problem here but this has been happening even with Leopard (Late-2008 MacBook Pro). Sometimes the AirPort icon would stay active but there would be no connection to the internet while other times it would completely drop and reconnect. Funny thing is it only happens to my Mac while all the other computers in the house are unaffected.

 

[twintin]

Same problem here but this has been happening even with Leopard (Late-2008 MacBook Pro). Sometimes the AirPort icon would stay active but there would be no connection to the internet while other times it would completely drop and reconnect. Funny thing is it only happens to my Mac while all the other computers in the house are unaffected.

The difference is that MACs unlike most other computers has 802.11d enabled by default (at least newer MACs). This features picks up a country code from nearby routers and configures the WiFi accordingly. Lot of routers unfortunately reports wrong country code and may give the kind of problem you described.

Check out your system console and search for "en0: 802.11d" and see what country code was used. This kind of issues can most of the time be resolved by selecting a channel manually from your router. It helped me.

 

[stdvos]

Works like a charm

I found this solution elsewhere on MacRumors (by an apparent genius named troutspinner) and it WORKED:

"I believe I've proven my theory correct and have fixed it.

For starters, I've read many posts on the internet about resetting pram, deleting your network location, re-establishing you network etc. but after trying them, never once was I prompted to enter the password for my network. This tells me that my network password and configuration was stored somewhere.

That somewhere was keychain. Go to your Spotlight (magnifying glass in the upper right hand corner) and type keychain and you will see "Keychain Access". Click on it to enter Keychain Access.

In Keychain Access I noticed duplicate entries of my network in both system and login. Click on Login, then sort by Kind and you will see "Airport network password" for every network you belong to. Now delete the one you are having issues with as well if there are duplicate entries. If there are, this is most likely your problem. Now click on System and delete the one you are having issues with as well if there are duplicates. Once again, if there are, this is most likely your problem.

Close Keychain Access and click your WiFi Icon in the upper right hand corner and then click on the network you want to connect to. It should prompt you for a password, fill it in and then click on remember. Viola! Fixed!

I've made it sleep, I've shut down completely and now it just works.....like I am used to.

Let me know how you make out. Just because this fixed it for me does not mean it will work for everyone as our problems could be very different."

I've had the same problem for a couple of weeks now. Trying the network location or MTU-fixes did not do the trick for me and I did not fancy a "fresh start" as suggested earlier. This fix took me 3 minutes and works like a charm . Rebooting, stand-by, returning from other networks all works fine now. A big thank you for this fix!

 

[popcornjunky]

Thanks. Changing to 802.11 worked.

I would recommend going into your router's settings and changing your network to 802.11g 2.4ghz. ML has a problem with n Wi-Fi. My connection used to drop constantly-- but after I tried this, it has been stable for nearly a month with heavy usage. This is really an issue that Apple needs to sort out.

EDIT: I'm not sure if 2.4 vs 5.8 ghz actually matters with this... those happen to be my network settings. If you have interference issues (ie. a cordless phone) I'd suggest changing to 802.11g. If that doesn't solve it, then change your network to 2.4 ghz. Also, if you option click the Wi-Fi icon in your menubar, you can see if you are connected to an 802.11 b, g, or n network. It will also show you the channel, signal strength, and frequency. Good way to confirm if your protocol change worked. Hope it helps!

This has been driving me crazy for ages. The only good thing from it is that my kids stopped using my computer b/c the internet didn't work. It dropped me constantly - and always when I really needed it.

I just changed the router security to 802.11 and have been working without being dropped for the last 2 hours. That NEVER happened before.

THanks. These forums are great.

 

[stdvos]

I've had the same problem for a couple of weeks now. Trying the network location or MTU-fixes did not do the trick for me and I did not fancy a "fresh start" as suggested earlier. This fix took me 3 minutes and works like a charm . Rebooting, stand-by, returning from other networks all works fine now. A big thank you for this fix!

After a full night's sleep, the problem of not automatically logging on to the wireless network persisted. I decided to mess around with the settings of the wireless network (via the router).

changed wifi-security from WPA to WPA2
changed wifi protocol to 802.11g
changed wifi channel to 6 (2,4GHz)

This worked for me, I don't know why, but I wanted to share my solution anyway. It could be the 802.11g as mentioned in the post above.

PS The channel doesn't have to be channel 6. It depends on possible other wireless networks around you. Use tools like iStumblr (http://www.istumbler.net) to find out on which channel there is least interference. More info on which channel to choose via http://www.dslreports.com/faq/14250

 

[Gentfam]

Post 32 NewJorg works

.. for me too. At least for the moment. Hopefully I'm not rejoicing too soon, but so far so good.

 

[limelaxer]

Tried above 'fix'

Did not work for me. Wife going to kill me if I cannot fix this. Cannot stay on net long enough to even post this (had to write and paste).

Erased the password from keychain and re-entered, no fix.

PLEASE help!

Really need step by step as I am, ummm, slow with this stuff.

Using Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 (11G63)

HELP HELP HELP!

 

[mijawe]

I recently had wifi connectivity problems with a new macbook air and thought I'd share my experiences here. First, some background.

Years ago, we had a wireless network consisting of an Airport Extreme (the old one that was somewhat dome-shaped) and an Airport Express (the old one that plugged directly into the wall). This worked fine for a late 2006 white Macbook (OS 10.4, later 10.5) and an older Powerbook, but my Thinkpad T42 (win XP) would not stay connected reliably, dropping the signal at random times and requiring multiple resets and other annoyances. So after a bit of research I replaced the whole network with a pair of Linksys WRT54GLs flashed to DD-WRT v24. One ran in regular AP mode and the other in repeater-bridge mode so as to get an old (non-wifi) imac and the laser printer downstairs on the network.

This DDWRT configuration was one of the most reliable installations of any kind of technology I've ever used - I had to reset the routers maybe twice in three years, and neither the above white Macbook nor the Thinkpad, nor a November 2008 Al macbook (OS 10.5, later 10.6), nor a 2011 Macbook Pro (OS 10.7) ever had any problems staying connected.

Unfortunately, when the November 2008 Al macbook was replaced a few months ago with a 2012 Macbook Air (OS 10.8), the MBA would not stay connected reliably (although it had no problems in other places where it was regularly used, e.g. office wifi networks).

It's worth noting that the user account/data were copied via the Apple migration utility from the 2008 macbook to the new MBA. One theory of MBA problems is that (sometimes) they are caused by settings getting ported over from an older OS improperly, but that doesn't seem to have been the case here, I don't think - more below.

All of the following - gleaned from this and other threads/sites I found while trying to troubleshoot - were tried, but to no avail, or at least no regular avail (i.e. a restart would sometimes work, but only for a while, or sometimes not at all)

-disconnect / reconnect to the wifi network
-use network connection troubleshooting wizard
-turn wifi off/on
-DHCP release/renew
-reboot the MBA
-change the wifi channel
-change the wifi security method (e.g. WPA2 vs. WPA)
-change the network name
-change from a/b/g broadcast mode to forced g-only or b-only
-clear the SMC
-manually delete user/system keychain entries related to the wifi network in question
-disable IPv6
-set MTU = 1453
-add manual DNS entries (cf. picking these up via DHCP)
-add new location in location manager

I did not try the following, either due to lack of time or seeming inadequacy / hackishness of the solution:

-have Apple replace wifi card in MBA
-alternate wifi hardware (e.g. USB adapter)
-genius bar visit for troubleshooting generally
-keepalive shell script running in background

After at least 10 hours of researching and troubleshooting I started to consider more drastic measures - changing the firmware on the Linksys routers or buying new routers altogether.

DDWRT seems to have drifted from the open-source philosophy and had some security holes a while back, so I did not want to just upgrade to a newer version of that. I also didn't want to bother messing around with Tomato because I wasn't sure different firmware on the same hardware would address the problem. I then considered buying new non-Apple routers and flashing them to Tomato, but it seemed this might not absolutely fix the problem either, although I wouldn't mind upgrading to 802.11n (the Linksys hardware only supported 802.11g).

Ultimately I just drove to the nearest Apple Store (about 30 minutes away) and bought two Airport Extremes. After the usual setup, the MBA began to work normally again, and has functioned perfectly ever since (no issues with the Macbook Pro 2011 which had been fine on the old configuration as well). One would hope Apple laptops would work well on Apple's own wireless gear, and it seems to be true at least in this case.

I can't say for sure alternate firmware on the old Linksys hardware wouldn't have worked, or that Tomato/DDWRT/other alternate (or even stock) firmware on some new non-Apple hardware wouldn't have worked. But ultimately I ran out of time to keep troubleshooting.

I think at least in this case I can rule out the idea that the power management aspect of the MBA was cutting power to the wifi card and thereby dropping the signal (another theory I've seen at least for some MBA wifi problems), because if that were the case then the problem would have persisted even after switching to the Airport Extremes. I haven't looked in fine detail at how various wifi routers / adapters vary in their implementation of 802.11b/g/n, but I can only surmise based on this experience that they are not all perfectly equal, and that the risk of conflicts increases the greater is the age between (at least some) wireless routers and (at least some) wireless adapters.

In summary, if you've been having this kind of problem, you may save time and headache (although not necessarily money) by simply trying different wireless networking hardware. And if that doesn't work, you could always return it.

I hope this is helpful if you've been having the same problems we were having.

 

[Techbox Service]

Wifi Issue

Hey Guys,

Don't forget to disable the "Internet Sharing" option in the Sharing preferences pane. In particular if you're restoring or doing a data migration between dissimilar computers. (i.e. MacBook Pro 13" to and iMac or MacBook Air) We've noticed that if you've used WiFi Internet Sharing you need to cycle (on/off) to prevent the WiFi from constantly cycling between ON/OFF/AD-HOC modes upon a restore. The previous solutions would not prevent this and the symptoms are all very similar. So if you're still having trouble, be sure to check your sharing options.

Cheers,

Techbox VI

 

[HelloMikee]

New 13in retina with wifi issues. This is ******** annoying. I was not able to work for a week during a work trip. My boss is not very happy. WTF can I do?

 

[loicg]

Im currently having a play but I'm starting to suspect that the problem links to trying to sync a device wirelessly with iTunes. Seems to drop whenever this happens (I have an iPhone and an iPad 3).

Anyone else noticed this pattern?

Hi there,
Exactly the same issue you described at the beginning here. Wifi network reset on the imac, internet for a minute, then no internet although the computer says I'm connected to the modem/router.

It drove me nut, you can imagine.

After several attempts in destroying my network settings, trying everything listed here and there, I realise that in fact, itunes was running. I switch it off, looks that internet is working.

Then I thought a bit what did I change recently as it all worked when I received my 2013 imac27 with 10.8.2.

Only thing I changed was to share itunes library on the network to read it with my ipad. I just switched that off right now in itunes, and fingers crossed, I'm surfing for more than a minute (actually 10 minutes) and it works.

I need now to reinstall my airplay but I'm happy this is sorted out. Hope this helps someone sometimes.

Cheers

 

[avflinsch]

Try a different channel usually help.. Probably not that common on 5Ghz, but wouldn't hurt to see anyway.

Forcing the channel on the access point to something other than auto worked for me. It seems that everyone nearby using 5GHz was using channel 1 or 11, I figured that it was in-channel interference, forcing the access point to use a channel nobody else was using solved the problem for me.

 

[rcancill]

Forcing the channel on the access point to something other than auto worked for me. It seems that everyone nearby using 5GHz was using channel 1 or 11, I figured that it was in-channel interference, forcing the access point to use a channel nobody else was using solved the problem for me.

I had a similar problem several of my neighbors were on channel 6 which is the default that my Airport router chose. There is a very cool hidden tool that will show you what channels you and your neighbors are using hidden on your Mac.

Hold the Option Key and click on the wifi symbol up in your status bar. You should see "Open Wifi Diagnostics" at the bottom of the menu. When the Welcome dialog opens press CMD-N and a new "Network Utilities" window opens. Click on the "Wi-Fi Scan" icon and wait. A list of all the networks your Mac can see appears along with the channels they were using.

When I first saw this my router and several neighbors were defaulting to channel 6. I specified 7 and have had dramatic improvements!

 

[teeharju]

Thanks rcancill!

For long time I have been wondering why my wlan is so slow.

If my use my Sierra AC762S wlan router using USB, speed to ISP is fast as it should - no issues.

But if I use wlan to router, wlan (and speed to ISP too) is very slow.

Immediately when I chose different wlan channel that no-one else uses in their networks here nearby, I have huuuge improvements (many many times faster), on both of my Macs.

My devices:
- Sierra Wireless AC762S router ("dna Mokkula 4G")
- Mac Mini, OSX 10.8.2
- MacBook Pro, OSX 10.6.8

Also other settings on router:
- wlan performance: short
- basic speed 802.11 b/g (if put to "n", wlan starts to disconnect)
- MTU 1400 (same in Mac network settings too)

 

[reza99d]

I tried the keychain thing described below and it worked for me, I deleted the whole keychain for this wifi. And then everything worked! =) =)

Hey everyone,

I upgraded to 10.8.2 when it came out but ever since I've been having wifi issues on my 2011 27" iMac.

There doesnt seem to be any pattern to it or anything but Ill be on the internet and all of a sudden the connection seems to time out. The iMac still says its connected to the wifi network but no web pages will load and the little green tick on drop box disappears. Sometimes disconnecting the wifi and reconnecting fixes it and sometimes it doesnt.

I've not noticed any issues with any other devices such as my iphone or my laptop on 10.8.2 but then again I barely use the laptop (a 2009 MBP). I also seem to have issues with time machine since the upgrade as I haven't had a successful back up since and now cant seem to get the time machine to readd the drive. This is a Western digital my world book.

I was hoping to google 10.8.2 wifi problems and find others were having problems and maybe a solution but I havnt seen any and wifi has always been solid as a rock prior to 10.8.2.

Cheers,

Tom

 

[houstonalle]

Thank you! This worked for me.

I found this solution elsewhere on MacRumors (by an apparent genius named troutspinner) and it WORKED:

"I believe I've proven my theory correct and have fixed it.

For starters, I've read many posts on the internet about resetting pram, deleting your network location, re-establishing you network etc. but after trying them, never once was I prompted to enter the password for my network. This tells me that my network password and configuration was stored somewhere.

That somewhere was keychain. Go to your Spotlight (magnifying glass in the upper right hand corner) and type keychain and you will see "Keychain Access". Click on it to enter Keychain Access.

In Keychain Access I noticed duplicate entries of my network in both system and login. Click on Login, then sort by Kind and you will see "Airport network password" for every network you belong to. Now delete the one you are having issues with as well if there are duplicate entries. If there are, this is most likely your problem. Now click on System and delete the one you are having issues with as well if there are duplicates. Once again, if there are, this is most likely your problem.

Close Keychain Access and click your WiFi Icon in the upper right hand corner and then click on the network you want to connect to. It should prompt you for a password, fill it in and then click on remember. Viola! Fixed!

I've made it sleep, I've shut down completely and now it just works.....like I am used to.

Let me know how you make out. Just because this fixed it for me does not mean it will work for everyone as our problems could be very different."

Problem was so annoying. OS X 10.8.5 on my MacbookPro was the only device having the issue. This seems to be working wonders. Thanks!

 

[satcomer]

Plus a;ll you non knowing wireless users on a Mac should have the freeware iStumbler Beta (don't worry it works in 10.8 & 10.9). This way you don;t use the same wireless channel as other wireless routers around you. This way you can mitigate crosstalk.