MacBook Wireless Death
My MacBook seems to have caught the dread “Connection timeout” bug for wireless networks. It’s got the usual symptoms: everything was working fine and then suddenly it couldn’t connect to my parents’ wireless network, although it could connect to other networks and other computers could connect to this network. This bug has been around for a while, since at least 10.4, and Apple keeps saying they’ve fixed it in each new point release, but it keeps showing up.
I’ve tried all the expected things up to and including turning the computer off and on again, turning the wireless card off an on again, safe boot mode, booting into a separate account, using Keychain to delete the WEP password, turning off authentication on the router (Linksys Wireless-G v 2.2), upgrading to 10.5.6, renaming the wireless network, deleting com.apple.internetconfig.plist, etc. The only thing left is to backup, nuke the hard drive, and reinstall the operating system; and if that doesn’t work I guess it’s back to the Apple Store. Anyone know anything less drastic I can try first?
Dec 25 08:09:15 elliotte-rusty-harolds-macbook airportd[439]: Error: Apple80211Scan() error 22 Dec 25 08:09:15 elliotte-rusty-harolds-macbook airportd[439]: Error: __performScan() failed (22) Dec 25 08:09:17 elliotte-rusty-harolds-macbook kernel[0]: Auth result for: 00:13:10:0d:e6:95 No Ack Dec 25 08:09:18: --- last message repeated 1 time --- Dec 25 08:09:18 elliotte-rusty-harolds-macbook airportd[439]: Error: Apple80211Associate() failed -6 Dec 25 08:09:18 elliotte-rusty-harolds-macbook SystemUIServer[167]: Error: airportd MIG failed = -6 ((null)) (port = 35587) Dec 25 08:09:18 elliotte-rusty-harolds-macbook airportd[439]: Error: process_command_dict() failed Dec 25 08:09:18 elliotte-rusty-harolds-macbook SystemUIServer[167]: Error joining esh: Connection timeout (-6 timeout connecting) Dec 25 08:09:18 elliotte-rusty-harolds-macbook airportd[439]: No networks found on channels remembered for tmobile Dec 25 08:09:18 elliotte-rusty-harolds-macbook airportd[439]: Could not find "tmobile" Dec 25 08:09:25 elliotte-rusty-harolds-macbook kernel[0]: Auth result for: 00:14:bf:16:51:03 No Ack Dec 25 08:09:25 elliotte-rusty-harolds-macbook airportd[439]: Error: Apple80211Associate() failed -6
One thing I wonder is whether there’s any way to make the computer forget everything it thinks it knows about wireless networks: i.e. erase all memory of any network it has ever joined in tis life, short of reimaging the whole system.
Update: Just as mysteriously as the problem arose, it has now vanished. I turned the laptop on today, and I’m now connected to the network. Don’t as me to explain it. Just maybe it had something to do with using it connected to the router by Ethernet or a while.
December 26th, 2008 at 2:13 PM
Wireless N or G? Does switching fix the problem?
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You didn’t say if you tried setting the channel manually.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1524019&tstart=1
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You also didn’t say if you tried deleting the SystemConfiguration files:
/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.preferences.plist
/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/NetworkInterfaces.plist
/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.nat.plist
The “memory of all wireless networks seen” might be in that same folder.
I wouldn’t expect trying a new account to change anything, because network settings are system-wide, not per-user.
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Finally, if you decide to re-install the OS, the first thing to try is “Archive and Install”, which preserves accounts, settings, and user-produced content. Of course, if a settings-file is the culprit, this will just propagate the problem.
You may end up doing a full backup, nuke, wipe, re-install anyway, but if “Archive and Install” works, it can save you a lot of time. You will still have to apply all your system updates after Archive and Install, so the time savings isn’t there, it’s in the manual reconfiguration of all the accumulated settings.