4 ms·

I had exactly the same problem with OSX - all other devices were fine but my macbook would drop packets after 30 seconds or so. Only fix seemed to be a new rout

by gefh 10y ago

I had exactly the same problem with OSX - all other devices were fine but my macbook would drop packets after 30 seconds or so. Only fix seemed to be a new router. No problems since.

mjn 10y ago
Interesting! I looked quite a bit to see if there was anything OSX-specific that anyone else online had documented, but nothing I turned up seemed to pan out. I am reasonably certain that the ultimate culprit here is bad low-end wifi devices that either suffer from bad hardware (too little RAM, etc.) or bad software (some poorly tested customized version of embedded Linux), or both. But I'm really curious why only OSX seems to cause the problem to manifest in several of these cases.
- hug 10y ago
  Your article doesn't mention it: Have you tried using a statically assigned IP address? (Poor etiquette inside the DHCP range, but maybe if you just snarf the IP you've already leased..) I ask this because OS X's DHCP stack is known to exhibit some strange and unfriendly behaviours: http://cafbit.com/entry/rapid_dhcp_or_how_do http://cafbit.com/entry/rapid_dhcp_or_how_do
  - mjn 10y ago
    I did try that (though you're right that it's not in the article), setting the last DHCP address I'd received as static IP, but it doesn't seem to change anything. Still the same dropouts every ~30 seconds.
    - seiferteric 10y ago
      Maybe try force sending gratuitous ARP's every 10 seconds? Also it might be interesting looking at a packet capture from both android and mac laptop to see what the difference is.
- cotizo 10y ago
  Hi mjn! I am living in the UK at the moment, and I'm occasionally experiencing the very same issue. My OSX device randomly drops packets (for 30s at a time), while my Android phone has no issues. I am connecting to the internet via a broadband wifi router. I tried rebooting the router, but that does not always resolve the problem. However, when I reboot the Mac, the problem goes away for at least a couple of days.
the_mitsuhiko 10y ago
All UPC spplied routers in Austria have that issue. Does not matter whichbwifi is connected. Thr only way I could fix his is to put a second NAT up and have it make a new dhcp server below it. It's a well know problem that neother apple nor tompson are fixing :(
- xhruso00 10y ago
  UPC customer here as well, good to find I am not alone. Has this been reported to them?
  - the_mitsuhiko 10y ago
    I talked to the Austrian version of it and they seem useless. I don't think they understand there is a problem but as far as I understand it's the same story in other countries as well.

by gefh 10y ago

I had exactly the same problem with OSX - all other devices were fine but my macbook would drop packets after 30 seconds or so. Only fix seemed to be a new router. No problems since.

mjn 10y ago

Interesting! I looked quite a bit to see if there was anything OSX-specific that anyone else online had documented, but nothing I turned up seemed to pan out. I am reasonably certain that the ultimate culprit here is bad low-end wifi devices that either suffer from bad hardware (too little RAM, etc.) or bad software (some poorly tested customized version of embedded Linux), or both. But I'm really curious why only OSX seems to cause the problem to manifest in several of these cases.

hug 10y ago
Your article doesn't mention it: Have you tried using a statically assigned IP address? (Poor etiquette inside the DHCP range, but maybe if you just snarf the IP you've already leased..) I ask this because OS X's DHCP stack is known to exhibit some strange and unfriendly behaviours: http://cafbit.com/entry/rapid_dhcp_or_how_do http://cafbit.com/entry/rapid_dhcp_or_how_do
- mjn 10y ago
  I did try that (though you're right that it's not in the article), setting the last DHCP address I'd received as static IP, but it doesn't seem to change anything. Still the same dropouts every ~30 seconds.
  - seiferteric 10y ago
    Maybe try force sending gratuitous ARP's every 10 seconds? Also it might be interesting looking at a packet capture from both android and mac laptop to see what the difference is.
cotizo 10y ago
Hi mjn! I am living in the UK at the moment, and I'm occasionally experiencing the very same issue. My OSX device randomly drops packets (for 30s at a time), while my Android phone has no issues. I am connecting to the internet via a broadband wifi router. I tried rebooting the router, but that does not always resolve the problem. However, when I reboot the Mac, the problem goes away for at least a couple of days.

the_mitsuhiko 10y ago

All UPC spplied routers in Austria have that issue. Does not matter whichbwifi is connected. Thr only way I could fix his is to put a second NAT up and have it make a new dhcp server below it. It's a well know problem that neother apple nor tompson are fixing :(

xhruso00 10y ago
UPC customer here as well, good to find I am not alone. Has this been reported to them?
- the_mitsuhiko 10y ago
  I talked to the Austrian version of it and they seem useless. I don't think they understand there is a problem but as far as I understand it's the same story in other countries as well.