IMac G5 AirPort Issues - Very poor signal strength.

Disclaimer: I am normally a PC user, but just bought a iMac G5 for my son's bedroom. Problem is that I am having a **** of a time getting the iMac to stay connected to my network long enough to download a newest OS update and in general, it is very slow downloading webpages...clearly not normal...at least I hope not.
My connection is Broadband DSL to my main PC equipped with a Linksys WRT54G Broadband Router. My 2nd PC is connected wirelessly and is much further away than my iMac, but gets better reception.
Therefore, what is the deal with my iMac??? It seems to be super slow downloading the large software updates and has often timed out as they have bogged down.
As a PC guy, I am wondering is it an internal antenna issue in the iMac G5 or is it something as simple as Wi-Fi (AirPort) setting?
If is is a lousy internal antenna, what can I do to boost my signal strength? I was thinking of disabling the Wireless and buying Gaming Console access point to hard wire to the ethernet port. Is that possible? Would AirPort Express device be good for anything?
Help...I am ready to return my first Apple and go with a Dell!!!
Solutions???

Thanks Rod. Your comments were very helpful...
Apologies for the dash of sarcasm, M., but these things usually are just that simple to get running, and your Dell jokes started me down that path you know . Yes, I should have resisted the temptation.
Screen orientation really can make a difference in a low signal situation. So can simply changing the channel on which your wireless router operates (have you tried that yet?). You also can't assume that because a computer in a neighbouring room gets gets adequate signal , the one that you are working on will too. Walls, power circuits, nearby electrical gear, etc etc can all have highly localised effects with this stuff.
If, as it appears, you have adequate signal strength (I thought you indicated initially that you didn't have) and the problem is not related to local interference on the channel which the router is using (that's why you need to try a different channel) , then its time to check other aspects of the setup, both of the router and the iMac. The problem could be caused at either end.
Lets take the router first. The WRT54G usually actually works pretty well with Macs. In some cases, however, it may need a firmware update from the Linksys site. There have been quite a few different models of this particular router produced, so you'll need to check the downloads section at Linksys support for the correct one.
The best people here to answer this sort of stuff are probably Henry B. and Frank Canzolino . They both spend much of their time over in the Airport forums. If a firmware update for the router , or a simple channel change, doesn't fix the problem then I'd try posting there with "WRT54G and iMac G5 AE " displaying in the subject line.
As far as toast goes, I personally recommend asking the power company to drop the voltage for a few minutes. Saves all that time wasted knob twiddling.
Cheers
Rod

Similar Messages

Can I configure a wireless home network with two cable routers (both with separate connections to the same cable company)? Issue is poor signal strength even with multiple Airport Expresses added to the network.

I have a wireless home network consisting of a time capsule, two airport expresses and a cable modem. Even with this configuration I get a very weak signal in much of be condo - the walls, etc. are solid concrete. I want to see if I can add another separately connected cable modem and connect one of the existing airport express to it by Ethernet cable. If so, this would give me two wired hubs and greatly improve signal strength. I do not know if this configuration will in fact work or if I will just wind up with two, separate and unrelateable networks. Unfortunately, there is no way to run any additional Ethernet cable and I doubt simply adding more Airport Express will help. Thanks.

Try Ethernet over Power adapters.. these are very popular for your kind of environment.. being able to make non-wireless link to another area where you can setup a wireless access point.
Airport Express are not great for wireless power.. if you really have issues with wireless strength in a bad environment apple stuff is not the way to go.
The comparison chart here.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/bar/58-2_4-ghz-dn?see=P_F
This is their worst test location you can also see averages.. the latest airport extreme.. is there a long way down.. and that is a much better wireless device than Airport Express.
The Ubiquiti power AP is small cheap and designed for precisely this duty.. useless in an apple wireless network.. you will need to run ethernet or EOP adapters back to the main router.. but if the normal omni directional antennas don't provide enough signal you can get directional ones.. I suspect you can cover your whole apartment with a pair of these and high gain directional antenna.

VERY poor signal strength

I'm lucky if I get one bar at home, often getting the connection lost message every few minutes. We have another iphone in the household though that is absolutely fine.
Is this something that is supposed to improve after a couple of days (I did transfer my number from an old provider, and I still keep getting texts saying "We haven't set picture messaging up yet"), or could something be wrong with the phone?

Re picture messaging: I believe that's coupled to MMS which AT&T does not yet support. Should not be related to signal strength.
Re signal strength: I'd try a full reset (hold down the Home button below the screen and the power button at the top simultaneously). You might also try cycling Wi-Fi and 3G on and off in the Settings: I've seen my signal low and jump back to normal after changing such settings.
If anything my phone signals at home are better (consistently full bars) than they were with the 2G model. And 3G tests out as about 8x faster than EDGE, but substantially slower than Wi-Fi, here.
Phil

Very low signal strength when using DLINK 2640t with mac mini

i have a mac mini and i have been using it fine with a 2wire wireless modem. However i have just switched to a Dlink 2640t (54Mbps (802.11g) Wireless ADSL 2/2+ Router with Built-in Modem, 4-port 10/100Mbps Switch) and have been getting very low signal strengths on my mac mini, resulting in me not being able to surf the internet. The modem+ router is located in the next room. Does anyone know whether its the problem with the modem router or mac mini's airport wireless problems with the router itself. It worked perfectly fine with my previous 2wire wireless modem
please help!

Did you reset the router after you updated router's firmware? Its always recommended to perform a reset after firmware upgrade on the router.
Please refer to the link http://www6.nohold.net/Cisco2/ukp.aspx?vw=1&docid=eaa3127db5f4402584c959a7251e754c_4008.xml&pid=80&r...
For wireless range and signal issues, try changing the channel on the router to either 1,6,9 or 11.
Please refer to this link on changing wireless channel and SSID (network name)
http://www6.nohold.net/Cisco2/ukp.aspx?vw=1&docid=a0fb6c64337e47eb9e3e1027f364e70c_154.xml&pid=80&re...

I got reception problem in my 4g both gsm and wifi ? in form of very poor signal why*

i got reception problem in my 4g both gsm and wifi ? in form of very poor signal why*?? it was working fine suddenly the signal became bad and when i make phone call the other person on the seceond side doent hear me but when i use face time it is working , and the wifi signal is the same there is no or poor signal , signal improve only when i get closer to the modem that provides wifi at home or any wifi hot spot
is it antenna problem ? or what???

That thread helped for a time. But now it seems as though my computer is back to slow again. But, some of the jargon is over my head as well. Not sure I knew quoite everything they were talking about. But thanks a lot for that, it helped I probably just need to reread it and follow the instructions again. Thanks so much.

WRT610N...very poor signal

I recently purchased a WRT610N to replace my WRT160N because my new 2.4ghz baby monitor took down the wireless internet on the WRT160N. On Linksys' recommendation I also bought a 5ghz wireless adapter for my new Dell laptop, a WEC600N (previously I was using the internal 2.4ghz wireless on it which has now been disabled). I am finding that the WRT610N is giving me very, very poor signal when I'm only two rooms away from it. I have unplugged all of my cordless phones and that does not improve the signal so I do not think they are conflicting. Nothing else is wireless in my house (except the baby monitor which operates on 2.4ghz) so nothing should be conflicting. I have talked with Linksys support twice online and they had me change some settings in the advanced wireless tab but that did not help. Anyone have any ideas? This is very annoying and I hope to get it fixed soon. I can get two bars of signal (and that's about the best I can get) if I'm one floor down but if I'm on the same floor as the router and just two bedrooms away I get such a poor signal I can't even connect. Thanks!

Access setup page of router ......
Click wireless >> Click on Advanced Wireless
settings>>Change the Beacon Interval to 75 >>Change the Fragmentation
Threshold to 2304 Change the RTS Threshold to 2304 >>Click on "Save Settings"

Poor signal strength on MacBook Pro

We bought a new AirPort Extreme 802.11n for Christmas. Setup was fairly easy. We have two Macs--an 2005 iMac which is plugged into the AE via Ethernet, and a MacBook Pro from mid-2006 that we use in other rooms.
Our problem is that the signal strength on the MacBook Pro is terrible. Even at just 20 feet away, the signal strength varies between 1 and 3 bars (most often just the one tiny bar). The wireless is basically unusable at that point because pages stop loading.
To eliminate interference as a problem, our daughter brought her 2008 MacBook Pro over and we carried it around the house. It had 4 bar strength with no problems wherever we went and held 4 bars for hours while she used it in the kitchen. So we're pretty sure the problem is not interference in our house, unless her newer AirPort card is far better at blocking it.
What could be causing the signal strength on the older MacBook Pro to be so lousy? The computer is a Intel Core Duo, 2.16 GHz, running 10.4.11. The wireless card is 0x168C, 0x86. The wireless network adapter is 802.11 a/b/g, so it's not running "n", but I can't believe that's the only reason it won't hold a good signal. The AE is set up to run "n" as well as the older ones. (Bear with me...this is my first experience with wireless!)
We've been trying everything we can think of to improve the signal but nothing works. When the bars are in the 2-3 range it runs the internet fine, but the problem is that the signal constantly shifts between 1 and 3. So is the AirPort card in the computer that weak?
Any ideas are most welcome. Thanks.

I'll bet this is a hardware/firmware card with a chunk of AEx cards. I have had the same problem with a recently purchased iMac that was assembled in early '08. I tried all sorts of fixes, but ultimately took it in to a local Apple shop. The "geniuses" spent about 30 seconds looking at the machine (failed to replicate the problem), but then recommended replacing the airport card. I just got it back today &, while I can't yet say everything's hunky-dory, I think the problem's been solved. I'll bet there's a service bulletin that the genius bar has access to that describes this issue.
I had the same AEx series you report. I had the problem with 10.5.4 & then with the 10.5.6 upgrade.
See the following lengthy thread for more similar tales of woe: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1815644&tstart=0.
I think this is hardware-related. It's a $183 dollar fix (parts & labor) -- mine was under warranty, but I think there's enough in the discussion forums to justify pushing for a free replacement, even in an older machine.

Iphone 5s not picking up home Wi-Fi and/or very poor signals even in downtown area

Switched to Verizon and bought IPhone 5s less than 3 weeks ago. It was fine the first week then suddenly it won't recognized my home wi-fi and got very poor wireless signal. I have my old IPhone 4s and it works fine like a charm for wi-fi. It keeps reloading and not pop up any wi-fi signals. I went to the mall and normally it should pop up multiple wi-fis but it didn't. However my ipad did. I keep trying to reboot it or even reset it to factory settings and still doesn't work. Then yesterday my calls keep dropping in the middle of business conversation. This is unacceptable and no one seems to be helpful at Verizon. I even took screen pictures throughout the day yesterday to show when suddenly my home wi-fi popped up and a minute later it disappear. This also a domino effect for my photo stream, icloud back up, and most importantly my data plan. Now I can't even use my paid home wi-fi and use up all my data plan with Verizon and none of them care. I almost feel like switching to other providers. I also see that this is somewhat common to IPhone 5s with their troubled software or signal chip but not getting help from Verizon is the worst.

I downloaded the Speedtest app on my iPhone and iPad and would randomly test one right after the other. I accumulated about 5 tests a day on each device over the course of 3 days. I set up an appointment at the Genius bar. I told the Genius that I set up my phone as new and then showed him my comparisons of the Speedtest on both devices. He handed me a new (non-refurbished because it hasn't been out for long) phone, no questions. Apparently it was a hardware issue and not an iOS 8 bug.

Possible to add a non-Apple signal booster to Airport Extreme to improve signal strength?

Good day to you all.
This might seem like a weird question. I've just rencently purchased my first ever MacBook Pro to enter the Mac family
With it, I also bought an AirPort Extreme. Like others today, I've had a lot of trouble trying to get the thing set up. I somehow managed to get it working, but the signal strength in the far room of the house is too weak.
I suppose I could just get a better Wi-fi adapter for that computer to pick up the better signals, but, my question is:
I have a signal booster (repeater?) from Cisco/Linksys that I used for my Cisco/lynksys router. It would connect to the network and bounce that signal from that base off to improve the signal strength to the rest of the house. It worked like a charm. So, my question is is it at all possible to connect a non-apple booster like this to the network to bounce the signal?
I assume it would work, but thought I'd ask anyway just to be sure; to check if anyone else knows about this. I'm going to try sometime soon if this works, but would love to know what others think.
Thank you very much for your time and help!!

Ah, yes. Good idea. Well, in a few year's time, we'll probably move on to better devices, but, for those who do have something that isn't Apple...I encourage you to try it.
I'm using the Cicsco/Lynksys Range Extender that I believe is simply called RE1000; mine was refurbished, too.
Anyway, it came with a set up disc that I'm not entirely sure if it works on a Mac computer. I didn't try it.
You'll run the set up disc (somehow), make sure you follow the instructions on the screen, and it should allow the RE1000 to find the network you created using the AirPort. Once the set up is complete, it'll ask you to move the RE1000 to another electrical outlet in your house that can take the signal and bounce it to a wider area of your house, and presumably the neighborhood (secure your network).
Seemed to work without a hitch. So, if you're not using an Apple range extender (another AirPort type thing), hopefully this helps you. It did work for me, otherwise I would have taken the AP Extreme back for a refund haha

Very weird signal strength problem

Hello everybody, I have a rather unique problem with a linksys range expander. I have successfully set one up at my home and am presently trying to set one up for a friend. I set everything up in every possible way I knew how (I had a lot of experience after trying to set up my own)and I believe the range expander is set up correctly however in Wireless connection status it is still showing the signal as very low. BUT if I click view wireless networks, it shows the network as having excellent signal strength! I know that distance is not an issue as the adapter and range expander in my house is set up at more than twice the distance of my friends and it still receives excellent signal. Thus I'm inclined to think that something else is causing this problem, since I also have tried moving the range expander in case something was blocking it, to no effect. I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if anyone has any ideas for a fix? Thanks!

If the Range Extender is showing two blue lights & from the wired computer you are able to ping 192.168.1.240........ we can assume that range extender is working fine ......
Let me know on wireless computer which utility you are using?
Message Edited by oook on 11-14-2007 04:31 PM

4th Generation iPad wifi poor signal strength

I recently purchased an iPad 4th Gen. It seems to only want to connect to wifi when I am within 15-20 feet of the antenna. I have tried removing the iPad from the case and still nothing. I have the problem at home and work, and have tried 4 different routers. My phone and laptop have full signal strength while my iPad cannot even find the network. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Bill

I recently purchased an iPad 4th Gen. It seems to only want to connect to wifi when I am within 15-20 feet of the antenna. I have tried removing the iPad from the case and still nothing. I have the problem at home and work, and have tried 4 different routers. My phone and laptop have full signal strength while my iPad cannot even find the network. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Bill

WRT54GX2 0 Poor signal strength

Had to replace router. Had a WRT54Gv1 that went bad.
Bought a WRT54GX2 for additional range and
- placed router in same place as old one
- didn't alter ANYTHING regarding location, cables, etc.
Signal strength is significantly lower / less.
Any suggestions?
Regards,
-jP

Are you then saying that with everything else staying the same that replacing an old linksys G router with the new SRX wireless router will not improve the strength?
The effect is minimal, it will not improve strength as it will only function as a G router when you are using a G card. The SRX effect will only work with an SRX adapter.
I was hoping to provide great distance and speed from what we have without going out and buy another adapter for my laptop. My wife has a new laptop with wireless built in...will that have to be changed to a plugin SRX card to get benefit?
If you want the SRX range to work, you need an SRX card. The G card will work still but it will work on G speeds only. If that would be the case then yes, you would need to have an SRX card for it to take effect.
Also what about using expanders with the new SRX stuff?
It will work with the range expanders...not much of a conflict with them...but the expander is expensive than the card...your call...
"Sometimes your knight in shining armor is just a retard in tin foil.."-ARCHANGEL_06

IMac G5 airport issue

It would seem reading the rough the iMac G5 forum that many of the G5's are having issues talking to Airports. I don't believe it is an issue with the AEX / ABS since other devices work fine. However thought I'd cross post to see if anyone can shed any light...
It (the iMac G5) will communication with either a Airport Express (6.3) or a Airport Base Station (new 802.11n 7.1.1) but after a while it just drops off the network.
I place a AEX within 3 feet of the iMac and I'm only getting a 40% signal with lots of noise, nothing has changed but just in case I've changed channels with no joy.
I was suspecting a airport card issue but I think it may well be a recent update (maybe something to do with the 802.11n enabler software for intel's - some kind of preperation patch???).
I'm pretty sure it is nothing to do with my ABS or AEX since a I have a Mac Mini, WINtel laptop, Wii, PS3 etc. all working fine to all stations.
All software is up to date.
My airpot card is:
Airport Extreme
Firmware 405.1 (3.90.34.0.p18)

The wireless card in that iMac is not a user-installable item so Apple does not provide the instructions to access or replace that card. But you can see how to get to that card by looking at these instructions from iFixit.com

Brand new iMac loosing Airport! Very dissapointed!!!

Hi,
I have a brand new iMac 21.5". The first time I used it, it said there was no Airport installed. I phoned apple support and they told me to flash the pram. After that it found the Airport card.
Now it has lost it again and flashing the pram does nothing. This is very dissappointng - its BRAND NEW I haven't changed anything. Looks like I might have to return it....
Thanks for any help.
Theo

I'm so sorry. It's rare that one needs to send a Mac in for replacement but it can happen. The posts you see here in the AD forums are but 1% of the total Mac sold so please don't get the wrong impression. It's better to send it back now instead of trouble shooting and getting more upset. The Airport card may not have been installed correctly or it's defective. One way or another you'll have a new iMac soon.
*"I spent hours setting up the computer when it first arrived and now I'll have to do that all again. "*
It shouldn't take hours to setup an iMac. Did you check the System Profiler to see if it recognizes the Airport card?
If not and if you haven't already boxed the iMac up, click the Apple Menu then click: About This Mac then click the "More Info" button. That will launch the System Profiler for you. Under Network on the left, click Airport. See if any information shows up on the right.
Carolyn

Will plugging an ethernet cable from a powerline adapter into my Airport Express improve the signal strength that it re-sends as WiFi?

I have a Airport Express (older style that plugs into the power socket) up one end of the house, which gets the signal from an AirPort Extreme at the front of the house. It works ok for general internet and email, but the signal at the Airport Express end is not really strong enough for my Apple TV. So today I bought an Edimax Powerline Adapter. Connected one end to the AirPort Extreme and the other end to the Apple TV and Apple TV now works great! So I was thinking, if I connected my Airport Express to the Powerline Adapter with an ethernet cable, would that improve the strength of the signal that the Airport Express would re-send out for WiFi. But all that happens is that neither the AirPort Extreme or the Airport Express now seem to broadcast any WiFi signal. Is it possible to do this?

Yes, but you need to change the mode of the Express from wireless extend to create a wireless network and the routing part to bridge. Otherwise it will indeed mess up.

IMac G5 AirPort Issues - Very poor signal strength.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for