I'm as sure as I can be that the problem isn't the router, that was my first thought as it's a new router.

The easiest way for me to monitor the fault is to play music from iTunes¹ via the Airport Express- I can be getting on with something else but if the connection drops, even briefly, I'll hear it.

But intermittent faults being what they are, I have to run it for several hours to make sure it isn't being difficult by behaving itself




¹ using combinations of the iMac or the Macbook, wired, 2.4GHz or 5GHz, shared or local libraries and see what's common to the fault regimes. So far the evidence all points to the 5GHz wireless on the MacBook.

In reply to a post by dsch:

I've had similar difficulties with intermittent internet connections and to date have been unable to identify the source of the problem.

I used to get that sometimes, with several different routers.

Eventually cured it by using manual channel selection for the wireless instead of leaving the router set to the "Auto" default. It even worked if I chose the same channel that the router had auto-selected... go figure

Check the model number - if it's A1181 It uses a plugin Airport Extreme card as most did, a moderate skill install. It may even be as simple as the antenna connectors being loose/detached.

I have a vague memory of seeing one where a new card did not resolve poor connectivity, was a bad motherboard.

In reply to a post by billford:

In reply to a post by dsch:

I've had similar difficulties with intermittent internet connections and to date have been unable to identify the source of the problem.

I used to get that sometimes, with several different routers.

Eventually cured it by using manual channel selection for the wireless instead of leaving the router set to the "Auto" default. It even worked if I chose the same channel that the router had auto-selected... go figure

I totally agree with this one.

A friend has a homehub and it does crazy things on auto. It will change the channel and then change it right back within a split second - so if you're not overly studying it you don't notice the channel change. This causes everyones connection to drop off and have to reconnect.

Auto channel is a pain. Some routers even switch to a 'less crowded' channel whilst the internets in use. So the wifi just completely drops out for a while.

Edited by ukhardy07 (Tue 31-Jul-12 16:03:25)

In reply to a post by radiomarko:

Check the model number - if it's A1181

Mine's A1278... but having found it, it prompted me into doing what I should have done to start with- use it as part of a google search

And of course, now that I've set up a series of logical tests the fault seems to have gone away . I might get one anyway, it's only twenty quid and having a replacement handy is by far the best way to stop an intermittent fault from recurring

The problem here was interference from a BT Fon network. Choosing a manual channel solved it.

Homehubs seem to blast out the wifi.