AirPort 2004-08-31 Driver Update (#2): Cosmetic issue; Inability to connect to networks, workarounds; more

While positive reports of improved signal strength and fewer connectivity dropouts concerning the AirPort 2004-08-31 Driver Update continue to flow, a number of issues have also appeared (a few of which were reported yesterday).

Cosmetic issue MacFixIt reader Paul Vail reports a minor cosmetic issue involving the AirPort menubar component's indication of which wireless network is being joined:

"We've seen only one hiccup with the new updater. Installed on a 12" Powerbook G4 867 with Airport extreme and 10.3.5. Upon restart, the scrolling banner with the WAP name that appears adjacent to the menu bar Airport signal icon now scrolls with white letters against the platinum background, rather than black letters. This is hard to read, and only appears when first connecting -- beyond that, no problems noted."

Inability to connect to networks, workarounds As noted yesterday, a handful of readers are having problems connecting to wireless networks after the update; specifically after waking from sleep in some cases.

MacFixIt reader Graham's experience is typical:

"After I updated my 1.2Ghz iBook, I have lost connectivity after sleep and will not reconnect (I've tried everything), it takes the iBook 3 times as long to restart or boot (repaired permissions via Disk Utility before and after and Cocktail after), and the when it does connect the connection is not noticeably better (but it was already very good to begin with). I guess if this persists, I will need to uninstall this driver and replace it with the original."

MacFixIt reader Casey corroborates "When I woke the machine from sleep it did not reconnect to the network. Attempts to tell it to reconnect to the (WEP encrypted SSID Hidden) network failed with the o-so-helpful "error occurred" message. So, I power cycled the Airport Extreme base station even though a windows laptop in the house had signal... That didn't help. I rebooted the Powerbook and it still did not automatically connect on boot."

Workarounds

Use "Other..." option Some users have been able to connect to problematic networks by using the "Other..." option from the AirPort menubar or Internet Connect and manually entering the network name -- rather than selecting the network from the availability list.

Turn off, then back on MacFixIt reader Bill reports that turning the AirPort card off, then back on resolved his connectivity issues: "For the people who report not being able to connect to their own network, particularly after sleep, I've found that if I go to the Network System Preferences panel and turned Airport off, waited a few seconds, then turned it back on, or chose a network I knew didn't exist, then re-chose the working network, I could connect. Messing with Internet Connect did nothing, I had to use the Pref panel.

Cleaning caches Some readers have found that clearing system caches after applying the AirPort 2004-08-31 Driver Update worked to resolve connectivity issues and eliminate some system inability that occurred after the update.

A number of shareware utilities, including Cocktail and Panther Cache Cleaner will perform this duty.

Superficial signal gains While most readers report real-world, actual network speed gains with the AirPort update, a few note that signal strength indicators may be superficially higher in some cases.

MacFixIt reader Patrick C writes:

"The reception seems about the same, if not slightly better. But the system is claiming, via both the menu bar icon, and in Macstumbler [Ed.- A shareware Wi-Fi signal strength measurement tool], a much higher signal strength. Macstumbler previously reported highs in the 20s, but is now reporting highs in the 60s. Even when my connection totally drops, the meter in the menu bar never falls below 2 bars."

Improvement: Belkin PCMCIA card functional with WEP MacFixIt reader Steve Browning reports that the AirPort update finally allowed him to use a Belkin wireless PCMCIA card with a WEP-protected AirPort Extreme Base station:

"The Airport Driver update allowed my Belkin wireless PCICMA card in a G4 TiBook to connect to an Apple Airport Extreme base station for the first time. This was previously problematic as the WEP password was never recognized by the base station. The new driver seems to allow for some more intelligent password entries for third-party cards."

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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