Wi-Fi issues plague new Apple MacBook Airs
History repeats itself, as another Apple product has connectivity issues -- three years ago it was the iPhone 4 and now the new MacBook Air is affected. Disgruntled users have taken to the company's support forum to report the Wi-Fi connectivity woes, which appear to persist even on replacement units.
According to a number of reports, both MacBook Air models -- the 11.6-inch and the 13.3-inch versions -- are affected, including those which feature factory upgrades. Users say that the Wi-Fi connection randomly drops after a period of activity, with the problem mostly being reported when relying on non-Apple-branded routers. Judging by the posted replies, none of the solutions presented thus far appear to fix this.
MacBook Air user vhkim first reported the issue: "I have a brand new Macbook Air which is able to connect to the internet for just a minute or two before suddenly it drops out. This is even though the signal still shows at full strength and all my other devices are still able to surf the net as per normal".
As previously mentioned, the Wi-Fi connectivity problem appears on multiple types of routers. "It isn't my router, I have two networks at my house (two routers) and it happened on both. I haven't had a reoccurrence of the issue since I did what was contained in my post above", says gmc74.
For Xtna1016 the replacement unit did not present the Wi-Fi mishaps: "tried all ways posted here. didnt work. returned it this morning. they exchanged it. now its working perfectly fine. it has to do with the hardware".
In M. R.'s case a replacement did not help: "They replaced the MBA. Went online on the new one at home and before I even put any of my data etc on, just going onto the web, wifi keeps cutting out. This is insane!".
Some users have also reinstalled OS X, which appears to have solved the issue in a number of cases but reappeared after a certain period for others.
On Apple's AirPort Express, theliuman suggests that drops rarely occur: "At different hotspots (2.4GHz most likely), wifi signal drops constantly (between 10 seconds and 20 min). At home (5GHz, Airport Express, latest firmware 7.6.3), wifi signal drops rarely".
"I've just broken down and bought myself the new Time Capsule, and will give her my Airport Express. Was planning on getting one in the future but figured what the heck. Good job, Apple. You've successfully made me give you more of my money", says theliuman.
For Fred Braches, the problem persists even with Apple's router: "I don't think that an Apple router would help you solve the problem. I have an Airport Express and the same problem with my new MBA 11 inch. My iPod, iPad, and Macbook (late 2008) worked just fine right out of the box".
Serrat claims that a software update solved the problem: "I found an update in the appstore yesterday, and after innstalling it I haven't experienced it again. But haven't been able to play as much with it either. The biggest problem for me occurred when downloading large files like WoW and Dropbox".
Users still expect an official admission from Apple (which, judging by a number of posts is aware of the problem) and a concrete solution to their woes (the source of the issue remains unknown).
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