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    Macbook Pro WIFI

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by killeraardvark, Sep 19, 2008.

  1. killeraardvark

    killeraardvark Notebook Evangelist

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    I have 3 Macs and 3 PCs in my house and all computers work great on the WIFI except for my roomates mac. His WIFI always drops after a minute or two and then he has to turn off the aircard and then turn it back on and then it will work for a minute more and then he has to repeat the process again. He has reinstalled the OS twice with is doing the same thing everytime. I think it is the airport card and would like to see what anybody else thinks. If he has to replace it will a Intel 4950 or 5100 card work?
     
    killeraardvark, Sep 19, 2008
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  2. cathy

    cathy Notebook Evangelist

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    Quite possibly. I'm using a MBP too, and the Broadcomm 802.11n wireless card has been the biggest b*tch I've ever encountered in my life. What OS is he using? Also, is the your router using Wireless-N?
     
    cathy, Sep 19, 2008
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  3. mc511

    mc511 Notebook Evangelist

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    Is he using mac address filtering. That might be the problem. I have heard thats a bit flaky with the os.
     
    mc511, Sep 20, 2008
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  4. killeraardvark

    killeraardvark Notebook Evangelist

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    He is using OS X 10.5.5. It is a Netgear router but the mac filter is disabled. The other macs work without any problems. I have reset the router and tried a Linksys router also and does the same thing on it.
     
    killeraardvark, Sep 20, 2008
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  5. ltcommander_data

    ltcommander_data Notebook Deity

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    Are you at the extreme range of the router? The aluminum case of the MBP supposedly isn't good for wireless reception so when a MB and a MBP are in the same position, the MB will get a more stable signal. Try to see if it still drops out when you remain right beside the router since that would point to a problem with the wireless card.

    You should also make sure your router isn't set to be invisible. I originally set my Netgear to invisible and my MBP didn't like that. Really a strong WPA or WPA2 key is very secure, so there isn't much reason to use MAC filtering or make the network invisible.
     
    ltcommander_data, Sep 20, 2008
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  6. killeraardvark

    killeraardvark Notebook Evangelist

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    I have checked all that. I just really want to know if you can use a intel 4950 or 5100 wifi card in the MBP using OS X 10.5.5. Apple uses Broadcomm cards which are complete trash and I cant figure out why they do not use Intel cards especially since they are using Centrino technology.
     
    killeraardvark, Sep 21, 2008
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  7. ltcommander_data

    ltcommander_data Notebook Deity

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    Well I'm pretty sure Apple uses a PCIe card slot just like Intel, but the problem is that the form factor or antennas may not fit. And beyond hardware, I don't think OS X includes drivers for Intel WiFi cards.

    Apple probably doesn't use Intel WiFi cards because they had existing deals for WiFi cards from the pre-Intel days. Apple's use of third-party WiFi cards also allowed them to support 802.11n before Intel incorporated it in Centrino. And I don't believe Intel makes WiFi chipsets for routers, and I believe Apple's routers use Broadcom chipsets so it'd make sense for Apple to stick with Broadcom for their laptops and desktops for better compatibility. Apple generally likes to have multiple suppliers to get better pricing which is why different generations of MBP have used Atheros or Broadcom for WiFi, ATI or nVidia for GPU, Seagate, Hitachi, and Fujitsu for HDD, etc.
     
    ltcommander_data, Sep 21, 2008
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  8. blue68f100

    blue68f100 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Make sure the SSID is not hidden. I discovered on WPA(2) AES Personal it works a lot better exposed. Just use a strong all printable, 20+ chr security string. Don't bother with mac filtering, a waste of time.
     
    blue68f100, Sep 21, 2008
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  9. killeraardvark

    killeraardvark Notebook Evangelist

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    If I upgrade to the Airport N, will that solve my issue?
     
    killeraardvark, Sep 29, 2008
    #9