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admiraldennis · Nov 7, 2003, 04:18 PM

I've had my iBook/500 (dual usb) for a few years now, and recently decided to get an AirPort card for it for use in school. I bought it used, but it was in very good condition (factory box), and the computer recognizes it fine.

Today I installed the card, but my reception seems to be horrible. I need to be within like a few feet of any base station for it to work!

My friend on his PowerBook (he has an airport extreme card, but our school only has 802.11b) can get 90% range when I don't get *any*?

Is something wrong here? A defective card? Antenna? Or is that was 'normal' airport is like, and somehow his card helps him in an 802.11b network?

flatcatch · Nov 7, 2003, 04:49 PM

Something must be wrong. I get a 70% (or better) signal from 40 feet away through two walls with my iBook 800 G3. Of course, within or near the room with the base station I get 100%.

I don't have any suggestions for you though.... sorry. Maybe double check the antenna connection to the card?

jokell82 · Nov 7, 2003, 08:58 PM

Definitely check the antenna. The iBook has the best wireless range of any notebook I've come across, and it sure as hell beats the TiBooks.

pks1850 · Nov 7, 2003, 09:50 PM

I get excellent reception on my 12" ibook with my Linksys router and Airport Extreme card.

I live in a single family home, and I get a very strong single both upstairs, downstairs and even out on my deck (on avg., about 10 bars out of 15 when I open Internet Connect). This is through several walls -- and much better then the signal I get on my HP laptop with Linksys card.

noren · Nov 8, 2003, 09:19 AM

I to have a 500 mhz ibook.
I'm going to have my ibook checked up next week for the exact same thing.
My reception suddenly dropped and has never come back. 1-2 meters away are ok. Nothing wrong with the card though, have tried a known working one.

amazing · Nov 8, 2003, 10:11 AM

Airport cards do go bad, so buying a used one is risky without a money back guarantee (a factory box doesn't guarantee anything!) You'd need to take that card and put it in another laptop to check if it's good. Then, to see if your laptop is good, you'd need to take a known good card from another laptop and check it out in your laptop. If the known good card in your laptop has horrible range, then post back here with the details.

You'd need to eliminate all the variables, like making sure that the antenna is pushed all the way in, that the base station isn't using MAC address filtering (each wireless card has a MAC address, and the base station can restrict access to only those cards in its list of allowed MAC addresses.) Etc. Disable WEP to do these tests...

Also, you need to use MacStumbler to get actual figures to compare airport range. The reception bars are pretty inaccurate.

Love Calm Quiet · Nov 8, 2003, 05:26 PM

I have read a report of someone *thinking* they had plugged in their airport card when in fact the plug on the antenna wire had not fullly "clicked" into the receptacle on the airport card. The result was about what you describe. Worth checking. Good luck.

JEB · Nov 9, 2003, 01:58 AM

Try swapping cards with someone else who has one (for a few minutes) . . . I've managed dozens of iBooks for our school.

One time (under warranty) we sent in an iBook--seems they indicated some kind of crimping of antenna cable up where it goes through the hinge.

That's seriuos; test with another card. Our lab has one like yours -- gotta be right next to base to even get a signal, sometimes flickers out. Drag.

JEB · Nov 9, 2003, 02:05 AM

Ohh, yeaah,

I learned a long time ago (via baorads like this) to change to "Channel 1"

Its right there in the Airport Admin Utility

For a while, I'd change to other channels, but 1 was best, and I think it was someone elses' suggestion

Raymate · Nov 9, 2003, 09:37 AM

I have installed 10.3 on my iBook and Airport signal went down to one or two bars. Zap PRAM and that sorted it out back to full strength as before with 10.2.8

Hope that helps

R

AuTiLLeRy · Nov 9, 2003, 11:47 AM

I have the same problem, but i bought my iBook used from ebay... My question is there a place where i could find a documented way of opening up the iBook to fix antenna problems?

PHitchcox · Nov 9, 2003, 02:32 PM

As someone with exactly the same problem, this is not an isolated issue, not a problem with the Airport card installation nor antenna, not a channel problem. "Something" is breaking iBook Airports connections consistently; check the number of complaints on this site and others and you'll see that this is a major problem.

Most reports indicate a recent upgrade to 10.2.6 or higher; but even downgrading to 10.2 doesn't solve the problem. Switching with other Airport cards doesn't solve it (though reception may return intermittently), so it doesn't appear to be a problem with broken cards. Changing channels ad nauseum doesn't help. Almost all reports indicate that the system was working and suddenly it wasn't.

I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and support, but I would also everyone to start noting how many similar reports are cropping up over the last three months. I don't know what is happening, but if you're an iBook owner and have experienced this issue, please add your comments and let's see how many are out there and what are the consistent system setups. (I know others may have working setups but let's focus on those with a similar problem.)

I look forward to a ton of responses. There are many owners out there with this problem.

Faceplant · Nov 10, 2003, 08:37 AM

I also had the problem with the signal off and on and so on like dating a borderline girl with an eating disorder, but I downloaded another copy of AirPort 3.2 and it seems to work. I am an OS 10.3 user and I assume it came with the package, but who knows.
Here is the link..
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120267

winwintoo · Nov 10, 2003, 09:39 AM

I have an AEBS and an iBook. For a while, I couldn't get ANY signal in the same room as the base station, but I could access my neighbor's network at full power.

I reset the AEBS and now I have full power AND even though I live on the 6th floor of this cement and steel building, I can get a usable signal on the main floor.

When my signal dropped off, I was preparing to go on vacation, so I didn't bother to try to fix it. I took my iBook on vacation and was able to pick up a bunch of wireless networks as I travelled. Then the unthinkable happened, my sister tripped over the power cord of my iBook and it fell on the floor, twisting the lid a bit and bent the power adapter connection.

Now, airport works, the power adapter stays plugged in and doesn't cut out every few minutes like it used to, and when I open the lid, the computer no longer goes to sleep, but rather wakes up like it should.

So the cure for a lot of what's wrong with an iBook is drop it on the floor.

If you're afraid to do it yourself, send me a first class ticket and I'll come down and do it for you.

m

PHitchcox · Nov 10, 2003, 02:34 PM

Been at it most of the day trying to fix my iBook with all of the same Airport problems mentioned above and have this to report: I did get my Airport service back through the following efforts; would appreciate feedback if anyone else has success.

One of the suggestions (from other threads) was to delete the Airport configuration in the Network preferences. This had no effect for me.

However, FIRST, you should turn off the Airport card. I did using the desktop menu under the Airport strength meter. Then, with the Airport card off, I deleted the Airport config in the Network preferences. Another Airport config immediately pops up. Turning that on, 'applying' the change, and then returning to the desktop and turning the Airport card back on...and viola, I'm finally connected (all day so far) after months of misery.

Again, would appreciate any thoughts and comments.

winwintoo · Nov 10, 2003, 03:25 PM

All kidding aside, I had to reset my AEBS by using the information HERE

I had mine so messed up that I couldn't even see the base station let alone configure it.

m

AuTiLLeRy · Nov 10, 2003, 07:10 PM

Originally posted by PHitchcox:
Been at it most of the day trying to fix my iBook with all of the same Airport problems mentioned above and have this to report: I did get my Airport service back through the following efforts; would appreciate feedback if anyone else has success.

Didn't work for me, but im glad it worked for you...

amazing · Nov 11, 2003, 05:04 PM

Originally posted by AuTiLLeRy:
Didn't work for me, but im glad it worked for you...

Is everyone doing DHCP? Seems to me that I saw somewhere that AEBS was dropping the DHCP connections erratically (don't remember where I saw it, maybe doesn't even apply?) so I'm wondering if anyone has tried going to a static IP?

admiraldennis · Nov 15, 2003, 12:32 AM

Update:

I was under AppleCare so I sent it in for poor airport recdeption (I was also having a loose DC adapter issue). They replaced: the keyboard, the dc adapter port, the motherboard, and the airport antenna. Works awesome now.

And -- get this -- they took it away tuesday, I got it back thursday. Crazy.

arjay66 · Nov 25, 2003, 10:57 PM

My iBook just developed serious reception problems -- using MacStumbler, I've found that the antenna wire has a fault at the laptop's hinge. The antenna only works with the lid open to about 90 deg. -- past that, and I losse reception completely.

This is probably a variant of the iBook monitor problems, where the wires get pinched at the hinge & eventually break.

Does anyone know how hard it would be to open the thing up & replace the bad antenna wire???

winwintoo · Nov 26, 2003, 05:21 AM

Have you tried resetting the AEBS??

Mine was acting like it was an antenae problem too until I reset the base station.

Have you taken your iBook out wardriving?? I realized it couldn't be my antenae when I took the iBook on the road and got really good reception elsewhere.

Just some thoughts.......m

arjay66 · Nov 28, 2003, 04:50 PM

I can use MacStumbler & watch the signal strength on my (& my neighbors') Wi-Fi networks go to zero when lid is wide open, back to full strength as I close it, then lose it again when I open wider. I have the same problem at work, too. None of the base stations involved is an Apple product. Everything worked fine until a few weeks ago.

Originally posted by winwintoo:
Have you tried resetting the AEBS??

Mine was acting like it was an antenae problem too until I reset the base station.

Have you taken your iBook out wardriving?? I realized it couldn't be my antenae when I took the iBook on the road and got really good reception elsewhere.

Just some thoughts.......m

fmp3 · Nov 30, 2003, 02:10 PM

For those of you pulling you hair out (like I was) here are two issues I have solved with the help of forums .

I have two iBook 500's I bought off eBay. I have Airport cards in both with an AEBS. One of the iBooks had tremendous range and the other barely worked in the same room with the base station. I opened the bad book up and found the slightest "nip" in the antenna wire as it passed through the monitor hinge. After wrapping it with tape, retarting and zapping the pram, my range is now dynamite in both books.

The other issue was not being able to print wireless to my Epson 740i. Please...anyone that has an AEBS and wants to print wireless THROUGH USB, don't forget that you have to use RENDEZVOUS for the network as you add the printer. I actually have the same printer twice in the Printer List because one is done through Rendezvous for wireless and one is done...I am not sure...for when I am hooked up with a direct ethernet cable.

arjay66 · Dec 1, 2003, 08:16 PM

Thanks for the help -- what do you have to open - the main laptop, the monitor, or both, to get at the cable?

I wonder if the new Powerbooks will have the same problem?...

Originally posted by fmp3:
For those of you pulling you hair out (like I was) here are two issues I have solved with the help of forums .

I have two iBook 500's I bought off eBay. I have Airport cards in both with an AEBS. One of the iBooks had tremendous range and the other barely worked in the same room with the base station. I opened the bad book up and found the slightest "nip" in the antenna wire as it passed through the monitor hinge. After wrapping it with tape, retarting and zapping the pram, my range is now dynamite in both books.