Why, oh why hasn't El Capitan fixed Mac's most infamous WiFi issue after all these years!!!

[ishotthedeputy]

Yes - I'm certain the issue is a combination of the chips in certain Mac models and how they connect to certain routers. After tweaking endlessly with settings on multiple routers and then doing every recommended mac-side suggestion, the closest I ever got to a stable, reliable connection was with the slowest (N150), most basic tp-link travel router, and that's the fifth router I've tinkered endlessly with trying to resolve this problem. In the end, I just bought a tp-link usb wifi dongle and it just works now. Even though its an inelegant solution, I'm so glad to just be able to have peace of mind for now. My best guess is that the wifi chips in macs are being put under too much strain in certain occasions - it's the only explanation that seems to explain when and why the dropouts occur on my iMacs and rMBP. It could also explain why this started around the release of Yosemite and the Handoff features.

 

[sevoman]

just buy a NEW one. The Apple Way

 

[Marshall73]

2 more issues here.

Myself and partner received our brand new - direct from factory - Macbook Airs this weekend and viola, both have wifi connectivity issues, straight out of the box on brand new installations.

First let me just say that on ALL of our other devices in the property, NONE of them have wifi connectivity issues, so this problem is not the router.

It took me about 45 minutes of trying to connect to wifi during setup and then it miraculously decided to connect. I thought maybe it was just a setup bug. Since then the connection just keeps dropping at complete random. In order to re-connect I turn the wifi setting on/off again.

This happens not just on my new Air but my partners too. They both have El Capitan on them. Both are 11", one i5, one i7. Like I said all other devices in the house are working on wifi without issue at the same time the Airs are dropping out. These include 2xiMacs, iPad Air, iPad Mini, 2xiPhone 6's, wireless speakers etc...

It's driving me insane and they will be heading back to Apple soon if this continues. Maybe MB Airs have a dodgy wifi chip in them? Also as a side note, the screens seem to be poor quality. They have a "purple haze" tint to them?!

Do you have a BT router or dual band router 2.4/5ghz? If so make sure that the wireless networks are set to work separately, e.g 2 different network names. If they are set to shared e.g same network name, this messes up Macs.

 

[kagharaht]

I now leave the iMac on 24/7. I've Clean install on a new iMac late 2013 and bought a new Apple AC router. Home Sharing finally works reliably this way.

If I use Wake On Network and PowerNap, It doesn't work. So I set it this way. No Wake On Network (because it doesn't work) No PowerNap (because it doesn't work) No Back To Mac (because it doesn't work).

 

[grahamperrin]

… dual band router 2.4/5ghz?

Yes.

… If they are set to shared e.g same network name, this messes up Macs.

No such problem here.

Tested with that router:

• Mac OS X 10.7.5, a clean installation with Internet Recovery, MacBookPro8,2
  
• OS X 10.9.5, MacBookPro5,2 and MacBookPro8,2
• OS X Yosemite, MacBookPro5,2 and MacBookPro8,2
  
• OS X El Capitan, MacBookPro5,2 and MacBookPro8,2

 

[Marshall73]

Yes.



No such problem here.

Tested with that router:

• Mac OS X 10.7.5, a clean installation with Internet Recovery, MacBookPro8,2
  
• OS X 10.9.5, MacBookPro5,2 and MacBookPro8,2
• OS X Yosemite, MacBookPro5,2 and MacBookPro8,2
  
• OS X El Capitan, MacBookPro5,2 and MacBookPro8,2

That issue is actually with dual band BT Home Hubs and is a known issue.

 

[chrisjimallen]

That issue is actually with dual band BT Home Hubs and is a known issue.

I have a similar issue and after googling I found this thread. I actually have a Virginmedia Superhub AC2, which is also dual band. I have an early 2015 macbook pro retina 13in.

After waking from sleep, the Wifi stays connected, but dns/internet barely works.

The problem is fixed immediately after I reboot my Mac.

 

[MostRecents]

I have this same issue as well. Wake the macbook (mid-2015 rMPB) from sleep, wifi is connected but no data is received. Have to turn the wifi off then back on to start getting data.

This is a problem when I forget and am unwittingly not receiving emails.

I have two other macbooks that I use frequently (mid-2013 MBP & mid-2012 MBA) and have zero issues with them. All three machines are on the latest version of OS X.

I have tried every "fix" suggested (both on the machine and those relating to the router), none work.

I think it's a hardware issue (i.e. faulty Wifi cards) and that is why Apple won't address it. $$$.

 

[nontroppo]

I'm back to having lots of problems on a mid2015 MBP, very poor DNS performance, after using VPN for a while the network just ceases to function (even without the VPN, wifi shows a good connection but no PINGs to any IP address work). My android phone works. Reboot and it "just works"; for a while... I'm in China on a Huawei router, and it isn't a Great Firewall problem as local sites stop working too...

 

[HaywoodJ9]

Thats not going to help your issue but feel free to waste your time doing so. Have you tried some of the suggestions in the links you posted? I do recall having to move bluetooth below wifi in service order to fix a wifi issue a few years ago.

It wouldn't have been a waste of time... Mine magically fixed itself when I installed Windows (as much as I hate actually typing those words)...

I have a Mid-2014 MacBook Pro, and when I upgraded to Yosemite, the wifi issues began. A week or so later, I installed Windows on a partition (not with the intent to solve anything, just because), and while on Windows side, it gave me zero problems whatsoever... It was one of the reasons that I pretty much booted in and used (nearly exclusively) the Windows side of my device for so long.

I ended up needing the hard drive space later, so I removed that partition and now only have OS X installed... And guess what- the Wifi issues came rushing back. It's not a hardware issue, it's a software issue. One that Apple has failed to address and fix for what feels like an eternity.

What mine will do is connect just fine (it has never had issues connecting to the network). It will even auto-connect upon waking/starting. However, I will be browsing, and either 1) Click on a link or 2) enter in a new URL... And the site will simply not load. It will work fine for 10-30 minutes, then nothing. It will still be connected to the local network, but nothing will load. If I have Netflix playing, simetimes it will have buggered enough to not be affected. I just have to wait it out. Mashing the reload button bears no fruit. Exiting/quoting Safari/Chrome gains no ground. Sometimes it's 30 seconds, others... 10 minutes. The page that won't load will just sit there, and after a period of time (again, between 30 seconds and 10 minutes) the page will display an error. Only after the error displays do I know that it's back up and running... Then I can go back to doing whatever it was I was doing.

Sometimes turning the WiFi off, then back on again "seems" to fix it... But I can't tell if it's the off/on cycle that jump starts it, or if the random time in which it would have come back on on its own just so happened to coincide with when I turned it off and back on.

I have received a notification saying that there's a system update available (and went ahead and updated) what seems to be about a dozen times since things went wrong, and things are still as bad as they were when I first upgraded to Yosemite...

 

[mmp1964]

I have this same issue as well. Wake the macbook (mid-2015 rMPB) from sleep, wifi is connected but no data is received. Have to turn the wifi off then back on to start getting data.

This is a problem when I forget and am unwittingly not receiving emails.

I have two other macbooks that I use frequently (mid-2013 MBP & mid-2012 MBA) and have zero issues with them. All three machines are on the latest version of OS X.

I have tried every "fix" suggested (both on the machine and those relating to the router), none work.

I think it's a hardware issue (i.e. faulty Wifi cards) and that is why Apple won't address it. $$$.

Try this:

System Preferences
Network

On the left side you will see a list of network connection options (Mine are WiFi, Ethernet and Bluetooth). On the bottom row is a set of icons - a "+" - "-" and gear icon.

Click on the gear icon and select "Set service order." Drag WiFi to the top.

This helped me. YMMV.

 

[GIZBUG]

My issue is that nothing loads when I wake from sleep while plugged into power. I have to turn off WiFi and turn it back on. All works perfectly when not connected to power.

Same issue on my iMac with asus router

 

[throAU]

Have 3 airports in my network, a current Airport Extreme, previous generation Extreme and an Express from 2008.

I have no wireless issues. I did have some during the Mavericks beta. Other than that i have had zero wireless issues since 2008.

I have solved other people's Apple wifi issues by replacing third party APs with airports.

Yes, it would be nice if Apple played nice with other random third party APs, but as a pragmatist, i know Apple APs work with Apple gear and you have a single company to blame. Thus, i suggest replacing third party APs with apple if you have random wireless issues....

 

[MostRecents]

I should update here and say that I tried a user's advice and took my MBP on a sort of tour, connecting it to many wifi sources (as opposed to just the single alternative source I had tried previously).

I don't know the mechanics but this actually fixed the issue. Have no problems connecting to wifi from sleep anymore.