Terrible wifi problems...

M

meirles

Registered
Hello everyone! So, my Macbook has always been able to connect to the internet through wifi signals very well, in most cases even able to connect on my Uni's crappy service when no one else could. At home, it connected to our Netgear just fine as well, until recently.

As of last week, my Mac has been having MAJOR issues with wifi. At first it was just connection problems in my room. The Airport signal would show full bars, but when I would try to run Safari, I would get that "blank screen, loaded an inch in address bar, then freeze" error. It would do this randomly, sometimes working strong for 15 min, then cutting out. Weird little tricks helped it, somehow, like turning it to a new direction, or angling the screen differently. Really weird.

THEN it got worse. In a different room, where signal has always been strong, it started cutting in and out as well. I tried different things with the Netgear box, moving it to different locations, restarting, etc., but nothing helped.

Now the wifi just will not work at all. Our two other devices (an iPhone and iTouch) can connect to the wifi just fine. But my Mac is doing things like:

-Showing a full bar connection in Airport, but displaying "Your Computer is Not Connected to the Internet" when Safari is loaded.
-Showing a full bar connection, but doing the "load address bar one inch then freeze" error.
-Airport being disconnected from the wifi. When it scans for networks, Netgear doesn't show up at all.
-Airport disconncted from wifi. When it scans for networks, Netgear shows up, but when I click on it and try to connect to it, I put in my password, it loads for a while, then says "Connection Timeout", or sometimes "See Administrator"

Our Netgear is hooked up to our 18 year old piece of junk Windows XP Gateway desktop, which I'm currently using. I called tech support and they remote accessed on the desktop, checked everything out, and said Netgear and the desktop were communicating perfectly, but couldn't provide any help with my Mac. Hopefully somebody here can!! Thanks, guys.
 
Thanks for the quick response! Well, I'm using Leopard, would those tips still work?

Also, I'm a little bit tech-illiterate... I have no idea about any of those frequency or security questions! How do you check those? I think we're using WPA security, since that the kind of password it prompts me for when I try to connect.

The router is connected to our old desktop, with is connect via ethernet (I think?) to our cable modem.
 
Open System Preferences->Network and click on the "Advanced" button. In this pane click on the mini tab for 'TCP/IP'. There write down or memorize the 'router' address. Then close System Preferences.

Now take the router's IP 'Address' and put that IP in your browser's address bar. This will take you to the router's setup and if it asks you for a username/password consult the web site Default Password for NETGEAR Devices. Once in the router's setup go through it and make sure the router's firmware is up to date.

Also in OS X's System Preferences->Network pane, Advanced button and see the Airport card setup to the router. Lastly you can launch /Applications/Utilities/System Profiler (or hold down the 'option' key while click on the Apple symbol in the top left part of the Finder bar).

Checking it this way you can take control of your router, etc. Good Luck.
 
Oksay, so I've tried a few more things since last night.

-Downloaded iStumbler and got on a different channel than my neighbors (I'm picking up 8 different networks in some parts of the house, is that normal??) No help.
-I tried to upgrade the firmware on my router, but everytime I log into the router and confirm that I want to update, I get this message: "Firmware Upgrade Failed. Please check your file."

I'm on channel 1, and I looked up some more info on my router: N, 2.4 GHz, draft 802.11n

Any other solutions? :( The strange thing, in my opinion, is that it was working so consistently, and now the problem seems to have escalated to the point that I can't get on the internet AT ALL. In the rare event that Airport can even identify our network, when I try to connect to it, I get the "Connection Timeout" error.
 
O.K. Then follow these steps:

1. Open System Preferences->Network pane and select your Airport card. Then click on the button and turn your Airport card OFF! Don't skip this step!!!

2. Close System Preferences.

3. Navigate to the folder /YourHardDrive/Library/SystemConfiguration and put all the files in the SystemConfiguration folder in the Trash can but don't empty the trash can in case something goes wrong.

4. IMMEDIATELY reboot your Mac so OS X will rebuilt those files you put in the Trash can.

5. Upon the reboot (it will take a little longer on this reboot) open System Preferences->Network pane again and at the top of the Network pane will be the 'Location' drop-down bar. Use that to create a new Custom (in 10.6 it will be 'Edit Locations ....') Location calling it whatever you want (I call mine Home). Don't worry the new Custom Location will act just like the 'Automatic' Location. Then to save this new Location in the right hand bottom of the Network pane will be the 'Apply' button to save your new Custom Location.

6. Then while still in the System Preferences->Network pane click on the Airport card and turn it back on and rejoin your wireless network.

7. Pray these steps work. Good Luck.
 
I followed all the steps, but it didn't work, unfortunately.

I restarted the computer, when it finished loading back up, Airport was already on (but hadn't picked up a network). I went to the Network pane and added the custom Home location, then clicked on the Airport symbol. It scanned and found my network, but when I clicked on it and entered my password, it did the "Connection Timeout" error, again. I tried turning airport on and off again, but this time when I tried to connect to my network, it shuffled between several different status messages, of course during none of these was I actually able to use the Internet. Here are the status messages:

"Airport does not have an IP and cannot connect to the Internet"
"Airport has a self-assigned IP address and may not be able to connect to the Internet"
"Airport is turned on but is not connected to a network."

I looked up the self-assigned IP address thing, and didn't really get any definitive answers, just a lot of people saying, "Oh that happens to me too, really annoying, no idea how to fix it." What does it mean, and are there any known fixes?

As I was typing this, Airport connect to Netgear and then immediately dropped back off. I'm at the end of my rope, here. :(
 
Well did you get into the Wireless router? I ask because Netgear is FAMOUS of not really following TCP/IP standards and only pandering to Microsoft. So maybe you could get another wireless router or test the Mac Book on a public wireless signal to see if it gets on. I ask because Netgear wireless routers IMHO seem to break after a few years compared to other manufacture.

Dod you ever get into the wireless router?
 
Yes, I've toyed around with different settings in the router before (changing channels, updating firmware.) I updated the firmware last night, and for one minute, it seemed like it had fixed the problem, the mac was picking up wireless signal strong and running fast. Then, of course, I carried it up to the second floor (where it needs to work, anyway) and it couldn't even pick up the network's signal.

The most infuriating problem is when it actually identifies our network, but when I try to connect and put in my password, it does the "Connection Timeout" error. If it can identify the network, why can't it connect?? Tomorrow I'm going to go out and find a public wifi station and test it out. My Mac worked fine at my Uni. it could connect to multiple different wifi networks just fine there, but then again, that was back when it was working just fine at home, too. I'm worried my Airport card is fried or something, but I don't want to drop $50 on a consultation session for a problem that has no definitive answer and hundreds of possible causes and solutions. :(

Okay, so Netgear isn't a good router to use for cross OS households... is there any router that isn't known to have this problem with Macs? I know the problem is probably equal on both systems. I don't want to go out and buy a new router only for the problem to persist or return after a few months... :(
 
I had exactly the same problems which resolved after removing a software firewall programme. It's a long shot, but do you have such a thing?
 
Do your iPhone or iPod touch have issues on the network as well? If they do, then the router is likely to blame. If not, could be that your airport card is going bad, or has corrupt settings. Testing on Public WiFi would be a good way to see if the airport card is working correctly as well.
Re: wireless routers,
You can get a refurbished Airport Extreme for pretty cheap, and they are the best for compatibility (with Macs). I used to use a Linksys and that worked as well.
 
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