Wi-Fi: no hardware installed. Caused by the antenna position?

Question

I own an early 2011 MBP 15” with ML 10.8.3, suffering from the well known problem of Airport WiFi (hardware not installed). BT is perfectly working.
I would like to share my thoughts on the (low) probability of fixing this issue.
That’s my story, till now.
I unsuccessfully attempted the usual remedies, such as the SMC and NVRAM reset.
Since my Mac is still covered by the AppleCare, I contacted the online support. Again, unsuccessful SMC and NVRAM reset. The support personnel told me it is a hardware problem. This sentence “slightly” worried me, and the rest of the story confirmed my darkest concerns.
I contacted an Apple technical assistance center for fixing the problem. 2 days later, they gave me my MBP back, after the flat (ribbon) cable substitution. We tested together the WiFi in the Apple center: no problem at all. Unfortunately, once back in my office, at first startup the WiFi again refused to run (and still it refuses now, ab. 24 hrs after the repair attemp).
Now, I’m working with a mini-dongle, a solution not properly fitting with a 2000 US$ Mac, bought for professional use. I’ll go back to the technical assistance again, but w/o much hope. The reason of my pessimistic thought arises from an idea I have on the WiFi antenna position inside the Mac.
I’ve never dismantled a MacBook Pro, but I learnt that the WiFi antenna is placed in a very strange location, that is: practically INSIDE THE MONITOR HINGE (is it true?)
This is a very delicate place for any notebook, because it is … mobile.
Yes, it seems that the antenna (mobile, in the monitor hinge) is connected to the motherboard (fixed, in the aluminum case) with a flat ribbon, and it rotates with the monitor. That is, every time we open or close the MBP (let's say, for instance 2-4 times/day?)
And now, that’s my concern.
The movement involves a mechanical action on plugs and pins, with possible and subtle deformation of such pins, plugs and their supports. Again, that location is subject to heating up and, then, to possible thermal action combined with mechanical ones. That could mean that, very rarely and with erratic and random evidence, the WiFi antenna can loose its connection, plugs may slip off, perhaps for the monitor movement as well as for small tolerances in production and/or assembly steps (in my opinion may be matter of microns).
This could explain the erratic results of the repairs. Erratic means ranging from complete success to temporary stops or recovery, without any predictable behavior.
And now… HOLD ON TIGHT !
If my hypothesis is correct (doubt is mandatory), the problem may be CAUSED BY THE DESIGN CONCEPT of the MBP, concerning the WiFi location. This may have a direct influence on the erratic results of the technical assistance work, reported in many forums. Then, it is very difficult to foresee the problem will be 100% definitely fixed by the ordinary technical assistance. To tell all the truth, if I’m right (doubt is mandatory), a well lowest score may be regarded a first class result in these conditions.
On the other hand, placing the airport (WiFi antenna) inside the metal (aluminum) case, may also have its operating, and even worse, drawbacks.
I want to point out that I’m not complaining about the Apple support and technical assistance, both friendly and skilled, and I’m not blaming the Apple design department.
However, I’ve a few consultancy experiences about operating and safety problems reported in electric and electronic consumer products. In many cases, sneaky and subtle problems were due to particular design choices, correct for “almost” 100% of equipment. Almost means: random problems for a number of equipment with NO STATISTICAL RELEVANCE. And this may be a problem for us, “poor consumers” when facing the producer. No statistical relevance can mean: problem not recognized by the producer. This is just to be realistic. Continuous improvement is required from Apple, in any case.
Last but not least, this is an useful video on MBP WiFi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsSIUs7jzQc
PS: I’m writing from Rome - Italy

Answer 1

Sorry for the late reply. I had a bad experience with the Apple Store and the 'Genius' Bar where I live. However, in the end, I received my MacBook Pro back from repair and everything is working.
Like I said in my previous post, the first time the Wi-Fi broke, I was using Lion. The mother (Logic) board was replaced as well as the Wi-Fi card.
The second time it broke, I was using Mountain Lion. Booting up the Recovery partition and Snow Leopard (new install) did not solve the issue. The Apple Store confirmed that the Wi-Fi card was broken through various testing, which I observed.
Since the attenna wires for the Wi-Fi run through the display, we decided the next logical step was to replace the Wi-Fi card and the display. The reasoning is that there could have been a short or cross connection in the attenna wiring that was causing the Wi-Fi cards to short-out/burn-out. The Bluetooth continued to work in both cases the Wi-Fi failed, meaning that it was unlikely a cable problem.
Since the display and wi-fi have been replaced (20121025), I've had no problems. The wi-fi card is working.
I'm glad the kext file solution has worked for you. I've seen posts on this solution; however, after determining that this was indeed a hardware failure (by using Recovery console, booting from Snow Leopard, and using Hardware Troubleshooter (it didn't even see the Wi-Fi) ), I didn't bother with fiddling with the kext (driver) files. Besides, this hardware is supposed to be designed to work with the OS without any problems whatsoever. Shame on Apple if they don't ship proper drivers for their hardware!
TeaKae