wifi not working on 'new' macbook

[Skillet01]

I have a 'new' macbook pro, 2009, running elcapitan. just arrived yesterday. In setting it up , I find it works fine if I connect via dsl. however, the wifi does not work. I have two possible wifi connections here at the house: frontier, and a verizon mifi. both work fine on my desktop, and the mifi has always worked with my old macbook. With this "new" one, however, the bars never fill in on the wifi icon. when I click on it, it says it is connected, but never gets solid 'bars.' Is there something I'm not doing? before this, my latest system has been mountain lion (on both imac and laptop)

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Skillet01

 

[Raz0rEdge]

On the drop-down for WiFi do you see the access points listed? Click on the icon with the OPTION key held down and see what extra information you get. Did the previous owner say that the WiFi worked fine?

 

[Skillet01]

On the dropdown, it shows the networks available -- are those the 'access points'? When I click on the wifi icon at the top (which has no black bars and an exclamation point over all) , it shows frontier network in all black bars, but there is a locked lock beside that. I did put in the password, but somehow didn't work. When I click on the frontier link, it goes back to the top with the !. If I open Network preferences, it says wifi is connected, with a green dot beside it.

On the drop-down for WiFi do you see the access points listed? Click on the icon with the OPTION key held down and see what extra information you get. Did the previous owner say that the WiFi worked fine?

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Yes, the network available are the WiFi access points (AP). The bars indicate what the signal strength is between you and the AP. The more bars, the better the strength. The lock indicates that it's a secure AP and requires a password to get connected. Look at the image below at my connection. I'm connected to the AP called "Open Network Preferences", specifically named that to be confusing..

The WiFi icon on the top menu bar will continue to 'flutter' when it isn't connected to any AP (so this is normal). When connected to a AP, it will have a number of bar indicating the signal strength.



if you are getting a green dot, it's likely not connecting all the way through. Click on System Preferences->Network and select WiFi if not already selected, on the right it should say something like "Wi-Fi is connected to <AP name> and has the IP address <xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx>". Tell us what that IP address is..

 

[pm-r]

the mifi has always worked with my old macbook. With this "new" one, however, the bars never fill in on the wifi icon. when I click on it, it says it is connected, but never gets solid 'bars.' Is there something I'm not doing?

Try reading this article and check your Wireless Diagnostics:

MAC OS XAPPS & SOFTWARE
How To Access The Wi-Fi Scanner In Mac OS X El Capitan
http://www.letstalk-tech.com/how-to-access-the-wi-fi-scanner-in-mac-os-x-el-capitan/

Click the images to enlarge them if needed.

Or for more hits, give this a try:
Check for Wi-Fi issues using your Mac
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT202663
or head off to here:
https://www.google.ca/search?client...&oe=UTF-8&gfe_rd=cr&ei=7nyoWdakG87e8AfKxYGQCA


But just holding the option key and clicking the Open/Use "Wireless Diagnostics" and run it should give you a good idea of any wifi problems.





- Patrick
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