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We've been trying to track down and tackle the problem of getting dropped connections and bad connectivity via Airport wireless on our LED MacBook Pro Core2Duo running Mac OS X 10.4.10 over the last month. So far we've tried just about everything from downgrading the IO80211Family.kext files to leaving the MacBook Pro plugged into the AC adapter.

So far we've figured out that to keep a wireless connection from dropping, the MacBook Pro needs to be plugged into power. When we use the MacBook Pro without an AC adapter, it isn't IF it will drop it's wireless connection, it's more like WHEN will it drop.

We've also noticed while using the wireless connection, the bandwidth would be inconsistent, often dropping packets or duplicating them. We discovered this after installing MenuMeters and watching how the bandwidth would slow down to a trickle of bytes then speed up then drop again.

At first we thought it might be interference from other devices, so we sat the MacBook Pro down in the same room as the AirPort but we had the same problem. A side by side comparison with another Powerbook G4 showed that MacBook Pro wireless is just not working up to par. The Powerbook G4 ran smooth and fine while the MacBook Pro struggled to load webpage or do domain lookups quickly. A 24" iMac, also running 10.4.10 had none of the problems we exhibit.

Finally we tried using the Terminal app to ping the Airport Extreme basestation from the MacBook Pro. Normally this should have very small latencies but doing this produced dropped and duplicated packets.

It also seems we're not alone in this problem. Taking a look through Apple's MacBook Pro discussion forums shows that many folks are having issues with airport connectivity and are wondering when Apple is going to fix it. Some have come up with hacks, like user Loki who suggested to replace IO80211Family.kext with a newer version but while this seems to work, it actually does nothing to resolve the issues of dropped connections and packets.

One user summed it up like this:

"After reading through what others have to say about the same issue (and boy are there plenty of others sharing my dismay), I have come to realize the MBP just plain ***** in terms of wirless connectivity..."

If anyone out there is having the same issues or has tips on how to get Airport working reliably again, let us know! Until then... I suppose we'll be waiting for an update from Apple and we've got our 20 foot ethernet cable plugged in at all times.

Check out the forums here:

iBook puts MacBook Pro to Shame on Wireless Network?

Is Macbook Pro wireless just plain weak?

Airport random disconnect