Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Can a bad MacBook battery affect Airport connectivity?

by SteveSpatucci Mar 12, 2010 11:10PM PST

Hello Mac people.

A month ago, I started to get kicked off my wireless network seemingly random. I have eight devices on the network, but only my MacBook Pro was affected.

I use an Airport Extreme base station - the UFO-looking one from about 2006.

This wasn't regular "can't find the network", greyed-out Airport icon kicked off - the icon became an outline and no matter what I tried, only a restart would get me back on (often to be kicked off again within minutes).

Again, I have six devices on the network - my wife is in the same room, feet away, and her 2003 iBook stays on the network with no troubles.

A week after I started having this problem, I noticed my battery was no longer holding a charge. I just bought a new one.

My question: I didn't initially think there might be a connection between the two issues - dying battery and Airport connectivity - but now that I've had the new battery working for a day, I haven't been kicked off the network.

Could the bad battery have caused the Airport to totally disconnect?

Your help is appreciate - thank you.

Discussion is locked

3 Posts
- Collapse + Expand Details
- Collapse -
A good theory,
by mrmacfixit Forum moderator Mar 13, 2010 7:17AM PST

and it is a fact that Apple slow down the processor when a battery is not present in a Macbook.

Perhaps the two things, kicked off the network and defective battery, are connected.

P

- Collapse -
re: Can a bad MacBook battery affect Airport connectivity?
by b-boyben Aug 13, 2011 1:10PM PDT

I think it can. I have just replaced the battery and power cord on a Macbook 13inch because the battery was completely dead and the power cable burned itself out. I think the battery was just old and my guess is that, as well as being old, the cable was having to provide a lot of constant power as a result of the dead battery.

I was beginning to think that the whole Macbook had had it's day as the bluetooth was also dead and the wireless didn't work - I had been using a USB wireless antenna for some time which worked fine but having asked at a Mac repair place if it was worth working on the opinion came back that it was probably a motherboard issue and wasn't worth the expense of replacing.

However, having just powered up with new battery and cable the built in wireless is working perfectly once again. No more need for the USB plug in. I'm very pleasantly surprised! Seems that a dead battery does cause other hardware issues.

- Collapse -
Thanks for that.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Aug 13, 2011 1:23PM PDT

Always nice to read a nugget like this.

Back to Mac Hardware forum

CNET Forums

Operating Systems
Software
Electronics & Gadgets
Hardware
Tablets & Mobile Devices
General Help
Brand Forums
Roadshow Autos
Off Topic

Other Forums

Forum Info