A week ago my partner complained that she was no longer connected to the internet despite the fact that I was busily surfing while sitting in a chair right next to her. We both have MacBooks with 1gig Ram and the latest software updates installed but hers is white and mine is black.
A re-start solved the problem but had to be done again a couple of days later as well.
Damned if it didnt just happen to me a few minutes ago. A re-start sorted the problem out BUT is this some unreported downside of the software updates?
Anyone else experiencing anything similar?

Delete it from preferred airport networks, delete keychains for the wireless network. Re-add/reconfigure.

Yep. My Macbook keeps inexplicably dropping out even though the iMac is fine. But mine goes in spurts or action followed by nothing.

I have the same problem but able to fix it by turning airport off then back on.

I have had the same problem with my macbook on two different wireless networks- yesterday I noticed that Safari seems to lock up on certain sites- for me it was the Melbourne TV guide on citysearch- when I closed it's tab safari came back to life

but I can't replicate the freeze with that site now so maybe it was not the cause - are all of you using Safari or other browsers?

I had a similar problem after installing my Airport Extreme (sporadic bursts of activity followed by next to nothing). I tracked it down to the Airport Radar dashboard widget - all better since removing it.

Have you tried simply changing the channel on the airport?


Can you tell me if she/you are also losing contact with printers/speakers through the airport at the same time. If this is the case, change the channels your Macs are using to access the airport. Local interference is what I would suggest is the problem.

Maybe Martha upstairs is using her Vib....hair dryer

i have this problem with my powerbook dropouts but my imac can be completely fine sometimes

I'm with purana - though I'd add do a hard reset of your airport.
and establish fresh password(s) for external security


that way you are eliminating as many potential faults as poss.

My Money is on the channels.


Airport Admin Utility>highlight your network>configure>airport tab then change the chanells from the dropdown menu. any channel will do.

If the problem re - occurs, change again till you find one that does not cause dropouts.

I think you will find this will sort you out, But don't shoot me if I am wrong!

I have the same problem: my Macbook will not be able to link in to a Network wifi router, whereas my Mini and a G4 iBook have no problems. Turning off and on the router doesn't fix the problem, whereas, changing the channel does.

I have been having random dropouts since the last updates - experimenting with different things at the moment without success

Network Problems - update OS X 10.4.10

In my case, it always reconnects immediately

Okay for what it is worth I also posted this on another mac site and was told categorically by a mac techie type person that this is a know problem since the latest updates. NOT known to me and many others it would seem. A simple re-start solves the problem and perhaps I could play around with turning off Airport then back on again but it is a VERY intermittent problem. We are in a one level town house so it sure isn't someone above us and since an identical machine located a meter away continues to work perfectly I don't think it is a channel thing either. I hope Apple get around to addressing this issue IF it is in fact a "known" problem.
Thanks to everyone who replied with help and advice

For what it's worth if this problem is as common as you say, then I got no idea why my wife's macbook has no fault. In any case, when I have problems like that, I tend to delete the preferred airport network, set it back to the alternate mode. Delete any keychains that hold our WPA password/key. Then redo the connnection attempt and tick it to remember. Then everything works like it did without fault.

Simple really, and it solves many of those disconnect type issues (unless of course the problem is the hardware itself).

What about swapping hard drives between the machines? This will tell you if it is software or hardware.

Oops! Re-read the first post. You said it is happening to your machine now...