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

[AndyK]

Following on from everybody else comments, i too have two Microsoft laptops in my house, no connection problems, I have and iPhone 6 my wife an iPhone 5, no connection problems, two work iPads, no connection problems, personal iPad air, no connection problem and my wife has an iPad mini, no connection problems....so clearly there is a problem with my MBP. Thanks for your advise but when i spend 1k on a laptop, i expect to connect to the internet where ever i am.

Wifi can be a horrible thing to diagnose when there is an issue but if you've experienced this across multiple platforms and not changed anything about the infrastructure you're testing it on then you're not conducting true tests nor remotely going to get close to accurately pin pointing the problem.

Just because it 'works' on one set of devices in no way guarantees you that it should 'work' on another.

 

[padapada]

Why don't you people with this "supposed" problem just change your WiFi router? It seems obvious from everything I've read THAT is where the problem is. I have a Netgear dual Radio router and I have no problem connecting ANYTHING to to it including a Macbook Pro or Mac Mini (both with El Capitan on them) via WiFi or Apple TVs or FireTVs or iPods or anything else. Apple "fixed" the WiFi for the bug it had (i.e. it's the same WiFi driver type it used prior to Yosemite) so if you're still having problems then it's your router or your WiFi is defective on your particular Apple box.

That's what protocols are for. When the wifi client (OSX) is broken, then people should not have replace the server (wifi ap/router). Apple should fix the client.

End of discussion.

 

[Taz Mangus]

That's what protocols are for. When the wifi client (OSX) is broken, then people should not have replace the server (wifi ap/router). Apple should fix the client.

End of discussion.

Except if the client were really broken then how is it explained that not everyone has WiFi issues.

 

[DoofenshmirtzEI]

Every time I have this problem its because there's a new device in the house that I haven't assigned an IP to. Get everything on an assigned IP and life is bodalicious.

 

[padapada]

Except if the client were really broken then how is it explained that not everyone has WiFi issues.

What other wifi clients (non OSX) have problems with the same router? Name just one.

 

[Taz Mangus]

What other wifi clients (non OSX) have problems with the same router? Name just one.

Which still does not explain why only some people are having WiFi issues using the same OS X WiFi client. I being one of those people who does not have any WiFi issues with OS X 10.10 or 10.11. How can I have no WiFi issues and you do, we are using the same WiFi client. Curious if a person who is having the WiFi issues takes their computer to a home where a person does not have any WiFi issues, would that computer still have WiFi issues. Vice versa as well.

And I have read posts where people state they are having WiFi issues using AirPort Extremes. I use Airport Extremes, no WiFi issues. I agree with other posters here that there environmental factors that are contributing to the WiFi issues.

 

[padapada]

Which still does not explain why only some people are having WiFi issues using the same OS X WiFi client. I being one of those people who does not have any WiFi issues with OS X 10.10 or 10.11. How can I have no WiFi issues and you do, we are using the same WiFi client. Curious if a person who is having the WiFi issues takes their computer to a home where a person does not have any WiFi issues, would that computer still have WiFi issues. Vice versa as well.

And I have read posts where people state they are having WiFi issues using AirPort Extremes. I use Airport Extremes, no WiFi issues. I agree with other posters here that there environmental factors that are contributing to the WiFi issues.

My point was that it's not the routers problem, it should not have to be replaced with an Apple xxx router.
The fact that Apple's clients behave inconsistently, is a whole different matter.

 

[matt2053]

Here's my two cents. I had this issue for a LONG time and it was driving me mad. Only my rMBP 2015 and 12" rMB had the issue. I had two older MacBook Airs with no issue, 3 iPads with no issues, 3 iPhones with no issues, AppleTV no issue... so it can't be the router right?

Yet even after replacing my Macbook and my rMBP I continued to have the problem with wifi.

Finally I did replace my router. And... it solved the problem

I can only conclude that there is an issue with *certain* wifi chips and *certain* routers combined, and it affects the chip used in the rMB and rMBP, but not the 2012 or 2011 Air nor any iOS devices.

Again, just my two cents.

 

[padapada]

Here's my two cents. I had this issue for a LONG time and it was driving me mad. Only my rMBP 2015 and 12" rMB had the issue. I had two older MacBook Airs with no issue, 3 iPads with no issues, 3 iPhones with no issues, AppleTV no issue... so it can't be the router right?

Yet even after replacing my Macbook and my rMBP I continued to have the problem with wifi.

Finally I did replace my router. And... it solved the problem

I can only conclude that there is an issue with *certain* wifi chips and *certain* routers combined, and it affects the chip used in the rMB and rMBP, but not the 2012 or 2011 Air nor any iOS devices.

Again, just my two cents.

That's entirely in line with faulty OSX wifi client. It happens that it does work with Apple's own router.
I don't think universities/enterprises are going to replace all their routers/ap's with Apple equivalents. Also when brand X produces a faulty Wifi client, they will not replace all routers with another brand that works with faulty brand X devices.

Apple should fix their OSX wifi implementation. Their IOS variant works fine.

 

[matt2053]

That's entirely in line with faulty OSX wifi client. It happens that it does work with Apple's own router.
I don't think universities/enterprises are going to replace all their routers/ap's with Apple equivalents. Also when brand X produces a faulty Wifi client, they will not replace all routers with another brand that works with faulty brand X devices.

Apple should fix their OSX wifi implementation. Their IOS variant works fine.

Well, moving from a D-Link router to an Arris solved it for me.

Also, I've been using an Airport Extreme in bridge mode for access point all along, the issue for me was some kind of DHCP or NAT issue, not a physical connection issue. Because even when my connection dropped I always showed a strong wireless connection and could log in to my Airport or my router, I just couldn't reach the WAN.

 

[batting1000]

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.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

That's what protocols are for. When the wifi client (OSX) is broken, then people should not have replace the server (wifi ap/router). Apple should fix the client.

End of discussion.

I think that last bit, the "End of discussion" is your real problem beacuse it's blinding you to the real solutions since you've made up your mind it's Apple's fault.

As a different but related issue example, I thought something in the newest iTunes was broken. It was having connection problems and stuttering and doing all kinds of weird stuff. I found a lot of other users that were having the same symptoms. They were all downgrading to older versions, etc. and having mixed luck. At first, an older version seemed to work here too, but then it "returned". What was really wrong? My external hard drive was starting to die. It was a sheer coincidence i had upgrade iTunes a couple of weeks earlier. But it lead me (and probably others out there too since there are a LOT of computer users and certainly hard drives die all the time somewhere on this earth) to the wrong conclusions and the wrong source of the problem. I had backups and I didn't lose any data anyway (it was having connection issues and disconnects, not data loss). I replaced the drive with a similar model (backup drive and then replaced the backup drive with a new one) and I have ZERO issues with iTunes now.

What I'm saying is that just because a WiFi problem appeared to show up with an OS upgrade doesn't guarantee it was that OS upgrade. Apple has moved back to the older drivers so any OS-related problems should have disappeared. The fact only a tiny fraction of users are still having this problem suggests a hardware issue to me, which is why I asked if people tried replacing their router rather than just assuming it's something Apple did (as the thread title suggests that they should fix it rather than maybe your WiFi radio is just plain SHOT).

I have around 8 Apple Devices with WIFi. NONE have connection issues (including two Macs running El Capitan that both ran Mavericks and Mountain Lion before that; one that ran all the way back to Leopard, yes Leopard, not Snow Leopard). I've tested both Airports and Netgear routers and they work fine. So IMO, either your particular WiFi radio is broken and represents a device that is the ONLY one that has a software issue since everyone else's WiFi works fine or there's a hardware issue and you only think it's a software issue or your Apple device doesn't like some brand of router that has a problem with your particular client for some reason.

 

[grahamperrin]

Bring back AppleTalk, that's what I say. Those two nice arrows, one pointing one way, one pointing the other.

Over short wave radio. Bleep.

… IOS variant works fine.

Not always.

 

[vista980622]

Issue: WiFi does not auto-reconnect on wake.

I'm not sure whether it's a software or a hardware issue, but it has persisted on my 2014 and 2015 MBPs running Yosemite, and still does in El Capitan. Mind you, my mid-2011 MBA has no such issue. It auto-reconnects just fine. What gives?

I was really hoping that El Capitan would fix it, even though it's still in beta.

Is anyone else experiencing this?

Had issues in 10.10. For me, mostly fixed in 10.10.2, completely fixed since 10.10.4.

 

[IPadNParadise]

Just wanted to say, I have had -0- wifi issue since I replaced my old Windows PC with a 2012 mbp and then recently upgraded to a 2015 mbp. I have upgraded OSX thru the years to latest 10.11.3. And have used this now old Westell router thru all of this. I would love to replace this ISP router, but if it aint broke.........

 

[ABC5S]

I'm old and, not too computer literate, but I have had absolutely no issues with my WiFi, using the newest AirPort Extreme and not messing with it. Never had an issue starting back with Lion OS. What in the world are you guys doing to your system that is making not work for you ? User error or hardware ?

 

[joehohoho]

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?!

 

[Ardmanz]

I had no problems with Mavericks,
Massive problems with Yosemite,
Way fewer problems with El Capitan (but it's still there).
This is all on the same late 2013 rMBP 15"

I've given up trying to find a fix after trying a number of different routers in different locations. I've put it down to an OSX issue and now I just live with it.

 

[Clix Pix]

Last week right before the Big Snowstorm I went to the Apple store and bought a new Airport Extreme, having decided that maybe it was my older router that was the source of my connectivity/internet dropping problems. Installed the new router, everything was ready to go in minutes and I had several blissful days of continuous connectivity. Wow! I was ecstatic. Then....boom!

On Monday the same old problem reappeared and once again I had to turn off the router and turn it back on in order to connect my machines to the internet. This affects not just the computers (13" rMBP and 15" rMBP) but also the two iPads and the iPhone in the household, which is why I'd thought it must be the router at fault. Anyway, the interesting thing is that on Sunday, the evening before I lost connectivity, I'd done some shuffling around of files and folders in my Dropbox account, had uploaded a couple of new folders, etc. Now I am wondering if there is some correlation there..... Later today I am going to experiment and see if indeed after working with Dropbox that once again I lose connectivity at some point, either right afterward or at some point following. I can not be sure now when this problem first cropped up, whether it was in Yosemite or if it only began once I had installed El Capitan in the one machine (the other machine is new, so it came with El Cap already installed, of course).

 

[matt2053]

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.

I want to impress upon you that this is not necessarily the case. I was driven mad by the exact same issues, and like you, NONE of my other devices had the problem.

But I swear, I took my router back to my ISP and got a different model, and BAM! no more problems.

I had like 10 devices, and my Macbook was the *only* one with issues. But I promise you, swapping out my router DID fix it!!!

 

[John6Plus]

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.

That sounds like a problem with your charger. I'd try a different one and see if the problem persists. It could be the electrical in the house, but I'd say much more likely the charger is defective and introducing noise that's messing with your WiFi.

 

[RadioGaGa1984]

I've never had this issue on any of my devices or macs

 

[zone23]

I had an issue were my MacBook Airs wouldn't connect to WiFi, it was the router. I had an Asus AC-1900 that worked perfect. Then the cable company gave me a new WiFi router to go with my TV system (its called EXP). My MacBooks would not connect to it after waking up, even rebooting wouldn't fix it. Went back to my Asus and its been perfect. SO not sure if I should be blaming the router or the MacBooks but I generally blame the router.

 

[batting1000]

That sounds like a problem with your charger. I'd try a different one and see if the problem persists. It could be the electrical in the house, but I'd say much more likely the charger is defective and introducing noise that's messing with your WiFi.

Interesting. Thanks for the help. Been looking for some sort of advice on this for awhile.

 

[navaira]

Yay! The issue is back in 10.11.4 beta 2. Since it worked perfectly well in 10.1.14 beta 1 I am afraid I'm not buying a new rooter.

If you need me, I'm going back to beta 1 thanks to my trusty and rusty (really old HDD) Time Machine.