Why will my Mac not stay online (wireless broadband)?

Question

I have a MacBook Pro running Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.4 connected wirelessly to an Airport Extreme Base Station. Something in the last month or so has been causing my computer to get kicked off the wireless network whenever it is idle for even a few minutes. Each time I return the computer I have to manually reconnect to the wireless network via the icon in the menu-bar. This is a problem because I have a home network that has a printer shared through my computer. This is preventing others in my house from printing because my computer keeps going offline. Does anyone know why this may be happening and how to fix it?

Answer 1

Since it's only been for the last month or so (presumably staying connected fairly solid before that), what's changed in your wireless environment is the question?

Since wireless networking is just low-power RF transceivers in the 2.4 GHz range, anything emitting RF in that frequency range could do it. Did you recently purchase a cordless phone? (They often operate in the 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz range. The latter isn't a problem.) How about a nearby neighbor (if you are in an apartment or other high-density area)? Perhaps a neighbor bought a new wireless router and their signal is strong where your MacBook is. The printer itself doesn't happen to have wireless capability built-in that may have recently gotten turned on by accident, does it? Microwaves can sometime produce RF interference as well.

In addition to emitters, is there anything new that could be blocking or reflecting the signal such as a new piece of furniture or a filing cabinet with high metal content? Even metal bedsprings could do it if the position is right.

One thing to try is changing the channel that the Airport Extreme is using. If it is using channel 6, try 1 or 11 (in the US) for example. You might try moving the Airport closer to your MacBook.

Answer 2

that what you get when you wast your  money on a mac