Filed under: Airport, Software Update, Troubleshooting, Apple
Airport Update 2006-002 now out
Many owners of MacBooks and MacBook Pros (MacBooks Pro?) have been suffering with wireless connection problems, particularly when connecting to networks using the WPA security standard and third-party access points. In our own office WLAN, we've had DHCP and authentication issues with the Intel laptops on a WPA/Proxim network, while older G4 laptops connect effortlessly -- and, for what it's worth, the MBPs connect happily to an older WEP/Airport network. To point the finger firmly at a software or driver issue, the same MBPs that have troubles connecting to the WPA network when booted in OS X have nary a problem linking up when running in Windows XP via Boot Camp (a troubleshooting technique I never dreamed I'd use, but there it is).For software problems, we look for software solutions, and Apple's update for Airport in the Core 2 Duo laptops might just help. We hope. Details on the update are thin for now but I'll test this on an MBP and see what, if any, improvements result.
[via MacNN]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jeffrey Lee said 6:47PM on 12-16-2006
"Your computer does not meet the hardware requirements of this update."
I also have problems with WPA on my MBP and would love a fix...
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lgc90 said 9:42PM on 12-13-2006
Hmm, apparently my computer "does not meet the hardware requirements for this update." I have a 1st gen MacBook. This gets me thinking, perhaps this is only for the new MacBooks and MacBook pros, which, unlike the older ones, have the draft N wireless cards.
error here: http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/2479/picture1wn7.jpg
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Parker Daniel said 9:54PM on 12-13-2006
Says update for
• MacBook Pro (17-inch Core 2 Duo)
But it says also "does not meet the hardware requirements for this update"
Confused ??? Does this mean I'm SOL ??
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Samuel McConnell said 10:01PM on 12-13-2006
My MBP (original) has always had trouble staying connected to my WRT54G (WEP encryption) except when plugged in to a power adapter. No problems with my Powerbook G4 or with my MBP and any other access point.
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Michael Rose said 10:07PM on 12-13-2006
The update is specifically for the Core 2 Duo machines, ie. 2nd generation MBP and MacBooks. I am installing it now on a C2D MBP.
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Ryan said 10:07PM on 12-13-2006
One LONG restart later, I have applied the update to my C2D MBP 15. I had problems with it, seemingly, dropping connection to my WRT54G with WEP. I hope this helps with that.
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andrew harrison said 10:36PM on 12-13-2006
just installed it on my 2 week old c2d mbp. seemed to stall on restarting, so i force-restarted.
That restart didn't take after about 10 minutes [got to the white screen with the apple logo, but no spinning gear] so i force-restarted again, this one worked.
Boot time was substantially longer. Haven't noticed much improvement [I'm using an airport express] except now rather than a constant 3-bars of reception, i'm getting 3-4 bars. Haven't noticed a speed decrease or anything though.
At least it didn't break anything.
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bibi-pov said 10:50PM on 12-13-2006
Maybe I'm blessed to have a working MB, but I'm connected all the time using WPA to netgear routers or accesspoints without a problem. Now, I wish I had such good results on my company RJ45 LAN. I can only connect at 100-half max with a data rate not exceeding 30kB/s. But I guess our nortel switches are crap... All the HP PCs don't have problems though...
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Will K said 10:23AM on 12-14-2006
The restart did take a really long time, but it seems like the internet is a little snappier...but I bet it's just the placebo effect.
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Josh said 11:34PM on 12-13-2006
It broke my Airport functionality altogether on my MBP C2D. I had to extract the older version of the IO80211Family.kext from my install DVD using Pacifist in order to get back online.
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RedCooper02 said 12:24AM on 12-14-2006
I have both a 12" PB G4 and a Macbook Pro Core 2 Duo. At times it would disconnect from my Linksys 54G wireless router. Since I've updated the firmware on the router to the opensource DD-WRT, it's been PERFECT.
Not sure if that will help anyone, but it did for me.
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CUllerClassik said 11:54PM on 12-13-2006
I think part of the problem lies in Cisco/Linksys using something that doesn't comply fully with the standard. I was having problems connecting to my Linksys... till I installed DDWRT. I HIGHLY suggest it. It's an easy transition, and you turn your router into a high end router... running Linux. And because it's -ix, it communicates flawlessly with my MBP.
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kasmic said 1:30AM on 12-14-2006
I haven't tried to install this--sounds like my MacBook might be to early to take this update--but my husband upgraded the firmware on our Linksys WRT54G and selected a different frequency this morning and I haven't had to cycle the router all day!!
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Spartan-84 said 1:34AM on 12-14-2006
I have always had connection issues ith my C2D iMac (24"). An Apple phone support lady said it was probably my DHCP lease. But when my computer falls asleep it loses all router connectivity, and when i first start it up it sees the router, but will not, (without turning airport on and then off) recognize my internet connection. Any tips guys? When it does work it works great. i have the D-Link DIR-625 Rangebooster N, and i usually get 500-600 kb/s download from Safari (depending on site), which isnt a bad rate for wireless across a house (different floors too).
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pfuelb said 3:57AM on 12-14-2006
Where's the Update for the C2D iMacs?? Airport really does bug me on my machine: problems connecting after sleep/reboot, dropping connection, freaking slow...
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lindstorm said 4:26AM on 12-14-2006
I work for a university helpdesk and our faculty of art students have loads of macs (2004, 2005 ibooks and 2006 macbooks) provided by University for their personal use (for studying). AFAIK the macbooks are only coreduo (not C2D), however, these have had major problems connecting to campus wide WLAN network (WPA-Enterprise) after updating to 10.4.8. While many of these have worked ok after the update, the amount of non-working ones has started to increase during the last week.
Problem actually is not the authentication, but the Airport refuses to get IP from DHCP, rather making up one APIPA (169.254...) address instead.
Apple is offering booting up the wireless network as a solution, but booting tens of AP:s simultaneously is not a preferred option.
So could this fix also work for CoreDuo Macbooks?
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Des said 4:28AM on 12-14-2006
I second the call for the iMac update - it's a pain to be losing connectivity (and speed) when my Mini connected flawlessly to the same router. Add the iTunes stuttering and the fact that my MightyMouse sometimes forgets how to right click and it's not a totally happy experience.
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henrrrik said 8:51AM on 12-14-2006
@CUllerClassik
It was "-ix" all along. The Linksys WRT54G/GS/GL is linux based (expect for the lastest G/GS versions that run VxWorks) and Linksys has released the source code for it. The superb DD-WRT and OpenWRT firmwares are based on that source.
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Samohtas said 9:15AM on 12-14-2006
Arghh, I need this update for my MBP (1st gen). I've gotten into a lot of trouble with my WEP-encrypted SMC-router. I have to restart it all the time when using my MBP (compared to my old windows laptop).
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lawrence said 9:47AM on 12-14-2006
I have a first gen MacBook Pro 17in. And I have now been booted from my wireless network, as well as the other macs in my office. We are the minority though so there is no hope of changing our wireless router or server. It makes no sense to me, and apparently to Apple. I spent two weeks on the phone with them as they suggested new tactics and did research on my network and computer. Nothing worked.
I was on it one day, working fine, and then I was kicked off the network without any update being applied to my computer or the network. I now get an ACL error, but our network doesn't use an ACL.
Very frustrating...anyone have this problem?
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