Mountain Lion wifi issues - First time Mac owner, serious regrets

woppers

airuser wrote: »

Wish you luck. If the problem still exists and it is the mac is at fault. There you have rights under Law. It is with the company you bought the Mac from and not Apple.

Thanks for the info!

I bought the laptop directly from the Canadian Apple store so I hope there wont be many complications if the laptop has to be exchanged.

airuser

Now, that my be a problem. There is one of the Consumer Agency's could help you with that.

If you are too far away from you router could also be in running. I can control my Sky on Demand box with my iPad some 15m from it though a floor and a wall.

Have you asked the store to connect to their system and see if the problem is happening with them A question. Have you tried connect another computer to the system ?
.

woppers

airuser wrote: »

Now, that my be a problem. There is one of the Consumer Agency's could help you with that.

If you are too far away from you router could also be in running. I can control my Sky on Demand box with my iPad some 15m from it though a floor and a wall.

Have you asked the store to connect to their system and see if the problem is happening with them A question. Have you tried connect another computer to the system ?
.

Yes, I had a feeling that could be a bit of hairy area alright.

I had the laptop in the shop and I tried to recreate the issue there but I couldnt. I get the problem in my home with 2 different routers. Im never more than 15 ft max from the router. It loses connection even when I am sitting beside the router.

Today in IT Carlow I couldnt connect at all to their wireless. I would have to restart the laptop, have a connection for 2 minutes, lose connection and restart the laptop again.

This happened 3 times in about 5 minutes. Its been going on for 5 months now. The laptop is totally unusable.

Now, fingers crossed. I am away from home tonight and I've been online for over 20 minutes and no drops yet! I'll keep an eye on it.

Janedoe10

woppers wrote: »

Thanks mate,

I already had it in Compu B. They changed the wireless card in it but its still giving the same problems. I was talking to them and they told me to do a complete reinstall.

I will do it on the wknd but I know its not going to fix the problem.

Woppers before erasing . Since u say it's a new mac it should have 10.8 . If its sw or content booting into recovery partition should show it to be more stable . U can get on safari in this mode and see does the wifi drop out the same way . If it does at least u know it s pointing to HW on the comp Or outside influence . I would also remove other device from network as well .
http://www.apple.com/osx/recovery/. {{{command + R}}}

If its better in this mode stable that is then reinstall good idea then . I will check if there is any link article on this . Normally apple are good enough on those .
Good luck

airuser

That sounds weird .. That it could not be repeated.

On something similar. Bought a new router recently "Belkin",tried setting it up will not connect to my Internet . Yet, the installed unit is also "Bekin".
Had it back to the shop they can connect.

Good luck

mathepac

woppers wrote: »

... Today in IT Carlow I couldnt connect at all to their wireless. I would have to restart the laptop, have a connection for 2 minutes, lose connection and restart the laptop again. ...

Strange that you should need to do all that. All I've ever had to do is to <Disconnect from "network name"> in the Menu-bar, leave it for a few seconds and then connect again using the Wi-Fi icon (between the Bluetooth and Volume icons on the Menu-bar.

Colonel Panic

If you are having issues connecting to multiple networks, despite the fact that the wireless card has been changes (are you sure CompuB REALLY did this? Is the MAC address different?) then the machine could be a lemon and you should calmly and patiently explain this to Apple support. Don't take no for an answer from their front line guys, just tell them what you've already done and ask them if that's normal behaviour.

The above suggestion about using Recovery Mode to launch Safari instead of doing a clean install is a great one. Failing that, you could also install OS X to an external instead of nuking your files.

Looks like apple have a issued a wifi fix, hope it works for you..
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1509532

120_Minutes

As soon as the OP mentioned the two routers he tried, I was pretty sure its not an airport card/laptop problem as those two routers are possibly the worst in the history of mankind. the vodafone one is crap and the eircom one has a history of not liking apple devices.

beg, borrow or steal a decent router, and i'll bet you wont have a problem, or better yet pick up a (new or used) airport express and connect it to the modem and use it as the wifi router (existing modem still handles the modem duties)

banquo

Oh yeah, is happened to me. Wifi kept dropping.

G to preferences -> network. Write down all your wireless settings. Make a new wireless profile (+ sign) and enter all the details again. Use this wireless profile and disable / delete the other one.

Stupid but it works.

airuser

Check the updates from Apple this evening

woppers

Janedoe10 wrote: »

Woppers before erasing . Since u say it's a new mac it should have 10.8 . If its sw or content booting into recovery partition should show it to be more stable . U can get on safari in this mode and see does the wifi drop out the same way . If it does at least u know it s pointing to HW on the comp Or outside influence . I would also remove other device from network as well .
http://www.apple.com/osx/recovery/. {{{command + R}}}

If its better in this mode stable that is then reinstall good idea then . I will check if there is any link article on this . Normally apple are good enough on those .
Good luck

Hi JaneDoe10, I am in safe mode right now testing out your theory! Thanks, it sounds like a good theory. I have spare hdds lying around the house so its no problem to pop on in and do a clean install. In fact, I have a clean install in now and I am in safe mode so I'll see what happens tonight. It already dropped the connection on me while downloading an update for an iPhone.

There is no other device active on the network at the moment either. 2 iPhones and an iPad are in the house connected but they're not being used.

Edit: Whoops, I'm in safe mode instead of recovery mode! I may switch modes.

airuser wrote: »

That sounds weird .. That it could not be repeated.

On something similar. Bought a new router recently "Belkin",tried setting it up will not connect to my Internet . Yet, the installed unit is also "Bekin".
Had it back to the shop they can connect.

Good luck

Technology!!!!! I love it and hate it at the same time!

mathepac wrote: »

Strange that you should need to do all that. All I've ever had to do is to <Disconnect from "network name"> in the Menu-bar, leave it for a few seconds and then connect again using the Wi-Fi icon (between the Bluetooth and Volume icons on the Menu-bar.

Thanks mate, sometimes that method works for me but when I do it 5 times in 10 minutes its like the whole wireless section of the laptop crashes. Even when I hover over the wifi icon I get that coloured ball.

And when I try to restart the laptop, it gets stuck on the grey shutdown screen. I end up having to hold the power button to shutdown the laptop.

Colonel Panic wrote: »

If you are having issues connecting to multiple networks, despite the fact that the wireless card has been changes (are you sure CompuB REALLY did this? Is the MAC address different?) then the machine could be a lemon and you should calmly and patiently explain this to Apple support. Don't take no for an answer from their front line guys, just tell them what you've already done and ask them if that's normal behaviour.

The above suggestion about using Recovery Mode to launch Safari instead of doing a clean install is a great one. Failing that, you could also install OS X to an external instead of nuking your files.

I have checked the MAC address of both wireless cards. CompuB did change the card for me. I rang them to tell them that its still dropping connection and they told that it has to be a software issue and told me to do a clean install.

I have had the clean install running for a couple of days and I am still having drops.

When it drops connection and I reconnect to wifi network I have to reenter the wifi password. Its driving me nuts

ed1604 wrote: »

Looks like apple have a issued a wifi fix, hope it works for you..
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1509532

airuser wrote: »

Check the updates from Apple this evening

Unfortunately this update is not for my macbook model

120_Minutes wrote: »

As soon as the OP mentioned the two routers he tried, I was pretty sure its not an airport card/laptop problem as those two routers are possibly the worst in the history of mankind. the vodafone one is crap and the eircom one has a history of not liking apple devices.

beg, borrow or steal a decent router, and i'll bet you wont have a problem, or better yet pick up a (new or used) airport express and connect it to the modem and use it as the wifi router (existing modem still handles the modem duties)

I would tend to agree with you about those 2 router but I was in a friends house on the weekend and I kept losing connection from her modem. She is with upc. And I keep losing connection in the college. Thats 4 different routers that I'm losing connection on.

I was considering buying an airpot extreme but I feel like I shouldnt have to after already spending the bones of €2000 on a laptop! I'm starting to get fed up with it all now.

banquo wrote: »

Oh yeah, is happened to me. Wifi kept dropping.

G to preferences -> network. Write down all your wireless settings. Make a new wireless profile (+ sign) and enter all the details again. Use this wireless profile and disable / delete the other one.

Stupid but it works.

Thanks for the suggestion but I've already tried that one.

And while I have been replying to you all, my connection has dropped twice. I am running a clean install so it HAS to be a problem with the laptop.

I am ringing apple tomorrow. I will let you guys know how it goes. Thanks for the help and input. I really appreciate it.

woppers

Here's the latest.

I was talking to the supervisor of the Apple Customer Care support team and told me that the only thing that they could do for me was to bring the laptop back in for repair.

I explained that because I live in Wexford to do that I will have to travel once to drop it off and again to collect it. So altogether its gonna take me 10 hrs travelling and €70-€80 in diesel. He didnt seem to care.

He said I could post it. 5 days before christmas? Is he for real? I also explained that I REALLY need the laptop right now for studying over christmas.

I told him I wanted a refund or replacement but he wasnt buying that. He kept saying that it'll have to be brought in for repair. When I asked him for a loan of a laptop while it was being repaired he told me that it is not possible. (when I got to CompuB I found out that they provide a temporary laptop but there were none available)

So.... I drove up with the laptop. They they replaced the wifi cable. I got it back the next day. All was well for about 24 hrs and now its back to its usual tricks. Dropping connection left right and center. :mad:

I'm done trying to fix this myself, I dont see why I should have to tweek this and tweek that to get a €2000 laptop to try and work properly.

Has anyone got any suggestions as to how I can get Apple to replace this faulty laptop?

whiterebel

woppers wrote: »

Here's the latest.

I was talking to the supervisor of the Apple Customer Care support team and told me that the only thing that they could do for me was to bring the laptop back in for repair.

I explained that because I live in Wexford to do that I will have to travel once to drop it off and again to collect it. So altogether its gonna take me 10 hrs travelling and €70-€80 in diesel. He didnt seem to care.

He said I could post it. 5 days before christmas? Is he for real? I also explained that I REALLY need the laptop right now for studying over christmas.

I told him I wanted a refund or replacement but he wasnt buying that. He kept saying that it'll have to be brought in for repair. When I asked him for a loan of a laptop while it was being repaired he told me that it is not possible. (when I got to CompuB I found out that they provide a temporary laptop but there were none available)

So.... I drove up with the laptop. They they replaced the wifi cable. I got it back the next day. All was well for about 24 hrs and now its back to its usual tricks. Dropping connection left right and center. :mad:

I'm done trying to fix this myself, I dont see why I should have to tweek this and tweek that to get a €2000 laptop to try and work properly.

Has anyone got any suggestions as to how I can get Apple to replace this faulty laptop?

The only thing is, Apple have a policy of replacing a machine if it has been for repair on 3 occasions. Make sure you have a receipt from CompuB for each time. You could also try Mactivate in Blanchardstown, they used to have a countrywide collection service for macs. There was hostorically problems if cordless phones or microwaves were between computers and routers, but as this is happening in 4/5 locations, it seems unlikely. You could try a free WiFi spot like McDonalds or O'Briens and see if they give the same problems. You need to stick at Apple, as I think buying it in Canada has ruled out involving the small claims court. Very frustrating, though OP, I feel your pain.

woppers

Hi guys!

Its been a long time since I updated this post but I just thought I would share the outcome with you all.

The laptop was brought back in for repairs 2 more times but the problem still wasn't fixed so the eventually replaced it for me. I have had the replacement for about 4-5 weeks.

I'd like to say a big thanks to all of you for your help. I really appreciate it!

airuser

woppers wrote: »

Hi guys!

Its been a long time since I updated this post but I just thought I would share the outcome with you all.

The laptop was brought back in for repairs 2 more times but the problem still wasn't fixed so the eventually replaced it for me. I have had the replacement for about 4-5 weeks.

I'd like to say a big thanks to all of you for your help. I really appreciate it!

Well done, it is difficult to get a replacement.
Airuser

nialler

Woppers

That all sounds a little weird when I was reading through the thread. If you hold down D (please wire yourself to the modem) while restarting and run the apple hardware test, personally I would have sent the machine back already, I have a brand new 13" macbook that's working perfectly (thomson wireless modem from UPC) with a few dells, iphones, ipads, xboxes and imacs on the network, 3 floors up never misses a beat. Run the hardware test and let us know what results you get.

Nialler

Ooops just seen the last post