Disclaimer: I tried this workaround and it fixed my Wi-Fi Disconnecting issue after installing the update OS X 10.10.2 via Mac App Store. So thought to share it here to help people fix WiFi disconnecting problem.
I am using iMac 27 Inch 2014 model and today morning i updated to OS X 10.10.2. I never had WiFi related issues since i bought mac, for the first time i faced this issue and it was so frustrating. Some time ago when apple rolled out 10.9.4, mac users reported WiFi frequent disconnect issue and not able to connect to any WiFi router, even it sits right next to their mac computer.
Apple rolled out OS X 10.10.2 Yosemite update to address Wi-Fi Disconnect issue, web pages slow loading issue, spotlight problem, bluetooth headphones not syncing issue and so on. You can read about the update details from apple website.
After updating to OS X 10.10.2 my mac wifi connection frequently drops. checked the router status and it was connected and working fine on my iPhone. So figured out that its the problem with the latest OS X Yosemite update. So i tried a workaround and it works for me. The WiFi stays stronger and works like before without any problem. As apple promises with the update, webpages loads faster and smoother without any trouble.
Table of Contents
Solution #1: OS X WiFi Disconnect Issue Fix
Lets discuss the steps involved.
Step 1: Go to “Network Preferences” and select the WiFi Network you have connected with your Macbook or iMac.
Step 2: Delete that network from the list by selecting “-” icon below the list.
Step 3: Now Restart your Mac and once Desktop loaded, visit “Network Preferences” tab or click on “WiFi” icon to see the list of networks to connect.
Step 4: Now connect your WiFi Router by selecting the Router SSID, if its an Hidden Network then select “Join Other Network” and proceed with the details to connect to your WiFi.
Solution #2: Revert WiFi Driver to OS X 10.10.1 version
Well, it is not possible by everyone to revert back to OS X 10.10.1 after updating to OS X 10.10.2. Apple should really give an easy way to revert the OS X version understanding they sometimes screw up the users mac computer in the name of updates and thinking everyone who owns a mac owns an Apple Time Machine. But here we have an unofficial workaround to get the WiFi Driver version rollback done from OS X 10.10.2 to OS X 10.10.1. The actual credit goes to Lysin and HKWAY for coming up with the solution.
Lets revert WiFi Driver version on Mac OS X. The Steps Involved are,
Step 1: Exit or Turn Off WiFi Connectivity completely before replacing the newer version with older version of WiFi Driver.
Step 2: Go to “/System/Library/Extensions” and take a backup of “IO80211Family.kext” file by saving it in someplace safer in your local hard disk drive.
Step 3: Download the older version OS X 10.10.1 WiFi Driver version from the link and extract the compressed file to find “IO80211Family.kext” file.
Step 4: Copy and Paste it in the Extensions directory and when it prompt for replacing the file, select “replace” and finish the replacing of WiFi Driver file.
Step 5: Reboot your Mac once and Turn on WiFi from the top right corner of your Mac desktop and connect to your WiFi Router. If it prompts for a Password, then enter and save the settings.
If you have any trouble with the WiFi settings, make sure to restore the backup file which you have saved at Step 2.
Once connected, you should see WiFi Connectivity is pretty stable and there are no issues with the WiFi connection at all. As it mentioned in the update details list, the webpages and youtube videos should load faster and smoother on your web browser.
Solution #3: How to Reinstall OS X Yosemite?
Well, if above 2 solutions didn’t work for you or WiFi Driver corrupted after you rebooted the mac, then consider Reinstalling OS X Yosemite 10.10 to your Mac. Reinstallation of OS X Yosemite replaces all the systems and leaves the Files, Documents, Apps Installed unchanged. So you dont have to worry about any data loss. But as a safety measure it is always recommended to take a backup copy of important files and documents to secondary hard disk drive.
Time Machine Backup: If you have setup Time Machine, then you can instantly rollback to OS X Yosemite 10.10.1 version and ignore all these three steps suggested above.
Thanks for reading and if the solution recommended here didn’t fix your WiFi problem, then share more details in comment box below and let us try some other ways to fix it. Also for any Mac OS X, Windows and Android related questions ask it in our DailyTUT Answers section. Have a Productive Day.
Hey
So I did exactly what the video said and after coping the file to Extensions ut says that the files us corrupted and adter restarting my wifi says there is no wifi hardware found!
Please help!
Hello Pious, I am very sorry to hear that. There is a solution suggested by an youtube user in the video tutorial.
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Few hints about how to fix “Wi-Fi: No hardware installed” problem. However they are quite advanced and require some knowledge about your computer, so feel free to ask questions if you don’t understand anything. The reason for problem is that your *.kext file changes (permissions, file attributes), when you’re moving it back and forth between folders, and system can’t recognize changed file as extension and use it, when you put it back.
The easiest way to understand that it’s your problem: go to System Preferences -> Network, press “+” sign and you won’t see “Wi-Fi” option under Interfaces dropdown.
1. Simple way
Put original IO80211Family.kext back, go to https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6603587, download Kext Utility from the third post and run it, wait until it fixes problems, then reboot. If you still can’t use Wi-Fi look at the Advanced way
2. Advanced way
In my case problem appears because I put original IO80211Family.kext into Dropbox folder and it changed file attributes. Open Terminal application and run following command:
$ ls -la /System/Library/Extensions/IO80211Family.kext/
If you see “drwxr-xr-x@”(with @ at the and), then it’s your problem.
To fix it run following command:
$ ls -l@ /System/Library/Extensions/IO80211Family.kext/
drwxr-xr-x@ 7 root wheel 238 Jan 28 16:36 Contents
com.dropbox.attributes 83
You can see list of attributes. Only one “com.dropbox.attributes” is here in my case. Your goal to remove them all using following command for each attribute present in your case (don’t forget to change attribute name to your own):
$ sudo xattr -d -r com.dropbox.attributes /System/Library/Extensions/IO80211Family.kext/
Reboot and enjoy your disconnecting Wi-Fi again.
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If you are not comfortable with following these steps, i would recommend you to reinstall OS X which is suggested in Solution #3. That should replace all your system files back on track including WiFi Driver issue. Its time consuming but the last option to fix wifi in OS X yosemite after latest update.