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dparry · Mar 17, 2004, 08:43 AM

I am at a loss as to why my G4 Powerbook is frequently losing the network connection from AP base station. In the middle of chat, say, there is a sudden dropout, the named network is no longer listed in the drop-down menu, the signal bands icon is grayed out. Sometimes turning airport off and then on restores the network name and connection. Signal strength is usually strong when this occurs; the laptop is stationary. Is there some possible interference from wireless phone nearby, or have I set something up wrong?

quadgrande · Mar 18, 2004, 03:57 PM

I am on the phone with Apple support right now with the same issue with my 17". There are some 29 posts on this topic in Apple discussions.

I have tried everything I can think of:

1) Switching between "Automatic" and "Specific Network"
2) Switching channels on my linksys 54G router

I go from 5 bars to zero, lose IP, and my SSID is no longer visible. It comes back and back off several times, then is restored. The whole cycle usually takes about 3 to 4 minutes.

Very frustrating.

dparry · Mar 18, 2004, 09:02 PM

I think I have figured my situation out. Airport is is getting signal interference with my cordless telephone, which happens to be right next to my laptop. I discovered that as soon as I started to dial a number the wireless Airport connection closed ; as soon as I hung up, it was restored. I found on Apple's site that there is this problem with 2.4 GHZ phones. The solution seems to be enabling "interference robustness" through Airport Admin Utility.
More guided information here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=150733
This worked for me.

biscuit · Mar 19, 2004, 08:36 AM

I'm having a similar problem, here's what I posted in the Networking part of Apple's iBook forum:

"I connect by AirPort to an Alcatel SpeedTouch 570 combined WAP/Router/ASDL modem for internet at home. Recently I find that my connection drops after between 1 and 20 minutes of connection, usually 1 to 5 mins. If I turn AirPort off and on then I cannot see the router at all. Nothing seems to restore it, log-in/out, restart, sleep, switching users. I can only get it back if the machine has been asleep for a long time, i.e. more than 30 mins. Then the same thing happens again. This happens with two different users.

I was hoping that the 10.3.3 update would fix the problem, but it has not. I have tried removing and re-installing the card but to no avail. It does not seem to be related to any action on the computer or movement of the machine (it will still occur with the machine on a flat surface with no programs running). I know the router is fine since I have a PC running XP that has no problems at all."

The lack of problems with the PC lead me to believe it's not an interference thing. Anyone got any suggestions other than a clean install?

biscuit

rambo47 · Mar 20, 2004, 04:54 PM

I've got the opposite problem. My Macs are all enjoying trouble-free connections with my AEBS. No signal drops, no interference. I also have an IBM ThinkPad (WinXP Professional) with an Orinoco WaveLAN Gold card that has not been so trouble free. I am constantly losing the signal and having to reconnect to the network. I get a "very good" or "excellent" report on signal strength but then suddenly "no network connection available." I click on the network icon in the toolbar, bring up a list of available networks which does show my home network as available, and then click on "connect." I'm back up and running for anywhere from minutes to hours before the connection is dropped again. I'm just thankful it's only my windows machine with the network trouble and not one of my Macs. The wintel box gets so little use it's only a minor annoyance.

ghporter · Mar 20, 2004, 09:50 PM

Originally posted by rambo47:
I've got the opposite problem. My Macs are all enjoying trouble-free connections with my AEBS. No signal drops, no interference. I also have an IBM ThinkPad (WinXP Professional) with an Orinoco WaveLAN Gold card that has not been so trouble free.

That is very odd, especially for an Orinoco card. Have you considered getting the latest soft/firmware updates for the card? It's possible that this is a problem with the card keeping up with its connection. Orinoco products were spun off (through a series of spin offs) to wind up belonging to Proxim, so that's were to go to find the latest (here, specifically).