MBA 2012 Windows 8.1 WiFi requires Thunderbolt Ethernet dongle to be connected

Using MBA (2012 version) with Windows 8.1. WiFi will not work unless the Thunderbolt Ethernet dongle is physically connected at bootup (even if no actual network cable is connected to it). If the Thunderbolt dongle is not connected at time of bootup (inserting the dongle later has no impact), WiFi is in "disabled" status, cannot be re-enabled, and Windows troubleshooting agent reports a driver problem. Tried different drivers but no luck. The machine seems unable to correctly identify the wireless card unless the Ethernet Thunderbolt dongle is also connected, which is very strage as the two would not seem to be related. When the dongle is inserted during boot, however, WiFi works perfectly. The issue is only in Windows (WiFi worked great on Mac OS). Using latest BootCamp 5 drivers package on a clean Windows 8.1 install (not dual boot - I had to erase the Mac OS partition using disk utilities to have more disk space for Windows and so I could install BitLocker hard disk encryption which did not work when the Mac OS partition was present). Any thoughts?

I have confirmed that the thunderbolt Ethernet adapter is working on my MacBook Air Mid 2012. You will need the latest Bootcamp 5.1 drivers (found here: Boot Camp Support Software 5.1.5621). Also you will need to update Windows like what doduykhuongsaid.
FAQ does state that Boot Camp 5.1 does support Thunderbolt
Boot Camp 5.1: Frequently asked questions - Apple Support
Thanks guys for the update. It finally worked after quite a few months.

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Retina macbook pro with thunderbolt ethernet adaptor drops internet connection on open apps after waking

I recently started using a thunderbolt ethernet adaptor and every time my comuter wakes from sleep, all the apps that were open no longer use the internet connection. I have to restart each one of them for them to be able to use the present internet connection. any ideas?

So I've noticed similar behaviour on my Macbook Air. It's a slightly different set of kit, since it's connected to a Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock (http://www.belkin.com/uk/p/P-F4U055/). I'm on my second one of these because first one went back because it kept on dropping the internet connection (sounds familiar?) - and it *might* have been occurring when waking the system from sleep (I didn't make a mental note).
Anyway the replacement was working perfectly, until today - when it's started to drop it's internet connection again, and this time I'm pretty certain that it's related to waking from sleep. The main difference now is that I *just* upgraded to Mavericks, and I wonder if the sleep problem has reared its ugly head again in the latest version of MacOS?
All in all I have to say I'm pretty disappointed with the reliability of thunderbolt & the Belkin Dock thingie. Although it should be said that a single lead from my Macbook Air to the Express Dock is simultaneously carrying: video (1920x1200), Firewire800, 3xUSB3, gigabit ethernet and sound, so I'm not that surprised this technology is prone to the odd glitch, and the cables get really warm too!
It would be great to have some solid information from Apple/Belkin about this.
Cheers, Jon

MBA 2012 Windows 8.1 Intel HD4000 - Black Screen after driver install.

Hi to all. I'm tried to install Windows 8.1 to my macbook air 13 2012. Everytime when I try to install drivers for HD4000 screen turns black, and stops responding. I'm tried different drivers - from bootcamp, from intel.com, from lenovo, from windows update, but all of them makes screen black, also I'm tried different version, but it still don't work.
Anybody have solution or some ideas? Thanks.
p.s. Sorry for my bad English.

Probabily the best solution but I installed this OS-crap 2 times already! And I think I am not supposed to solve HP/MS problems since I paid for this.

I recently purchased a thunderbolt/ethernet dongle for my 2011 MacBook Air.

Even though I've plugged it in, the computer doesn't recognize it. It's as if it's not there at all. In the 'Thunderbolt" tab under Hardware, it says 'No hardware was found.' Can I fix this?
Thanks!

Apple USB or Thunderbolt to Ethernet Adapters- First time setup

Does the apple thunderbolt to ethernet dongle support promiscuous mode ?

Does the apple thunderbolt to ethernet dongle support promiscuous mode ?
I need to use the new Retina MBP as a professional laptop for work, and I need to use Etherreal. Etherreal needs the Ethernet card/dongle/chip to run in Promiscuous mode. I have heard that unblivably the thunderbolt Ethernet dongle does not support this, if so then the laptop will not pick all the packets on the wire... is this true ?
Regs Mark.

Hi Clinton,
Thanks for your reply, However the promiscuous mode function that I am after is a function of the Ethernet NIC hardware and driver not just the OS.
Wireshark allows the user to put network interface controllers that support promiscuous mode into that mode, in order to see all traffic visible on that interface, not just traffic addressed to one of the interface's configured addresses and broadcast/multicast traffic.
Anyone out there actually used/tested the thunderbolt Ethernet adapter to sniff traffic with wireshark (Ethereal), can you please if it can run in promiscuous mode ?
Thanks.

Thunderbolt Ethernet Adapter requires reboot to be detected...

I have a 2012 Macbook Pro Retina running Windows 7 under boot camp, and regularly move from home to work (home where I have the thunderbolt ethernet adaptor and work where I use Wifi). Unfortunately though, when I get home I'm forced to plug in the thunderbolt ethernet adaptor and restat the machine, or it won't recognise the new connection, and stays on WiFi.
It doesn't even show up as a new device in Device Manager, not even an unrecognised one!
Any ideas?
Nick

Haha I know, I know! I was willing to give Mac OS a go, and DID for a little bit but I need to run a fair few windows only software suites, and REALLY like the 2880x1800 retina display (something you can't get on a windows laptop!)
2 USB 3.0 ports is enough for me really, though yes, an ethernet port would have been nice, it's not the end of the world :-)
Anyway, I actually really like the experience so far, having on a couple of small problems (Bluetooth & A2DP + Bluetooth Collaboration and this Thunderbolt Ethernet issue), but having this post here will hopefully yield a simple solution (as I have searched and found for the Bluetooth issue, Toshiba Bluetooth Stack fixed it!).
There's no point quietly accepting niggling issues if someone out there can help!

Trouble Booting from External Drives - MBA 2012

Hello,
I have a brand new 13" MBA which I'm working on building an image to use for deployment using Carbon Copy Cloner 3.4.5. For whatever reason, I can't boot the new 2012 MBA from an external LaCie FW800 or Thunderbolt 1TB Little Big Disk that is running either 10.7.2 or 10.7.4. As soon as I select the drive to boot from when holding the Options key or from selecting the partition from Startup Disk in System Preferences, I get the do not enter icon(circle with the diagonal slash). I tried both plugged in through a Cinema Display and plugging the Thunderbolt drive directly to the laptop. I confirmed both LaCie drives boot properly on an iMac and the last gen MBP/MBA.
Laptop Specs:
13"
1.8GHz Dual-core i5
8GB
128 SSD
10.7.4
Curious if anyone has run into any problems booting from external drives on the new 2012 MBA.
Thanks,
Paolo

Please be sure you have prepped these external drives correctly:
Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
My suggestion for cloning is to use Disk Utility. This will also automatically clone the Recovery HD, as well:
Clone Lion using Restore Option of Disk Utility
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Select Disk Utility from the main menu then press the Continue button.
Select the destination volume from the left side list.
Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
Check the box labeled Erase destination.
Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.

Connecting MBA 2012 to three External Displays

I am looking to purchase a 2012 MBA, contingent upon connecting to three external displays. As the MBA 2012 has a USB3.0 and a Thunderbolt port, I plan to use -
- A Plugable UGA-2K-A USB 2.0 adapter to convert the USB3.0 to a HDMI/DVI input on a 21 monitor (For text only)
- Use a DualHead2Go Digital SE to connect it from the Thunderbolt port to the HDMI/DVI inputs of the two external monitors (run two different applications and not a stretched image)
I am wondering if this would work (albeit with minimal lag) or if are there any other alternatives to hooking it up to three external monitors. Thanks

Did you ever get this figured out?

Mba-2012 freezes, ways to diagnost

Hello all! Here is my situation:
- 13 inch mba 2012, i7 2.0, 8GB, 256GB
- lastest OS X with the lastest update available on this moment
- freezes from time to time. From time to time means 3-4 per month, or 1 per 2 month, randomly but not very often.
Characteristics of freezing:
- totaly, only restarting only using power button
- freezes in 98 windows style if such ajective is possible. Generally all sounds (music, system, video) hangs with a hickups. All other keeps being still. No mose move no nothing.
As for me it seems like hardware problem may be SSD or memory, but I have no idea how to investigate this kinda of issue.
I have a ligal US warranty but I'm a Ukrainian citizen and have no option for a official service. I probably could bring it to third party service center, but it is my only one laptop for work and entertaiment so, it is the last option that I'd prefer.
the question to the community is foollowing:
- does somebody have the same issues, especially on the same hardware?
- any ideas for diagnostic and investigation methods? how to parse logs?
- can I get some assistance from US apple tech support? (I have leagal warranty yet)
From my side I'm ready to give you all necessary information about this case. Hoping to get some help here
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Your description fits my problem exactly.
MBP Retina, current OS.
I took it to Apple for diagnostics, and the genius ran hardware and disk checks and both came back okay.
She looked at the console log, and immediately said software. Wipe and reinstall.
I asked if there was something less drastic.
She brought up that Google Drive was a possible cause. I disabled that and got the freeze a week later.
I've started disabling/uninstalling other system-level add-ons like Box.com.
These are what else I have to try:
Dropbox
Monosnap
Flash
Chrome
I had suspected Chrome and/or Flash, but sometimes the crashes happened in iPhoto or other apps.
Looking at login items just now and see that Google Drive is still showing as sort of installed, with a blank icon and a yellow warning - "This item couldn't be found". Box helper is the same way. I'll kill those, too.
Other troubling detail. I had similar crashes on my iMac that I previously used, and Time-Machine migrated to the new MacBook. So, further support that it's something in the software I'm running.
The good news is that the SSD and speed of the MacBook boots again very quickly.

I have an iPhone4s. When I install apps, I have to give my Apple password first. That's okay. The last few apps I tried to download have opened another security window before they will install. The window says, "Security info Required. To help insure

I have an iPhone4s. When I install apps, I have to give my Apple password first. That’s okay. The last few apps I tried to download have opened another security window before they will install. The window says, “Security info Required. To help insure the security of your Apple ID we require additional information” When I select okay, the Apple ID Password window opens and asks for my Apple password a second time.
It doesn't happen with every app and I’m concerned that these apps may be trying to collent my password. Is Apple really doing a double check on my password?

See http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57413072-37/apple-ratchets-up-app-store-securi ty/ and http://www.macrumors.com/2012/04/12/apple-enhancing-apple-id-safety-by-enforcing -security-question-requirements/.

AirPlay icon not appearing on Yosemite with MBA 2012

I'm running a MBA 2012 with Yosemite 10.10.2. I'm able to use other Airplay devices on the network, eg: iPad Mini 2 to AppleTV 2, iPhone 5S to Sony Airplay speakers, etc. All of the devices connect to the same home wireless network and wireless SSID. The firewall is turned off on the MBA, and yes, Airplay is listed as supported for this MBA. The checkbox under System Preferences|Displays there, but it can't find any Airplay devices to extend the display on.
The MBA 2012 under Mavericks seemed to work fine with Airplay, but I lost that in the Yosemite upgrade. Strangely enough, I did a clean install of Yosemite to a flash drive and the Airplay icon did appear. So obviously there's something wrong with my MBA, but I don't know where to look and the usual searches were pretty worthless.Is there a service that is just not running? If so, which one?

That link is not really helpful and I've already gone through them as listed in the original post. Doesn't matter if Wifi or connected via Ethernet. This has nothing to do with iTunes (which is version 12.1). Other devices on the network (iPad, iPhone, other Mac) can do Airplay just fine so it's not a network issue of ports being open or blocked. The firewall on the Mac is turned off. Bonjour is turned on. Airplay is enabled on the AppleTV and the Sony Airplay speaker is turned on and available to other devices. In System Preferences, Sound|Output, the ability to select the speaker isn't an option.
So the questions that remain are:
1) Is there a service that I need to make sure that starts upon bootup? If so, which one?
2) Is there some overlooked network setting that might be preventing this?

Gaming on MBA 2012 13"

Hi, I bought a 13" MBA 2012 4gb RAM last july and I was quite protective about my laptop. After about 2 months I added windows 8 with bootcamp and added some games like fifa 13 and starcraft. I've been playin fifa 13 for about a week and I can see that my laptop is getting very hot. the fan turns quite fast and the battery seems to be draining fast. I've actually played TF2 right after I bought this laptop but I didnt want my laptop ruined so I stopped. Now Im playing fifa 13 and I became worried about my laptop....
Will the battery life be affected a lot?
Will playing games damage or have any negative effects on my macbook air?
I play games on the highest end while my charger plugged in... Is this fine?
Please give me reccommendations... Thanks
Brian

Brian,
Welcome to Apple Support Forums
MacBook Air's are designed to be a notebook thats used on the move, light weight, long battery life and minimal spec, Although you can play games on it i wouldn't reccomend it, the processors aren't the fastest in the mac range and also air flow is limited due to its sleek design, hence the reason it gets very hot,
so you can continue playing your games but you will soon burn something out, most likely the processor or another vital component,
also with regards to playing them on battery power, the batteries are rated in cycles, from every time you charge it and it reaches 100%, Thats another cycle, so i would recommend leaving it plugged in during game play, but at the same time i can't help but question the fact you are using your macbook air to run windows 8, if your main aim is to play games, graphicially demanding or not, that are only avaliable on windows i would reccomend buying a PC.
I hope this helps

MBA 2012 13 i7 8Gb or MBP 2012 13 i7 8Gb

Hi at all,
I need a suggests to choose between MBA 2012 i7 8Gb and MBP 2012 13 i7 8Gb ( anche after I put in SSD ).
I've already a iMAC mid 2011 27" i7QC 3,4.
I heavy work with .NET and Windows for web programming and legacy, mobile applications for iPAD/iPhone and soon, too.
So, I will execute Win7 with Parallels ( or at most with Bootcamp, but I don't like )...
What's your opinions.
Thank you.
Bp

I would go with the 13" MacBook Pro. You can install a SSD and RAM yourself and won't have to rely on those outrageous Apple prices. I also run Parallels instead of Boot Camp. I just recently upgraded to version 8 - with full Mountain Lion support. I've never had a problem with it. I don't like Boot Camp, either.
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Just my 2¢...
Clinton

I changed laptops and went from Vista to Windows 8. It requires icloud. I did icloud setup but it will not allow me access and wants to give me a new password. That is OK but it will not send me the promised password

I changed laptops and went from Vista to Windows 8. It requires icloud. I did icloud setup but it will not allow me access and wants to give me a new password. That is OK but it will not send me the promised password even though itunes recognizes my password

This has been posted for almost 2 weeks and not one reply. Thanks a bunch! As a newbie to OOo and Mozilla, I am not impressed with responsiveness to support needs with either. So, the future of my new experiment with going non-Microsoft remains an open question.
Oddly enough, the problem mysteriously went away. I have followed the same routine and changed no settings. Suddenly all of the downloaded spreadsheets were no longer read-only. So I consider the matter resolved.

Windows 7 64bit on bootcamp doesn't recognize the thunderbolt-ethernet adapter

in my new macbook pro retina I've a problem on window 7 64bit (bootcamp 4.0). the OS doesn't recognize the thunderbolt-ethernet adapter..

The thunderbolt ethernet adapter works without issue on my rMBP with Windows 7. Did you download and install the Windows Support software? Did you refer to the Windows help regarding networking? Did you try a different adapter? What happens when you try to use Ethernet networking?

MBA 2012 Windows 8.1 WiFi requires Thunderbolt Ethernet dongle to be connected

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