[macmad]

So I've been thinking about going wireless for a while, and yesterday finally took the $300 (european prices) plunge: an airport card and a D-Link 614+. All worked fine, but this morning I get up to find no wireless. Nothing! I finally got it going again after a router reset. Then, after searching MacNN I find Airport has issues waking after sleep which necessitates a router reset! This is totally useless, especially for the price premium. Anyone got any ideas???? I'm thinking about returning it all right now!

[ghporter]

Actually, the issue is with the clients, not the router, and it applies not just to Mac clients but just about all wireless clients. There are workarounds that usually make things a lot more tolerable.

First, you can try the "disconnect and reconnect" approach. That's simply telling your computer to disconnect from the network, then telling it to reconnect. This attacks the primary reason for the loss of connectivity: the "sleeping" client forgets its connection specifics, often losing the IP and sometimes losing the network alltogether.

Another approach is to restart your computer. When the computer restarts, it reinitializes the wireless network connection, which should restore your connectivity.

Some people just don't let their computers go to sleep! This is bad for battery life and power usage, but it nips the problem in the bud. An alternative that works on Windows (and some Linux) platforms is to change the power saving settings for the wireless card to keep it from shutting itself down. Changing the power saving settings worked fine on the PC laptop I got started with wireless with. Unfortunately, I haven't found any way to address power saving modes with AirPort cards.

Finally, some people find it simplest to just shut down their computers, rather than letting them go to sleep. This saves battery power quite well, with only minor start up time to deal with.

Old fashioned "gurus" will tell you that you should never turn a computer off because of the "electrical stress" on the components, especially the hard drive. Bull. A modern hard drive is built to be robust, handling starting tens of thousands of times without any problem. The only real advantage of intentionally sleeping your computer is fast recovery-which shouldn't be a real issue for overnight.

[Mastrap]

Weird.

I've got my DSL connection plugged into the snow base station, feeding an iMac, an iBook and a 12" PB. All of my Macs sleep frequently (especially overnight) with no loss of connectivity. Ever. I wake them up and connectivity is awake as well.

[neon_duke]

I'll split that difference. My G4/450, which is hooked to the AEBS by ethernet cable, keeps its connection hot even when sleeping.

The PB, on the other hand, immediately disconnects upon being put to sleep, and must be directed to the network and signed on again.

Mind you, the AEBS itself is set to hang up the modem connection if idle for 30 minutes, which it doesn't do.

[macmad]

I thought I'd post this follow-up for anyone else having problems with the D-Link 614+

Upgrade your router firmware!!!

I upgraded from version 2.1 to 2.18 and so far, touch wood, my problems are solved. No more sleep issues, and tests confirm its much faster.

[suthercd]

Thsnkd. Does this mean their were no problems with the Apple products?

Craig