I need help with my internet wireless connection, on my mac????

Question

My signal bars say i have enough signal, but sometimes ill open a website/pae and safari will say i have no connection. It doesnt always do it just sometimes and interupts me when im talking to firends or playing onine games on my ps3 etc. i dont know why???

Answer 1

As a test, if you connect directly to your router/modem using an Ethernet cable, does the problem go away? That is, is it only your wireless connection that's dropping? If not, it could be a problem with your router/modem. It might be failing or there might be a problem with the connection from your ISP. (The latter could only be fixed by your ISP.)

Assuming that you've eliminated your base connection as a possibility, it's time to look elsewhere. We don't have to check your basic wireless connection since it does work part of the time. At it's heart, wireless Internet is just a small, low-power radio transceiver over which Ethernet protocols are sent. If you ever had or saw walkie talkies that had the Morse code button .. same basic idea. As such, wireless Internet is subject to all the same problems any radio can experience: interference from other radio sources, scattering by metal objects, distance between the transmitter and receiver.

The signal strength meters can be quite wrong. I've found that various manufacturers tend to inflate the quality of the signal received. If you move your Mac closer to the wireless router (I'm guessing that's what you have.), does the problem lessen or go away? Your wireless router or your Mac may not have a strong enough transceiver to broadcast over the distance. If distance is the problem, try moving your router closer to the areas you typically use the wireless network in. You might also want to look into getting a wireless range extender or repeater if moving the router isn't an option.

The frequency on which your router is transmitting - assuming it's a typical wireless router - is in the 2400 MHz range. Unfortunately, microwaves, cordless phones and your neighbor's wireless router all share that same frequency space and can interfere with each other. If you have a cordless phone, you can try shutting it off to see if that is the culprit. (Using a cordless phone while using your Mac on the wireless Internet is probably a bad idea, too.)

If you happen to live close enough to others (e.g., apartment building or condominium complex) there may be other wireless routers that are in range. (If so, you may have noticed those in the list of wireless networks available to your Mac or PS3.) If those are all transmitting on the same frequency, they could interfere with yours. This is especially true if there are places where their wireless signal is stronger than yours. One thing to try is changing transceiver channels. There are 11 channels (in the US) upon which your router can transmit. Most use channel 6 by default. You can go into the wireless configuration page for your router and change that to any of the other channels. The recommendations are to use 1, 6 and 11 in order to insure enough signal separation. Try all of those and 3/4 and 7/8 to see if that helps.

If your neighbor has a cordless phone, there's not much you can do to stop them from using it, however, moving the router to another location may help. This is also true if metal objects near the router are scattering the signal. If the router is in the basement, raising it into the floor joists (or on top of a bookcase) might help. If it's on the top floor of a three story dwelling, put it on the floor. Also, duct work (in the walls), electric wiring, large metal objects like refrigerators and filing cabinets can scatter/reflect radio signals, so try moving the router to other parts of the room or even a different room.

Another problem is your own wireless devices interfering with each other. If both your Mac and PS3 are using wireless networking, keep them several feet apart or more. They are (by definition) transmitting on the same frequency, and they will interfere with each other if they are too close.

Hope these help.

Answer 2

It's possible it's that your wireless router has lost connection with your ISP. Use your browser to get onto your wireless router (usually 192.168.1.1) and see if this is the case.