Mac OS X 10.4.8 Special Report: Wireless connectivity (AirPort, etc.) issues and fixes

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 12:15 a.m. PT

6 min read

AirPort connectivity issues under Mac OS X 10.4.8 have been relatively prevalent, particularly involving issues with reduced throughput or inability to connect to previously working rotuers (base stations.)

One of the most commonly successful workarounds for such issues is to completely erase all "preferred" AirPort networks from your list, then re-establish them via the following process

Open System Preferences and select the "Network" pane
Select "AirPort" and click "Configure"
In the "By default, join:" pull-down menu, select "Preferred networks"
Delete the network(s) you regularly use from the list
Launch the "Keychain Access" application located in Applications/Utilties.
Click on the "Kind" filter at the top, and look for "AirPort network password" entries. Delete them.
Restart, or log out then back in.
Repeat steps 1-3, this time re-adding your regularly used AirPort networks to the list using the " " button.
Restart or log out then back in.

Apple posted a Knowledge Base article confirming this fix, and fingering networks secured via WPA2 as problematic.

Apple says to select any network that shows WPA2 security and use the minus (-) button to remove those networks from the list. The company says that once all WPA2 networks have been removed from the list, use the plus ( ) button to add them back.

If you are still having issues, try deleting all of your preferred wireless networks (not just those using WPA2) then re-establish any used networks.

In other cases, deleting the file:

/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.airport.preferences.plist

can resolve issues.

Other fixes

Disable CoconutWiFi Some users have reported that disabling coconutWiFi -- an application displays you a small aqua-bubble at the top of your screen which indicates whether you're in range of a wireless network or not -- resolves an issue where AirPort connections toggle between normal speed and dismal speed.

The developer of coconutWiFi, Christoph Sinai, has posted a message to his Web site acknowledging the issue, and noting that a revised edition of the software is on the way. Christoph writes:

"It seems that there is currently a Airport performance issue while running coconutWiFi and Airport. I've created a workaround which should fix this for the moment. (feedback welcome) I will release a complete bugfixed version the next days."

Turn of Firewall Turning off the Mac OS X Firewall (in the Sharing pane of System Preferences) can resolve some AirPort issues that occur after incremental Mac OS X updates.

Switch protocol If you are experiencing issues with reduced wireless connectivity speed after updating to Mac OS X 10.4.8, you may want to try changing the wireless specification mode used by your router. Try switching from 802.11g to 802.11b, for instance.

Reset PMU Ssome users have reported success with resetting their Macs' PMUs for this issue. Instructions for resetting the PMUs on various Macs are contained in the following Knowledge Base articles:

MacBook and MacBook Pro

PowerBook and iBook

Mac mini

iMac (G4, flat-panel)

Reader reports

MacFixIt reader Steve writes:

"After updating, cannot see any wireless networks, although there are more than a dozen I could see before in this building. Cannot connect to my own 802.11n wireless router. It appears that the new system updater 10.4.8, when installed on an Intel box, completely wipes out any recognition of 802.11n wireless networks."

MacFixIt reader Dan adds:

"After installing the Mac OS X 10.4.8 combo update on my Intel Core Duo my AP express is very buggy. If i restart my mac it doesn't automatically connect to the net even though the AP meter on the top menu is all black. The only way to connect to the internet is to run through the network setting and try resetting everything. Very frustrating."

One reader writes:

"After this update my laptop simply will not connect automatically to my wireless network. I called Apple and even tried deleting all the com.apple.internetconfig.plist and com.apple.internetconfigpriv.plist from my system and this had no effect either."

Ben writes:

"I updated my Power Mac G5 single 1.8ghz to 10.4.8, using the combo updater (running fsck and repair permissions before as usual) and I noticed I just kept getting error messages when I connected to my Netgear DG834PN. I tried deleting keychains, plists, etc but still would be unreliable, very slow or wouldn't connect. I read that a user fixed his issue by turning off the OS X Firewall. Mine was on, I turned it off and AirPort has connected fine, and my pages now load a lot quicker. I have yet to do a restart but it looks pretty good."

MacFixIt reader Simon writes:

"Since I updated to Mac OS X 10.4.8, AirPort is very sluggish and each time I bring the MacBook Pro home, it doesn't find my home wireless connection, so I have to check it manually in the list. I then have to quit mail and reopen it before I can check for email.

MacFixIt reader John writes:

"Had the same problem with my wireless connection to a DSL modem. Stopped here, of course, tried the suggestions, but still nothing. I appeared to xmit to the modem well, but nothing in/out from there. It wasn't a modem/isp issue. Network diagnostics said I wasn't connect either. Ran disk util to verify/fix permissions, then reset PMU (macbook = shutdown, pull power, pull battery, press/hold power switch for 5 seconds) and tried it again. Works fine now."

MacFixIt reader David adds:

"After updating my Dual 1.8 G5 PPC I lost all contact to my wireless network. My G5 has a standard airport express card build in, and my router is a Speedtouch 716 dsl modem. It used to work just fine. I still can see all networks in the area, but I just can't connect. I tried all suggestions I could find at MacFixit, but nothing seems to work. I just can't connect. Luckily I found a long Ethernet cable, so I am online again."

MacFixIt reader Randy Smith writes:

"Since upgrading to Mac OS X 10.4.8 my airport 802.11b cards speeds have been all over the place. From over 3Mbs down close to dial-up speeds. I tried all the old fixes, combo updater, turning off IvP6 and even the hints listed here. Nothing seemed to help.

"I connected to Linksys 54G wireless router and changed the connection type from mixed mode to just 802.11b. I have no 802.11g devices so it is no big deal. I have always kept it on mixed mode and never had problems. Changing it to just 802.11b brought my speed back to normal. No speed drops, no unresponsive connections."