This is a workaround for the MBP wireless issue

There have been many topics on the MBP wireless issues already, but I thought some people might find this workaround helpful.
Firstly, my system is a 2.2Ghz MBP, running 10.4.10, and also airport extreme update 2007-04. I am using an airport express base station. My previous Powerbook never had any wireless problems, so I really couldn't blame the basestation for the MBPs poor wireless.
Warning - The workaround requires a little bit of work in the terminal. A little bit of understanding of how networks work is assumed here as well. So it is probably not for everyone ...
What I have observed - whenever the MBP loses connection, the airport basestation IP and MAC addresses are missing from the ARP table.
- To view the ARP table, type (in a terminal window) arp -a.
So, when the MBP wireless hangs, open up the terminal and type that in.
Do a Cntrl-C if the arp command is hanging and not returning anything.
In normal situations, a list of IP addresses and MAC addresses will show up.
As others have already noted, clicking on the airport icon in the menubar, will magically bring the wireless back to life. When this happens, the ARP table also gets magically populated correctly. Coincidence? I think not!
So, the workaround is to store a PERMANENT entry in the ARP table for the airport basestation IP and MAC address. In my case, I can use the Airport Utility software to confirm what the basestation IP and MAC addresses are (note MAC address = Airport ID in Airport Utility). I found the basestation IP=10.0.1.1 and the MAC=0:11:24:07:d7:f
To create a permanent ARP table entry for my airport basestation, I opened up a terminal window, and did the following -
1) login to my administrator account
2) type in the following command sudo arp -s 10.0.1.1 0:11:24:7:d7:f
3) type in my administrator password to authorise the change
4) type in (to confirm the changes have been made) arp -a
5) logout of my administrator account (from the terminal)
Ever since I did this, my MBP wireless performance has been flawless.
Note, if you shutdown or restart your computer, the arp entry disappears. This is ok for me as I hardly ever power down my MBP. As insurance I have added an account startup item to remind me to do the arp table entry.
This workaround is great for me because I don't have a need to use multiple wireless networks. It might not be practical for people who roam around onto different networks.
Give it a go and see if it works for you.
Message was edited by: michael louey

OK, after some further experimenting, I changed the multicast rate on my airport express. It was set at 6Mbps, and I changed it to 2Mbps.
I have read that the default multicast rate for previous 802.11g versions of Airport basestations is actually 2mbps. Excellent results so far !! I have set up a terminal command to continuously ping my airport router address every 15 sec, and there have been virtually no dropped packets so far over many hours.
ping -i 15 10.0.1.1
Interestingly, in Apple's Airport Admin software in my MBP there is no option to set the rate at less than 6Mbps (!!!!), so I had to use the Windows XP version of Airport admin software to make this change using a windows machine. Using the XP software you can set the muticast rate as low as 1Mbps.
If you are using Apples airport admin software (Tiger and Leopard) and you commit any sort of change in settings, the multicast rate will be re-set at a minimum of 6Mbps. My understanding of the multicast rate is that setting it too high is similar to shrinking the coverage area of the basestation, and limiting access only to clients who can transmit at the required multicast rate.
So my new theory is that the dropouts are caused by the MBP dropping off the airport due to not being able to achieve the set multicast rate. (this could be due to factors such as low signal strength, excessive interference or noise).
If you are using Apples more recent Airport admin software, you are having a minimum 6mbps muticast rate set, and this might be too high for your particular environment.
Just a theory.
(oh yeah, I enabled interference robustness on the MBP and the basestation just for good measure)

Similar Messages

Is there a fix for the MBP wireless dropping issue?

I began to experience the Macbook Pro dropping wireless connectivity on my very 1st Apple in 2008. At the end of the day my machine was replaced with a new Macbook Pro mid 2010. It appeared to be working just fine until about 2-3 months ago when I started dropping my wireless printer connection. I searched the internet hoping for a driver update from HP or something from Apple and each time I found something, the problem still existed. I even thought that by upgrading to Lion would resolve any issues that I have with my MBP wireless connectivity issue. After upgrading to buying a new router, new printer and upgrading to Lion; the wireless dropping issue still remains unresolved! I know there are several hundred in not thousands of people who are having the same problem so what are we supposed to do?
When my 1st MBP was replaced in 2010 I had to stop working because I was diagnosed with "Failed Back Surgical Syndrome" and was in the process of applying for disability. Something in the back of my mind said that I needed to purchase Apple Care for this new replacement however I had used all of my savings & retirement to sustain life for me and my family that there was nothing for Apple Care. If it weren't for my church and family I am not sure what I would do during the 18 months of no income while waiting for a decision only to receive an appeal until I findly stood in front of an Administrative Law Judge who heard my case and granted me disability. Besides there was no way I could ask anyone for money to purchase a warranty for a top of the line laptop while the country was falling off an economical cliff.
I broke down and called Apple Support and was told that I qualified for technical assistance regarding the upgrade to Lion a few weeks ago. The tech on the phone had me run some disk utility tests and had me repair permissions which she said could be the cause of the problem. I willingly went along with her in hopes that this was indeed the fix. However, within 10 minutes of hanging up the phone my MBP began to drop it's wireless connection to my new HP printer and also the Internet. Hence my question above is what I am really looking to have answered! What is the fix to this problem that so many people are having issues with? I couldn't afford to purchase Apple Care back in 2010 and I can't afford to purchase a new 2011 machine today if that truly is the fix!
I will be disabled for the remainder of my life and I have grown dependent upon my computer to stay in touch with friends and colleges from work. I worked for the IT Group at Wynn Resorts and I can say that the type of service Appple is providing it's customers is not what I learned over the past 25 years with Mr. Wynn. Why can't Apple get the simple concept that it's customers are it's life line and keeps them in business. I need help and I don't know what to do nor where to turn. It would be different if Apple acknowledged the issue and said they were working on it however they aren't. I plead to Apple to help me fix my notebook so I can stay connected to the outside world vs. couped up inside my home.
Best Regards,
Scott Leavitt

I am simply lookig for some help not an argument. I am not an RF specialist however have setup a few wireless networks in my tenure at Wynn Resorts. I fully agree that wireless networking is an art and a science however the powers that be in Network Land have toughted wireless networking is the easiest and quickest way to get two computers to talk with one another. As I previously said I have already turned one (1) MBP in for this problem and Apple decided to replace it because they could not fix the problem with my particular MBP. This MBP was running Leopard when the problems started
I am having a hard time believeing that there are several other devicces in my home that depend on a wireless network to operate and my MBP is the only one having an issue. I took this a step further and decided to see what would happen if I tried to connect wirelessly via Fusion. In Windows 7 I am able to print and scan to my hearts content without any issues. I am able to browse the internet as much as I want. I close Fusion and try to connect to my printer via wireless and nothing.
In order to get Apple to help do I need to get a Network Analyzer and capture packets when I have these problems? Out of the 1000 + posts is there a consolidation of which answer is the best? BTW I am accessing the internet via a wireless connection using Fusion and Windows 7.
In response to Linc's comments, I will look at the router specifications however I did not qualify that these devices are not using the wireless connection at the same time. Right now I would guess there are maybe two (2) or three (3) at the most that are actively transmitting / receiving information. -- Thanks

Is there a workaround for the thumbnail regeneration issue in CS5?

Hullo.
A friend uses my old version of CS5 and she is stuck with ACR 6.7, because this is the last version available in CS5.
She seems to have huge problems in Bridge with the thumbnail regeneration bug described here, for instance: Cropping to an edge confuses Adobe Bridge?
Concretely, although she has a relatively powerful machine, she is unable to work because there are always tens and tens of thumbnails being generated and her eight virtual cores completely fill the disk bandwidth, making Bridge impossible to use. I am not 100% sure that it is exactly this bug, but everything seems to correspond perfectly well: hundreds of DNG files with lens correction activated and very many cropped manually.
Now, this is a confirmed bug of ACR 6.7 until ACR 8.2. She cannot switch to the latter without purchasing a newer version of Photoshop/Bridge.
Does Adobe provide any fix for this bug in CS5? Could someone kindly point me to it? Her version of Bridge is simply unusable as is....
If the answer above is no, I would be interested to know if this seems legal (not to say ethical...) to anybody: she is (otherwise) pretty happy with CS5 and she would need to buy a new licence for the sole and exclusive reason that the product Adobe sold me has a known and proven bug which makes it virtually useless in her setting.
Thanks,
p.

There are two similar bugs:
The LPC+crop bug started with ACR 6.1 and was fixed in 8.2.
The LPC mystery bug started with ACR 7.3 and was fixed in 8.6.
Both bugs cause repeated thumbnail extractions in Bridge on some images with Lens Profile Corrections enabled.
As you are on ACR 6.7 it can only be the first bug. The only workaround I know is to ensure that the crop does not touch the edge of the corrected image. A few pixels gap will do it. Also, it helps to keep less images in a folder--but this can't be avoided when using Collections or Finds.
I'd imagine that Adobe won't fix CS5 just for this. Presumably there's something in the smallprint which admonishes them from responsibility after the shelf life of the product ends. To be fair, it's not like they fixed it straight away in CS6, unlike the Bridge CS5 database bug (thanks, Adobe). They were only able to reproduce the fault in summer 2013.

"Adobe has found a solution or workaround for the recent crash in Adobe Flash CC" ...not really.

Hi guys,
My Flash CC crashes all the time, it's always been doing it since when I started using it on CS4, and I've somewhat given up on this bug being fixed, it crashes at least 20-30 times every document I create. I'm using a Wacom Bamboo Fun Pen&Touch tablet and drawing a lot, I think the problem is that it can't handle this much drawing.
Anyways, it just crashed and for the first time after reopening I found this nice message from Flash:
"Adobe has found a solution or workaround for the recent crash in Adobe Flash CC.
Please click here for further details."
Excited, I clicked on it! At last, a solution! Amazing!
...but it just points to http://www.adobe.com/
... I don't understand.
What's happening? I'm genuinely puzzled.
Also, anybody else experiencing frequent crashes?
Thanks!
Ciao!

Yes, this is not good -- you're already mad when it crashes, then "We found a solution!" But, for me clicking on the link does nothing - no link even to adobe, just a tease - nothing opens.
It's bad enough crashing a couple times a day and losing work (I do save every chance I get), but then to get taunted with this bogus message, it's discouraging and exactly the best 'user experience' for a really expensive product from company that is all about helping professionals create good design/user experience ..
I like the way this is headed though! it just doesn't work right now.

IBook user - should I go for the mbp?

Ok, I have a 12inch iBook G4 800mhz, 640mb ram. Before people start badmouthing my little baby you sould all know this was my first mac and it was this that made me see the light
Ok so you know my setup. I am at college studying multimedia. For this I use apps such as photoshop, dreamweaver, illustrator and I am starting video next year and would obviosuly be using a video app such as Final Cut. I am only in my first year so its nothing too heavey, but at the same time my iBook is really starting to show its age and next year I have no doubts it will not be able to keep up.
What would you guys recommend? Taking the plunge and getting the Macbook Pro or possibly wait and see what the Macbook has to offer? Im really tempted to go for the pro as it would surely last longer with it being a pro machine. The powerbook 15inch is still an option but once again if im going to fork out £1500 on a laptop on a students budget I want it to last. Does the MBP seem the right choice, or maybe a bit over specced for what I am doing and the MB (when announced) may look a better deal.
Thanks in advance for your comments.

well thats the thing really, money. I am in the market for a new laptop and either way (MB or MBP) I will most probably have to pay through finanicing. If I am to do this over a 2-3 year period it would surely make more sense to go for the mbp right? Am I correct in thinking a pro machine should have a longer lifespan?
I could probably save up and buy a MB (supposing they keep the current ibook prices) but having just passed my driving test and paying for insurance on a car I think financing is the way to go.

HT4865 When someone trys to get into my iCloud on à different device, either then on my trusted devices, do i recieve then an email? i have à iMac iPad and iPhone and i live in Holland, is this possible or only for the future?

When someone trys to get into my iCloud on à different device, either then on my trusted devices, do i recieve then an email? i have à iMac iPad and iPhone and i live in Holland, is this possible or only for the future?

I want all my devices to be on a password related internet but the double nat on my TC makes weird things happen and slow. I try bridge mode but the internet doesn't work.
You building supplied internet is a cheap service that is without proper routable addresses..
Therefore to use more than one IP you MUST have double NAT.. sorry there is no choice..
Slow that is because you are sharing internet with every other person in the building.. get your own broadband service.
Bridge will not work.. it cannot work because the building only has private IP addressing. And they only give you a single address.
You can put a password on the wireless.. go to the airport utility and put in a password.
Other than that I don't understand what password you expect.
Can I get an explanation of what bridge mode is?
No NAT.. means the TC becomes a dumb Wireless AP and switch.. works fine with a cable modem router.. or any broadband router but useless with your building system.
Can I get suggestions on what I should do to use the TC as a wireless device to spread the same wireless device my apartment is broadcasting?
Double NAT, and set your own wireless names. There is no alternative.. sorry.

Workaround for the Fade/Appear blocky text problem in IE

Just wanted to share with folks a workaround for the IE
"blocky text" problem that you see when using Fade effects like the
one used in this example:
http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/spry/samples/data_region/DetailRegionEffectsSample.html
It turns out if you set the 'background' CSS property on the
element you are fading, that IE properly renders the text. So to
fix the effects sample above, all you would have to do is modify
this CSS rule in the file to place a background color on the
description region to get things to look good in IE:
#description {
opacity: 0;
filter: alpha(opacity=0);
background: white;
So if folks have been avoiding the use of effects because it
makes things look terrible in IE, you now have a workaround.
--== Kin ==--

I was using spry's AppearFade effect to transition between
"slides" in what equates to a viewstack that I created.
Then I noticed that it would take bold text in IE and make it
look all smudgy or blurry.
Well, after working on it for a while, I got to thinking,
"This problem is specific to text rendered in MicroSofts
browser"... "Hmmm, I wonder".
So, I tried using this style rule: [ font-family:"MS Sans
Serif",Arial, Geneva, sans-serif; ].
Lo and behold, feed the stupid MS browser an MS font and it
does not blur the text.
I just wanted to get this our there. Because someone might
want to solve this in a way where they don't have to set a
background color...

Better workaround for the whine problem

I have discovered a workaround for the commonly reported electronic whine in the MacBook Pro.
As most will know, if you open PhotoBooth and run it in the background it will get rid of the whine. I also noticed that the same worked in ANY application that uses the iSight.
So, looking around the Apple website for widgets I stumbled across this . . . .
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/webcams/mirror.html
It solves the problem!!!!! Runs in the background, in the Dashboard, takes up no resources also!!
Regards,
Tom

Didn't read that whole thread on the issue did you?
It also kills your battery life.
The issue I don't believe is related to the CPU directly but is related to the overall power drain on the system..it seems anything that causes the system to use more power 'solves' the problem.

I currently have wireless, but i am looking into this to maybe have faster wireless. if this is hooked up, will the existing wireless/ethernet to pcs still function without changing them to use the airport express?

i currently have wireless, but i am looking into this to maybe have faster wireless. if this is hooked up, will the existing wireless/ethernet to pcs still function without changing them to use the airport express?

let me fix this a bit. i currently have dsl and a 2wire wireless router, and i currently do not have one or a mac. im getting one for when i start college and this is a must if it will improve my internet. but i now connect wirelessly to the 2wire router. if this is set up, will the current 2wire wireless still be useable?

Any workarounds for the 2880 pixel size limit?

I have a client that would like a Flash animation that's 5440
pixels wide, to span 3 widescreen monitors for a tradeshow
presentation. Flash won't let me make the stage any bigger than
2880 - does anyone know any ways around that limit?
I Googled it and found out that you used to be able to scale
the SWF beyond 2880 in an HTML file, and it would show well using
Flash Player 7, but apparently that trick no longer works in
Players 8+.
Any other ways to make a single SWF that can span 3 large
monitors?
Thanks in advance,
- Frank

The problem here is the legacy flash document size constraint of 2880 x 2880 pixels. Why is this limitation still in place? Most screen have landscape orientation and we have this square constraint that turns out to be a waste if you are developing for larger screen displays and anything that is 4:3 or 16:9. Something does not add up here. What if someone needs to make a dual wide screen HD show that measured 3840 x 1080 pixels? We can do setup documents at 3840 x 1080 pixels in PowerPoint, PDF, Silverlight (at least this is what I have read regarding Silverlight), but not in Flash. Why not?
If Flash is a platform… then it needs to spread its wings a bit and embrace all the potential uses that are non-web. Flash represents multimedia delivery to millions, but shackling it to the 2880 x 2880 pixel limitation for a document size is problem for many people now and looming for those working toward have the flash engine as a core component in media delivery. At least give us a dual Wide screen monitor resolution of 3840 x 1080 pixels instead of a square of 2880 x 2880 pixels – which no one really uses (at least I have not seen any sqaure screens lately). Hey, if Adobe decided to shave off on the unused pixels from the 2880 height (2880 – 1080 = 1800) of the format you get an additional 1800 pixels that could applied where it is needed – to the width of the document size… giving us a 4680 x 1080 pixel document. This could then be used for immersive simulation, game situations, and real-world wide-screen experiences.
Sorry I don't have an answer, just the same question. "Any workarounds for the 2880 pixel size limit?"

My early 2011 MacBook Pro 15" non-glare display has developed a dark band at the edges of the screen approximately the same width as the aluminum surround. This wasn't present when the MBP was new. Am near an Apple Store, but anyone else had this problem

My early 2011 MacBook Pro 15" non-glare display has developed a dark band at the edges of the screen approximately the same width as the aluminum surround. This wasn't present when the MBP was new. I'm near an Apple Store and can take the laptop in, but has anyone else had this problem?

Thanks for your input. I didn't completely flesh out what I'm seeing visually. The resolution settings are all correct for my screen. The problem is if, say, looking at the gray startup screens or a completely white full-screen image, there is a perimeter of graying, almost as if the LEDs are somehow not as bright as the rest. It's also curious that the thickness of this phenomenon is almost exactly the same as the metal bezel around the display. I will be taking it to an Apple Store for a look, as I'm also having several minor hardware problems that need to be addressed and remedied.

TS3772 Hi Team, I fairly new at this & I'm trying for the first time to download a movie, however its not allowing me to play as it says I need to download quicktime which I have tried to do, I have this application now but its still not allowing me to vi

Hi Team, I am fairly new at this & I'm trying for the first time to download a movie, however its not allowing me to play as it says I need to download quicktime which I have tried to do, I have this application now but its still not allowing me to play movie, any help please for someone who hasnt got a clue

where did you download the movie from?
what is it doing when it wont allow you to play the movie?
since you downloaded quicktime is it still asking you to download quicktime?

When trying to restore and update my ipod touch it comes up with an error message saying: "The ipod can not be restored this device isnt eligible for the requested build"

When trying to restore and update my ipod touch it comes up with an error message saying: "The ipod can not be restored this device isnt eligible for the requested build" How do i fix this?

I am having the same issue. I just had the battery replaced at a third party store. The battery powers the ipod up but it needs to be restored. It is saying it isn't eligible for rebuild. I am running MAC OS 10.4.11 itunes v. 9.0 and I just want it to be restored. I need help. Oh and its an 8 gb ipod touch.

My Snow Leopard 10.6.3 has Safari 4.0.4 but this cannot be used for the new features of iTune. I tried upgrading to Safari 5.1.7 but it needs Snow Leopard 10.6.8. Where can I get a version of Safari 5.1 that is compatible with Snow Leopard 10.6.3?

My Snow Leopard 10.6.3 has Safari 4.0.4 but this cannot be used for the new features of iTunes. I tried upgrading to Safari 5.1.7 but it needs Snow Leopard 10.6.8. Where can I get a version of Safari 5.1 that is compatible with Snow Leopard 10.6.3?

Hi..
here can I get a version of Safari 5.1 that is compatible with Snow Leopard 10.6.3?
Not possible. You need to update to v10.6.8
Click your Apple menu > Software Update
Or update using the this download > Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo
Then restart your Mac.

Is there a workaround for the missing global track chords?

Is there a workaround for the missing global track chords? i.e. will Apple loops follow the chord progression in a track?

I found sort of a work around. I still have Logic Pro 9. It turns out that if you go into global tracks, analyze the chords then go back to logic pro x the chord progression is preserved. So the information is preserved there just seems no way to create it in X.

This is a workaround for the MBP wireless issue

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for