MBP wireless drop out.

I just got a MBP, its a mid 2009 model (got it about 2 days before the new i5/i7 models came out) and its working fine but when i wanna just wireless its flakey at best.

when on a wired connection i can go for hours on end connection but i flip to wireless i'll have it connected for 10-20 mins before firefox stops working and tries to load the page and fails, even google's page, it'll have to turn off airport and back on for it to work then it'll be fine, this is annoying

my MBP is the 15" 2.66Ghz model w/ 4GB of ram

my home set up is that my internet goes through a 2wire gateway then the wireless goes through a Belkin wireless N router (F5D8233-4) the routing for it was turned off so i think it was turned into a switch ? correct me if i'm wrong but the connection comes from the 2wire. the net works fine on the two Acer aspire laptops i have but with this one will kill stop working

i've tried zapping the Pram, turning off the IPv6, making sure my network was first priority i just dunno whats wrong.

btw i have 10.6.3, and i'm not sure if any updates came out for wireless issues in the last few days if it corrects the problem but i need help cause i'm going crazy, i haven't taken the mbp outta the house yet.

Not sure I understand how your internet is setup? Is the system using a 2Wire modem hooked to the Belkin router? In other words, the internet connection from your ISP is coming into the 2Wire modem and then goes to the router. And what do you mean the routing for the Belkin was turned off? If the router is off you would not get a signal at all.

OK, some things to try: Make sure the router and your MBP are set to use DHCP. Also make sure the router is broadcasting the SID (network name). If you have security set on the router, temporarily turn it off to see if that makes a difference. Try changing channels - you may be experiencing interference from another signal in your local area. Leave IPv6 on as turning it off will not make a difference anyway.

Keep us posted.

Regards.

chscag,

i use DSL, so the internet goes to the 2wire gateway then it goes to the belkin, i turned off the routing aspects of the belkin so i can't change any setting in the belkin cause my IP and that comes now from the 2wire. (what i mean about that there's a setting in the belkin that makes it into a switch or a hub, i can't remember the exact meaning)

i use DHCP, my SID is visible with WPA encryption

Me too -- help!

Hi,
Long-time reader, first-time poster. I have a MacBook and recently started having problems with Airport. The signal will disappear briefly, it'll say airport is scanning, and if I turn airport off and on again, then it will come back. It happens a few times a day, and is driving me nuts!
I am running 10.5.8 and usually use Safari. I haven't updated to Snow Leopard yet, but I am wondering if that might help. I have AT&T and use a 2wire modem. I use my Mac at coffee shops, etc., and I think the problem is isolated to my home modem, but I am not sure.

I checked and airport is on channel 10. I have no idea how to change it to a different channel, or if that will even help. I don't have any new wireless devices in the house in the past few months; no major changes in my computer (software or anything).

I'm contemplating using Istumblr or some other service. Is that a good idea? I've noticed a few other posts complaining of this problem, but I'm having trouble finding a resolution. I would be eternally grateful for any suggestions!

DRMac - from what you are saying, it sounds like you are using the Belkin as a wireless repeater only - correct? So, your 2Wire is the DHCP server, (where your IP addresses are issued from etc), connected via ethernet to the Belkin, but you use the Belkin for extending your network wirelessly only?

All of this should be fine - the likelihood is that the issue lies in the Belkin router - if it doesn't you may have a faulty Airport card, but that is unlikely...

First thing i would suggest is altering the Wireless channel on the Belkin to 6 (tends to be the default), and ensure there are is no MAC filtering in place for client connections to it - restart the Belkin and try connecting again...Always ensure you have the most up-to-date firmware for the router as well (downloadable through the routers webUI), as there have been plenty of issues with MBPs and Belkin routers in the past...

Let us know how you get on...btw, are using WEP, WPA2?

Big_Mac,

i've tested my mac with another wireless router and it works fine, i even drowned out all time and it does work. correct its a wireless repeater only so yes the 2wire is the dhcp server.

its using wpa not wpa2 and i can't get into the belkin cause its just forwarding from the 2wire, when i try the default IP for the belkin it tries to connect but fails, there's no MAC filtering on the router, i know that.

for the firmware update i tried doing that before and it always failed and would give me a fail message then restart so i gave it up
i might have to reset the router to make changes.

You can still access the webui of the belkin, which is where the snag probably lies, the 2wire is only forwarding DHCP information to it - you need to connect directly to it via ethernet (not wirelessly) and browse to the UI - 192.168.2.1 (or 192.168.2.0) - if you've forgotten the login details, you'll need to reset (which is good practice anyway after applying any changes).

Once you are 'in' - update the firmware first, and then check the default settings - provide a screen print if you can and we'll take it from there...

i reset the router, i set the encryption as WPA/WPA-PSK the wireless channel is 6, when you reset the router its 7. (i had the channel as either 1 or 11)

i tried to update the firmware but it went through then suddenly failed, the control panel stated that it failed cause i tried loading the WRONG firmware, but i got the file when i click to check for updates. So epic fail for belkin, i should look on the router for the correct serial number to get the right one.

the option on the router is "use as access point" btw which i've not used at this time cause i wanna figure out this issue

i think i fixed the issue . i've been using wifi on my router for about 47 mins with no hang ups or interruptions so i'm happy

Issues back again, its annoying as ****
Its a bummer when using my MBP cause its hard to predict when the connection will drop even tho its at full strength

hi there. Ive had exactly the same problem with my 13" macbook pro running snow leopard. I have a dlink router (G) connected via cable which connects fine with my mac mini running leopard and 2 blackberries as well as a windows laptop which all connect fine. With the macbook just keep getting timeouts with internet connection or pages loading extremely slowly. A few times, I keep getting asked for a WEP password (despite being connected to WPA PSK2) and on entering the correct password keep getting the message that the password is incorrect. I tried a number of things and finally might just have solved it. I did take it to the genius bar but got fobbed off as usual by the "genius" who felt it cant be an apple problem!
I think the problem is snow leopard and its difficulty handling anything other than apples own airport routers in particular WPA2 PSK encryption. I went through the usual stuff such as resetting the router which did not work. I also deleted all the router settings to default and reset the whole think but this did not work. Connecting through ethernet was fine so clearly it was a wireless issue.
Eventually, I changed wireless encryption from WPA2 PSK to WPA only. Changed the router channel and also the DHCP settings on the router to static from dynamic only for the macbook pro. This seem to have worked. 2 days and no connection problems so far.
Looking at various forums, there are issues with wifi and macbook pros dating back to 2008. No solutions from apple and no acknowledgement that there is or was a problem. I think snow leopard has a problem which apple probably quietly fixed on leopard with an update without acknowledging there was an issue.