Wifi Won't Connect; Connection Timeout (Mac)

Solution 1:

Been there, done that. I found the source to my problem, but not something that might be a general answer for all with this problem.

After exhausting the other answers here, I just started trying anything. What I discovered was that I have an external HD connected by firewire, and had it running when I rebooted after installing software. With the drive running, no connection. I shut off the drive and it immediately connected. Go figure! It runs fine of I start the drive after startup, but not during. (Mac Mini C2D 2.54, OS X 10.8.3)

Perhaps the wires acted as antenna or otherwise changed the power available to the Wi-Fi chipset, but I'm not seeing these timeouts after changing my connected devices and cables.

Solution 2:

A common fix for this is to make a new location under the Network pane in System Preferences.

Open System Preferences. Click on Network. In the window that loads after that, near the top, is a drop-down menu labelled "Location:" Click on the drop-down menu and choose "Edit Locations..." In the next window that slides down click the + sign. A new line will appear ready to be given a name. I usually enter the date to help me keep track of when I made the new location, and to help prompt my memory why I did it. Give it a name. When you click ok that new location will load automatically. You may have to delete the extra connections you don't use, such as Bluetooth PAN, or Firewire, just to keep the side pane clean. In that side pane choose Wi-Fi, wait for it to automatically locate and attempt to connect to your wireless network, enter your password (and/or whatever steps you do, if you manually have to enter the wi-fi name if it is hidden, for example), and voila, connected again.

But no one really knows why it lost the connection in the first place. Just a weird bit about OS X.

Solution 3:

Going into keychain and deleting the entry for the wifi network solved it. Just connected to the network again and entered my credentials.

There was something wrong with either the password (I doubt this) or the authentication mechanism that was somehow paired with the keychain entry.

Anyway, this also means that going the manual way, as suggested by drovnik will also work, though I have not tried it.

Solution 4:

Usually when connection timeout occurs, you can attempt the following common solutions.

1. Turn off WiFi and turn it back on.

You can try resetting the connection information for your router by "forgetting" the router information:

1. Go to System Preferences > Network: Wifi -> Advanced.
2. Remove your Preferred Network.
3. Rejoin network.

You can try resetting your router:

1. Unplug your router and plug it back in after 10-20 seconds.

You can't transmit on the same channel as other wifi networks. If there is a conflicting router, it may be taking precedence over your router.

1. Go to About this Mac -> More Info... -> System Report -> Network: Wi-Fi
2. If your router is running on the same channel as other networks, try changing that:
3. Plug in via ethernet or try getting closer to your router...
4. Connect to your router (IP is located in the connection information in your Network preferences)
5. Change the Router channel to a channel that's not being used by other networks around you.
6. Restart your router.

If the above still doesn't work, a corrupt entry in your keychain may be the culprit:

1. Go to Keychain Access
2. Find all the entries that match your router.
3. Highlight all matching entries and delete them.

If the above still doesn't work, try some of the troubleshooting tips from here: Wifi Dropping in OSX Lion - Fixes

If all else fails, upgrade to Mountain Lion. That will solve everything. :)