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New MacBook Air Owners Complaining of Wi-Fi Issues

Thursday June 20, 2013 8:23 am PDT by Eric Slivka
Gizmodo reports on a growing number of complaints from owners of Apple's newly updated MacBook Air regarding Wi-Fi performance issues. The issues are being documented in Apple's support forums and a few users in our own forums have also seen similar problems.
The problems they’re seeing sound eerily similar to those we’re experiencing with our machines: Wi-Fi will initially connect, but after a minute or two the connection will stop working, and a total reboot is needed to be able to connect again. [...]

An anonymous source at one of Apple’s retail stores in London has also told me they’ve had “well above average” complaints and returns (in a few cases) of Airs owing to Wi-Fi issues.
It is not uncommon for users to raise issues following the launch of new hardware as they put machines through their paces and discover differences in their behavior. Some of these issues are more significant and widespread than others, however, and Apple generally addresses many of the most significant ones with subsequent software or firmware updates.

macbook_air_2013_wi_fi
Apple's new MacBook Air adopts the latest 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard, offering faster connectivity and bandwidth. Apple's new AirPort Extreme base stations also offer better signal strength by taking advantage of beamforming to focus their Wi-Fi signals toward connected 802.11ac devices such as the new MacBook Air.

Related Roundup: MacBook Air
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Air (Buy Now)
[ 152 comments ]

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RobertD63
83 months ago
Of course Gizmodo reports this. They're still butthurt
Rating: 26 Votes
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iGrip
83 months ago
Clearly this is a user problem. Apple products just work.
Rating: 13 Votes
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lilo777
83 months ago

Hi :D

I'm still buying one lol


Just make sure you order USB Ethernet adapter with it. It's just $29:

Rating: 11 Votes
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Hakone
83 months ago
This is why I rarely buy the first batch of any product refresh. I usually wait a few months.

Should be an easy firmware fix, right?
Rating: 9 Votes
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nick_elt
83 months ago
this is not new, my old (last years) has the same issue. you don't need to turn it off, you just need to go into your router settings and change the channel from auto to a free channel. read up about it, is been happening since 2010
Rating: 8 Votes
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lars666
83 months ago
Groundhog Day.
Rating: 8 Votes
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cmChimera
83 months ago

I heard the new Mac Pro is having the same issues. Could it be in the software?


Can't tell if serious?
Rating: 7 Votes
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nick_elt
83 months ago

Apple. The only company that can't seem to do clocks and WiFi without running into problems.


no. its just the only company where its problems make news.
Rating: 5 Votes
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nick_elt
83 months ago

Good thing I'm FORCED to wait for a few months to get mine lol.....

By the time Mavericks is released, all this stuff will be ironed out


dont count on it, this problem has been around for a few years now and its still not fixed
Rating: 4 Votes
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ValSalva
83 months ago
There had to be something, there always is. Apple will investigate and fix it.
Rating: 4 Votes

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