Has the WiFi issue been sorted with Yosemite?

[dotdotdot]

I have a mid-'11 21.5 iMac.

Router is TP-LINK Archer C5 AC1200 Dual Band Wireless AC Gigabit Router, 2.4GHz 300Mbps+5Ghz 867Mbps, 2 USB Ports, IPv6, Guest Network.

It will disconnect once everyday or so. I know it's the Mac that's the culprit because a smartphone will connect. So I have to shut to off then on the WiFi via icon on top bar of screen.The two (Mac-WiFi) are separated by a few inches.

I have 10.10.3, which supposedly addressed this (?). Is anyone else having problems?

Also, does this antique only use the 2.4 band? It automatically connected to that band, but the 5 is listed in the drop-down menu.

 

[pigoo3]

In regards to the thread title..."Has the WiFi issue been sorted with Yosemite?"

All I can say is this. If there were WiFi issues with Yosemite...we would be getting a bazillion threads & posts each day due to it. And we're not. If you're having issues...I think that it's got to be an isolated incident.

- Nick

 

[dotdotdot]

Are you sure? Wasn't that a big issue with Yosemite when it first came out? If you are saying it was solved by the .3 update, then I see your point.

 

[pigoo3]

Are you sure? Wasn't that a big issue with Yosemite when it first came out? If you are saying it was solved by the .3 update, then I see your point.

What I'm saying is. We have lots & lots & lots of folks on Mac-Forums that are running Yosemite...and use WiFi. This many folks running Yosemite and using WiFi cannot possibily be having WiFi issues...and not saying anything about it on a daily basis.

If this was a widespread issue...Mac-Forums would be flooded with threads & posts discussing it.

If you're having problems...my guess is it's an isolated issue. And like you mentioned...if your smartphone is fine...and if it's not Yosemite...then it's got to be a network setting issue on the iMac.

- Nick

 

[pigoo3]

I should also mention that the iMac could possibily have WiFi hardware issues (WiFi card is having a problem). Just mentioning this as something to consider.

- Nick

 

[chscag]

Also, does this antique only use the 2.4 band? It automatically connected to that band, but the 5 is listed in the drop-down menu.

Your 2011 iMac is far from being an antique, and yes it will connect to the 5 GHZ band. You, however, have to do the connecting if your iMac is automatically connecting to the lower band. Open System Preferences, Network, and make the necessary changes.

 

[dotdotdot]

Would forcing it to connect to the 5GHz band help? Assuming of course it's supported.

edit:Oops, we posted at the same time.

 

[harryb2448]

My iMac has worked since Beta 1, June last year, through to 10.10.3 and has not had any network problems. Except when my Mac preference ISP employed a Windows technician who changed all the server settings and Mac users could not connect for a week!

He does not work there any longer.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

There has been an ongoing problem with the DNS service in Yosemite that affects people in different ways, but that is expected to go away with 10.10.4.
New OS X beta dumps discoveryd, restores mDNSResponder to fix DNS bugs | Ars Technica

There were issues with Yosmite on release that affected the reliability of wi-fi. I got bit, as did my in-laws. Those problems were fixed long ago though.

EDIT: Download and apply the 10.10.3 Combo Update and see if that fixes it. Sometimes re-applying an update with the combo irons out lingering issues.
https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1804?locale=en_US

 

[dtravis7]

LB is 100% correct. There were major issues with 10.10.0 and even .1 with Wifi. It was all over the dev forums and apple forums. I had friends with bad WiFi issues the second they installed 10.10.

10.10.3 seems to have solved most of it. We were asked as testers to check for WiFi issues. That was one of the main requests in fact.

Like LB posted above, 10.10.4 is ditching the discoveryd and going back to the good old mDNSResponder. Apple has had so many problems with the new DNS stack they are reverting back. I have the latest 10.10.4 installed here for testing and it seems solid so far.

 

[dotdotdot]

I'll wait for the 10.10.4 update, then. I don't dare do the combo update. I spent a lot of time organizing Photos and transferring pics from iPhoto to not want to do it all over again and yes, I do have a back up.

 

[Slydude]

I'll wait for the 10.10.4 update, then. I don't dare do the combo update. I spent a lot of time organizing Photos and transferring pics from iPhoto to not want to do it all over again and yes, I do have a back up.

The combo updater shouldn't mess with your photo organization. Those updaters generally change system files not the organization / structure of other programs.

 

[pigoo3]

I'll wait for the 10.10.4 update, then. I don't dare do the combo update. I spent a lot of time organizing Photos and transferring pics from iPhoto to not want to do it all over again and yes, I do have a back up.

The combo updater process won't be any different than the 10.10.4 updater. They are both "updaters". So the process is the same.

- Nick

 

[Dr.Bronner]

I've been using Yosemite since day one and had no problems! It runs beautifully on my 15" Retina MacBook Pro. I would recommend updating! If there were any problems, they've all been solved by now.

 

[dotdotdot]

I did the combo update and the wiFi still occasionally gets knocked off. If the next update doesn't fix it then I will just give up and connect it the old fashioned way with the cable. I only need WiFi for the phone.

 

[dotdotdot]

It appears that making the 5Ghz band set to default has solved the problem. Fingers crossed, of course, as is always the case with anything computerized. Maybe there was some kind of interference on the 2.4 band. Who knows. I do know that my garage door opener won't work with a CFL bulb in its socket and I do have a CFL lamp just about on top of the modem, so as looney as it sounds, that could have been the culprit.

 

[pigoo3]

Maybe there was some kind of interference on the 2.4 band. Who knows. I do know that my garage door opener won't work with a CFL bulb in its socket and I do have a CFL lamp just about on top of the modem, so as looney as it sounds, that could have been the culprit.

 

[pm-r]

That's not looney at all and both CFL and fluorescent lamps have both been included for causing wi-fi interference, especially the cheap "no-name" brands of dubious quality.

Or try a lady's intermittent problem that was finally resolved which was due to a household freezer that had been moved in her garage that ended up on the opposing side of the wall to her wireless modem in her computer room.

 

[dotdotdot]

Great, but old, article on bands:

Understanding Wi-Fi's two spectrum bands | Macworld

Specifically about interference in 2.4 GHz:

The 2.4GHz band is a “junk” band—it’s a frequency range that’s heavily polluted. It’s one of the most heavily used industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands, which have broad rules to allow equipment that needs to emit a signal to work in within its confines. ISM devices aren’t used for communication, but produce electromagnetic signals as part of their operation. And those signals are interference.

The 2.4GHz band also has a host of other competing uses; 5GHz has the distinct benefit of having very little technology that makes use of the band. Reducing interference lets networks work at higher speeds and greater ranges.

Interference in 2.4 GHz: The 2.4GHz band is a “junk” band—it’s a frequency range that’s heavily polluted. It’s one of the most heavily used industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands, which have broad rules to allow equipment that needs to emit a signal to work in within its confines. ISM devices aren’t used for communication, but produce electromagnetic signals as part of their operation. And those signals are interference.

The 2.4GHz band also has a host of other competing uses; 5GHz has the distinct benefit of having very little technology that makes use of the band. Reducing interference lets networks work at higher speeds and greater ranges.



But it has advantages:

Range: The big advantage 2.4GHz has over 5GHz is range. The shorter wavelengths used in the 5GHz band cannot penetrate as well through seemingly solid objects like walls, ceilings, desks, and people. The flip side is that 5GHz has different rules about how much power a base station can use to send signals.

 

[pigoo3]

That's not looney at all and both CFL and fluorescent lamps have both been included for causing wi-fi interference, especially the cheap "no-name" brands of dubious quality.