07-09-2007, 09:18 PM

I am running a mac book pro with the latest vesion of Tiger. I purchased it about a month and I have been having issues browsing. Basicly what happens is when I am browsing websites my browser hangs. It happens with both firefox and safari. The airport connection shows full strenth but the browsers shows a server does not respond. This happens after hitting a few websites and then it just hangs.

I am using a 2-wire wireless gateway from AT&T (270-1HG).

I recently ran the hard disk utiltiy as well as the hardware check and everything checks out.

Is there an issue withthe new 802.11 N standard airport card and 802.11 G gateways?

07-09-2007, 11:21 PM

Originally Posted by jbeals

I am running a mac book pro with the latest vesion of Tiger. I purchased it about a month and I have been having issues browsing. Basicly what happens is when I am browsing websites my browser hangs. It happens with both firefox and safari. The airport connection shows full strenth but the browsers shows a server does not respond. This happens after hitting a few websites and then it just hangs.

I am using a 2-wire wireless gateway from AT&T (270-1HG).

I recently ran the hard disk utiltiy as well as the hardware check and everything checks out.

Is there an issue withthe new 802.11 N standard airport card and 802.11 G gateways?

What happens when you connect directly to the router via Ethernet?

How is your router setup (what type of security, is SSID broadcast enabled?)

07-10-2007, 10:22 AM

I have not really tried connecting it with ethernet as it is in my kitchen. I guess I could try that. It has WEP security on it. No clue what SSID enabled is. I would not even know how to confirm if it is set.

Not that it is your problem but I feel like I have been lied to by Apple. Nothing is easy with this machine. I still get Kernal Panics and Apple support has not done anything to resolve. There is only a freaking 14 day return policy. Now I have to spend my time taking the machien into a Genius Bar for them to tell me to re-install the operating system or do a harware or hard disk test.

I have already tried that witht he phone support. Do you know of a complain phoen number with the corporate office? I feel lost and it feels hopeless.

07-10-2007, 10:40 AM

hello jbeals

I would strongly advice against using WEP for three reasons:
1) It is more or less useless as a security measure, as it can be cracked in minutes (some claim seconds!)
2) WPA is much easier to use than WEP
3) Mac OS X actually prefers WPA to WEP.

You may actually find you will get better results with WPA.

I think trying direct ethernet connection is a very good idea. It's the best way of checking if it is a airport issue, a router issue, or an ISP issue. If all works well with your ethernet, then it would suggest a wireless issue. I would suggest turning all wireless security off temporarily and seeing if that helps.

Also, you can try changing channels on the router and checking cordless phones -- the usual voodoo. Not saying it is likely to be those things, but always good to rule out because they are the first things tech support guys will throw at you.

07-10-2007, 10:46 AM

Originally Posted by jbeals

I have not really tried connecting it with ethernet as it is in my kitchen. I guess I could try that. It has WEP security on it. No clue what SSID enabled is. I would not even know how to confirm if it is set.

I can't speak to your other issues, as I don't have enough background to get into those at this point. However, wi-fi issues are as common on Macs as they are on PCs. There's a lot of variables to get straight, and most people don't have enough expertise to sort through them.

WEP security is dead, it can be hacked with readily available tools, in some cases it takes less than 60 seconds. A replacement for WEP called WPA has been around since about 2002, and most routers support it. The first thing I'd do would be to switch your security to WPA (or better yet, WPA2). You see better connection speeds and will not have to worry about your connection being hacked.

In addition, I would follow the steps in my Wireless Networking FAQ (see my signature) for ensuring that you've got range and interference problems worked out. If your router is in your kitchen, chances are you've got a microwave oven near it - and that is a major cause of interference and dropped connections. In addition, cordless phones that run on the 2.4GHz band will cause issues. See the FAQ for more details.

07-22-2007, 02:04 PM

I am seeing this exact same issue after the .10 update.

Specs:

MacBook 2.16 / 2GB RAM

Router: Tried both WRT54GS and WAP54G - same result

SSID: Hidden (will try to enable it though)

Security: WPA2 (Personal)

IP: DHCP (tried static)

pings to the default gateway vary, but are typically 1.5ms - occasional packet loss, nothing serious.

Issue does not happen when connected via ethernet.

my XP laptop works fine without issue on wireless.

I am assuming it's part of the .10 issue, but who knows. Not too much of an issue as I am wired right now, so I just deal with it. It would be nice to have wireless though.

I first thought it was a DNS issue - but lookup off the shell are instant. Oddly enough, when looking in the logs, I see these messages when it does hang:

Jul 22 12:27:38 e2a mDNSResponder: getifaddrs ifa_netmask for fw0(7) Flags 8863 Family 2 169.254.171.213 has different family: 0
Jul 22 12:27:38 e2a mDNSResponder: SetupAddr invalid sa_family 0
Jul 22 12:28:46 e2a mDNSResponder: getifaddrs ifa_netmask for fw0(7) Flags 8863 Family 2 169.254.171.213 has different family: 0
Jul 22 12:28:46 e2a mDNSResponder: SetupAddr invalid sa_family 0
Jul 22 12:28:49 e2a mDNSResponder: getifaddrs ifa_netmask for fw0(7) Flags 8863 Family 2 169.254.171.213 has different family: 0
Jul 22 12:28:49 e2a mDNSResponder: SetupAddr invalid sa_family 0

So, I hard coded the DNS servers - no joy.

07-22-2007, 02:50 PM

I was using my iBook at a new Indian restaurant in town setting up WiFi for them. All was working great till the 10.4.10 update popped up and I installed it. After that I was using the iBook to check the WiFi all over the rather large restaurant and sites started pausing. Drove me crazy as this is my Job. Made an excuse and grabbed my Windows Lappy I take with me to double check, and no pauses. Took the ibook home and reinstalled and updated to 10.4.9 and it works great there again. There seems to be something with that 10.4.10 and some routers. It did not do it on my routers or access points at home, just there. But after going back to .9 its great again. The iBook has always worked better than any of my PC laptops and I always use it on the job setting up networks.

07-22-2007, 02:52 PM

I would try enabling SSID broadcast, with WPA enabled, you shouldn't have any security issues there. The AirPort drivers don't like talking to networks where the SSID isn't broadcast - particularly when on the fringe of the wireless range.

The issues you see with mDNSResponder are typical - I have the same in my logs without any issues. mDNSResponder is part of the Bonjour package, which is believe is a variation on uPnP. It's not an essential service, it basically makes connectivity between clients (wireless enabled printers for example) easier.

07-22-2007, 09:40 PM

Cool.

I'll give the broadcast SSID option a try and see if it improves.

Thanks!

07-27-2007, 09:34 PM

the problem is a driver issue with the new 10.4.10. Mine will do the same thing but only when on battery. It seems that with this new os is causeing these problem on my att 2701hg-b. To solve the problem you can plug it in our shut off encyription, with either wep or wpa it will hang and cause kernel panics.

07-27-2007, 11:29 PM

Same here with SBC yahoo... which is basically ATT. Browser is hanging on the 2 wire network. Connecting straight to ethernet takes care of the problem.

Has anyone resolved this issue?