Many users have reported Wi-Fi problems after upgrading to Mac OS X Lion so we thought we’d lend out a helping hand with some basic and advanced troubleshooting tips.
Their is a hidden tool called “Wi-Fi Diagnostics” (seen above) if you wish to see your problems in real-time. In Finder, click ‘Go’, then ‘Go To Folder..’ and type “/System/Library/CoreServices/”. There you will find the tool.
But you already have problems right? So let’s get to it.
Note: This may not fix the problem and it may be addressed by Apple in 10.7.1.
Let’s start with the self explanatory, easy stuff.
Reset the router
Reboot your Mac
Try turning the Wi-Fi connection on then off again
Tried all those? Let’s get a bit tougher then.
Change the channel your router is broadcasting on – Many routers set the default channel to “Auto”. Some have reported success if logging into their router and changing it to a specific channel.
Add in network information manually – Some are saying when they add the network information manually into their Network Preferences that they are receiving some luck. Go into System Preferences > Network then click Advanced while Wi-Fi is selected. Delete your network out of the Preferred Networks list and try reading it in manually.
Assign a specific DNS server – If you go into your Network Preferences and click into the Advanced menu, you’ll find a tab for DNS. Click the + and add in your own to see if it helps. We prefer OpenDNS which is 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220, it greatly improves speed and protection.
Repair Disk Permissions – Sometimes things can get messed up during upgrades of application and system files and we also recommend repair disk permissions. Open the Disk Utility app location in your Utilities folder. Find and click on the hard drive that is running Mac OS X Lion and under the ‘First Aid’ tab click ‘Repair Disk Permissions’.
Delete the SystemConfiguration folder – Apple places a system configuration folder that can re-update itself when you restart. Open the Finder and under ‘Go’ click “Go to Folder…’, type ‘/YOUR HARD DRIVE NAME’ (it’s usually “Macintosh HD”). Click “Library”, then “Preferences” and locate the “SystemConfiguration” folder. Save a copy to your desktop just in case. Delete it and empty the Trash. Restart your Mac.
Reset the PRAM - Instruction from Apple:
- Shut down the computer.
- Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
- Turn on the computer.
- Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
- Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
- Release the keys.
Reset the SMC -
On new Mac laptops without a removable battery:
- Shut down the computer.
- Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
- On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
- Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
- Press the power button to turn on the computer.
On Mac laptops with a removable battery:
- Shut down the computer.
- Disconnect the MagSafe power adapter from the computer, if it’s connected.
- Remove the battery.
- Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
- Release the power button.
- Reconnect the battery and MagSafe power adapter.
- Press the power button to turn on the computer.
For Apple desktops:
- Shut down the computer.
- Unplug the computer’s power cord.
- Wait fifteen seconds.
- Attach the computer’s power cord.
- Wait five seconds, then press the power button to turn on the computer.
If none of those helped then we apologize for wasting your time. We’re sure Apple is working on a fix in 10.7.1 but hopefully we’ve helped in some way until then. Good luck!
More tips here.
