I’ve read recently that the Macbook Pro has issues with wifi signal, surmised to be caused by the aluminum case blocking the signal, or possibly due to faulty internal antennas. My 13″ Macbook desperately needs replacing (it owes me nothing, has been a workhorse for 4 years), and I’m leaning towards a 15″MBP. I’m concerned with what seems to be a not insignificant amount of instances of intermittent and not-easily-diagnosed wifi issues.
The aluminum case is of great interest to me, as the plastic case on my current laptop has many cracks, despite my loving care and attention. Also, my eyes beg for a larger screen and work area; I’ve actually toyed with the notion of the 17″, but require portability.
Is there a documented fix to this potential problem (that not every user seems to experience, which is troubling!)?
— Marissa
The newest MacBook Pros have a plastic strip along the back that houses the antenna. So the aluminum case shouldn't affect it. I'm not sure where you read that there were antenna issues, but I've never experienced any with my latest-model 13-inch MacBook pro.
the wifi issue is definitely out there. ive had the problem for months now (13" unibody mbp) and its been discussed to great lengths on other message boards all over the web. from what i've heard there isnt a fix or a 'cause' for it either.
I had problems getting a wifi connection with my 13" unibody Macbook Pro (5,5) when colleagues with plastic-body Macbooks had good connections. This was in a brand new elementary school, so the router should have been good. Sadly the Windows-centric district IT staff didn't want to help and AppleCare could not help. I finally used an Airport Express Base Station to set up my own network in the room when I needed internet access. I cured the problem by retiring.
I was having this problem as well - but we were able to identify that the signal would only drop when the microwave was on :)