If you're thinking of buying a MacBook Pro or upgrading to Lion, think again

yek

yek

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I have a 2011 MacBook Pro. Expensive thingy.

Upgraded to Lion and, boom, Wifi isn't working anymore when there's more than a few meters between the MacBook and the router.

Spent hours researching on the Net. There are lots of similar reports, and threads on the Apple Communities site going back all the way to 2008. It's just that with the release of Lion, the Wifi issues with the MacBook Pro have become much more apparent.

Contacted Apple Care. "Yes sir, we are aware of the problem. The MacBook already had issues when recovering from Sleep modus, but we considered it low priority. ow with Lion there's a flood of reports coming in. There are several things you can try to solve this. Oh, you already tried those.... Yes, you are right, none of them are guaranteed to solve the issue. Be assured that there are several senior engineers working very hard on this issue. No, we have no estimate when it's going to be solved."

Now I have a pricy but severely hampered laptop. So if you thinking of buying a MacBook pro, think again. The same goes for upgrading to Lion if your MacBook's Wifi is working okay now.

PS No problems on my old MacBook white. It's MacBook Pro-related.
 
Yek,

I'm sorry to hear!!!

I've had nothing but MBPs for years and not had a problem with wifi ever, or any other serious problem frankly (bad battery once but that was easy to get replaced) and I know tons of people with them running Lion without wifi probs - I work for a software company. We all upgraded day of release.

I'm writing this on a 2011 MBP 15" running Lion over wireless.
I'm suspicious that the problem you are describing is physical related mobo problem. If you go back to SL does the wifi work again?

I don't even bother reading general internet forums for computer related things.
There are three bad ideas for every one good one and a lot of experts who know $%% .... sound familiar? : )

Hope it works out!!!

-P
 
Everyone I have talked to that has upgrade to LION (Mac Book pros 2009-2010 with Dual Core Procs) are having problems.
 
Bummer.

I just upgraded my wife's 2011 13" MBPro to Lion last night. My 2010 Core i5 MBPro has been running it since it dropped last year. As has my 2077 Core 2 Duo iMac.

No issues with any of them. At least not from the OS. Driver support for my original Duet on Lion has been less than spectacular.

Have you tried asking Apple - Stack Exchange for help with the issue? That's the best place on the net for tech support.
 
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it takes alot longer for my white MB to connect to wireless since i upgraded to lion, but it does eventually connect. that's a bummer about the MBP.
 
I'm reinstalling Snow Leopard.

I'm pretty sure it's not hardware failure.
 
Hmm, I haven't heard about the wifi complaints. I've had no issues on my 2011 i7 quad MBP with Lion. I have an average size home (about 2,000 square feet). My router is actually in the basement and I have no trouble connecting anywhere in the house (or in the backyard for that matter). The router I'm using is an Apple Time Machine. Lion + PT 10 has been rock solid on both my MBP and 2010 iMac.
 
What worked for me was changing the wifi setting on my router from MIXED to N-ONLY.
 
Hmmm. Interesting. My sweetie has a MBP 17", last computer before full switch to unibody. She's been having intermittent wifi problems. I think she's on Snow Leopard. I have one MBP on Leopard and one on Snow Leopard and have had zero wifi problems.

The idea to switch the router to N-only sounds like a good possibility for a fix. Hmm, but are out non-unibody Macs N or G? Have to check.
 
Spaceboy said:
Dual Core MacBook Pro with Lion here, and not a single problem. You're being a bit melodramatic.
Click to expand...

Always baffles me when someone replies "I have no issues so there's no problem".

Do a little research. Google "MacBook pro" + "wifi" + "issue" or "connection", for example.
Lots of quite desperate people. It's MacBook Pro-specific, even though not ALL MacBook Pros suffer ....
 
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I've heard of the issue. Most likely it's an issue between the wifi driver and the firmware.

You might try N only. What type of router are you using, Alex?
 
I have a Time Capsule.
We have iPod Touches and 3Gs in the house, and other stuff requiring < n.
I tried setting the Time Capsule to create both networks but it didn't work out so far.
There are web pages listing all kind of methods, but not a definitive one so far, alas.
 
Just my $.02 here, considering all the help Yek has provided to me!

I have a MBP running a 3.06 processor that I use only for band related things. Running the newest version of Lion on it, having updated the Lion OS a few weeks ago from the first Lion version that was already loaded on the computer by the previous owner.

The main use is to run remote access to a Presonus Studiolive 24.4.2 mixing board for live sound and recording. This probably isn't a similar scenario to Yek's because the router is hardwired to the MBP and provides the connectivity. I use an Apple Airport Extreme Dual Band (2.4 and 5) modem to connect it wirelessly to an iPad for remote control. It is the most insanely handy device for mixing live sound in normal club band environments to come along in years! Out to several hundred feet (tested to about 100 meters so far) it works flawlessly, no dropouts. When in wi-fi congested areas, the 5 GHz is clean air. 2.4 seems to work a little better in physically obstructed sites. I can also connect direct to the laptop, ad hoc networking, but it has much less range, still well over a the few meters indicated above though. The latter application is a little more in line with the OP.

The other use, of course, is a direct connect to the Axe II, which doesn't apply at all as it is via USB. This works very well, with my biggest limitation being my ignorance of Axe Edit features. The reason I bring this up is that it is usually at home, and this is where I update everything via my home wifi connection. I connect wirelessly to a Linksys router at home, and have had no issues. It connects quickly and remains stable throughout my home, and even outside on the porch. This router is a 2.4 unit.

One additional thing... It's from the live show situation, but does involve the losing connection issue. To avoid a quirk in the iPad occasionally losing connection when it goes to screen sleep I have that unit set to stay on until I physically shut it off. No problem, it easily outlasts a 4-5 hour show, but that may be a similar factor as Yek indicated. The iPad is a different OS, however. Maybe just an Apple quirk? The MBP also does not sleep the drives when in performance (just a precaution), though it does go to a screen saver.

The MBP is running the whole FOH and monitor mix for a 5 piece band, connected to an iPad, while recording the show in full 24 track, without a stumble. I haven't had a problem with the MBP wireless at home or in the field so far, using Lion. I hope I am not jinxing myself!

A final note in response to an earlier post... I have never known Yek to be melodramatic. The guy is a fact machine. I am sure it is quite exactly the way he is saying it, even though my experience has been different. I'll be interested to see if the return to Snow Leopard (a decent OS in itself) will cure the issue. Let us know, Alex.
 
Interesting thread...

Let's take this one step further and apply to our forum.. Perhaps some of our members posting about issues with USB drivers, AxeEdit or AxeManage will NOW understand that (based on the above info where some do, some don't) not all users experience their specific problem.

Thus, comments [in bug threads] like "hope it's fixed soon", or "Why hasn't FA fixed this yet?" provide no added value, and merely serve to vent frustration. When folks on Mac/Win hardware report a problem and many who use the same hardware/OS version report NOT having it, there can be a VERY SIGNIFICANT effort required to fix it, or even FIND it!! The dev team must first be able to RE-CREATE a bug - even then, it may turn out to have nothing to do with FA software. Factor in budget, future deliverable's and limited resources you can understand how bug prioritization is necessary. Critical goes to the top of the list, and everything lines up behind. Your specific issue (even it's determined to be a valid bug) may not be at, or near the top of the list.

It's impossible to have a test bed large enough to even begin QC on all the hardware variations in the wild, especially when talking Windows, even making extensive use of VM's (Virtual Machines - enable multiple different OS'es to run on one PC or server). There are users on XP, Vista and Win7, both 32 and 64 bit versions. Those may have different SP (Service Pack) levels installed, different 3rd Party apps, and often (being musicians) multiple MIDI and USB interfaces in use. There's users on Leopard, Lion on MBP's and iMac and..... you get the drift. Try narrowing a connectivity issue down with all that in the mix. It's a daunting task.

Bug will get fixed, but I hope folks understand (as evidenced above) that the complexity of platforms available make it's not as simple a checking off an item on a task list and giving you a new version. Wanted to share/inform the community here that there a level of complexity that may not be evident to you.
 
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I have a End-2011 MBP that came already equipped with Lion and WiFi works like a charm. Maybe it's hardware is a bit newer.
 
Odd that the Time Capsule and MacBook Pro aren't working well together. Most recent firmware on the Time Capsule? The most recent is 7.6.1.
 
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