MBP - does not remember wireless network

I just recently switched my wi-fi network from g to n. I have MBP (model A1226) that connects wirelessly. Other devices are wired. Since the switch, every time I put MBP to sleep, after it wakes up, it can't find wireless network. After a while a popup windows comes up to select network. I have to enter the SSID (I have it hidden) and password and click Join to connect. After that is fine till next sleep cycle. And yes, I do check "Remember this network" when entering password.

Please help.

Thanks.

Moved to appropriate forum.

Hiding your "SSID" only causes problems and does not really protect you from hackers. A properly protected wireless system using WPA2 while broadcasting the SSID is preferred. Unhide your SSID (broadcast it) and see if that helps.

Thanks for replying.

I did "unhide" SSID. Now, it is a bit better but still not perfect. When I wake up my laptop from sleep, I get the dialog box stating that network cannot be found. Sometimes it will go away after a while and network is established but sometimes I have to reenter SSID and password to get connected.

Start here:

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/ai...technology/68784-wireless-networking-faq.html

...and let us know how you make out.

I read that but it doesn't cover or explain why I would suddenly not be able to automatically connect to the network after waking up the computer. Router is the same, firmware is the same, distance to router is roughly 8ft with clear field of view, the only change is from g to n type network that I made.

drabina said:

I read that but it doesn't cover or explain why I would suddenly not be able to automatically connect to the network after waking up the computer. Router is the same, firmware is the same, distance to router is roughly 8ft with clear field of view, the only change is from g to n type network that I made.

Click to expand...

It's a general set of guidelines that can correct a wide gamut of problems.

Update the firmware, experiment with different channels, be sure you're using WPA/WPA2 encryption and we'll go from there.

All I can do is to experiment with different channels. I already have the latest firmware and I am using WPA2 Personal encryption. Will report once I change channels.

Is there a way to specify which channel to use on Mac? I can only set that on the router.

drabina said:

All I can do is to experiment with different channels. I already have the latest firmware and I am using WPA2 Personal encryption. Will report once I change channels.

Is there a way to specify which channel to use on Mac? I can only set that on the router.

Click to expand...

The channel is changed on the router. The client device just accepts that channel when it joins the network. If you're using a common channel like 11 or 9, you're probably running into an interference issue. I would just experiment with some of the lower channels or perhaps use a WiFi Sniffer to see what other channels are being used in your neighborhood.

Another thing to try would be to step down to WPA from WPA2 and see if that makes a difference. The stronger AES encryption can sometimes cause these kinds of problems. WPA/TKIP should be fine unless you're super paranoid.

I did play with few channels but that did not help. It is really weird. I have two user accounts on the laptop (one for me and one for my wife). I can bring computer back from sleep and find wireless network no problem. When she wakes up the computer from sleep, it doesn't find the network. She has to either type the SSID and password or switch to my account and back for the network to be found. I have cleared saved network under her account, recreated it, saved to keychain but that doesn't help.

I doubt it is WPA2 because I wouldn't be able to connect neither. It looks like it is only her account that has problem connecting.

Interesting. Try purging all "remembered" wireless networks under her account from here:

System Preferences => Network => Click 'AirPort' in the left pane => Click 'Advanced' in the right pane => under the AirPort tab, delete all networks from the list using the '-' button.

Join the network and then see if the issue persists. If it does, try creating a new account for her and see if it follows.

Clearing existing networks (done that before) does not help. I do not really want to create new user and transfer her stuff over.