Recently I noticed that my Apple computer (to be specific it's a 15-inch, Mid 2010 Macbook Pro) running OS X Mavericks was taking over a minute to connect to my home Wi-Fi access point after power up. This also occurs when it was waking up from the Sleep state. I didn't understand the cause and this was supremely frustrating as the system had booted but the internet could not be accessed. Search the web for a fix didn't help me but finally I noticed a setting in the Network connections preferences that partially fixed the issue. It turned out my Wi-Fi connection was not at the top of the Network 'Service Order' list and the operating system was trying to connect via other Bluetooth tethering connections I had set up in the past. Note that this only fixes this issue on power up not when waking from Sleep. If you think you have this issue you can fix this with the the following steps:
1. Open the Apple menu by clicking the Apple icon in the top left corner. In this menu click the 'System Preferences...' item.
2. The 'System Preferences' window will now be open. Now click the 'Network' application.
3. The 'Network' window will now be open. Now click the settings cog (with the downwards facing arrow to the right of it) in the bottom left corner. This will open the menu shown below in the bottom left. You can now click on the 'Set Service Order...' item from this menu.
4. The 'Service Order' menu will be open as shown below in the top middle. If your Wi-Fi connection is your priority connection then ensure it is at the top of the list of network connections (or services as they are called in the menu). As stated in the menu to drag each service by name to change the order to what you require. I dragged my Wi-Fi connection to the top of the list and my problem was solved.
5. Finally now you can press the 'Apply' button in the bottom right corner to save your new preferences.
If anyone knows how the Wi-Fi connection time after Sleep can be improved please let me know.
Update (26 Nov 2013): I believe I have now found a/the fix for the slow Wi-Fi connection after the system wakes up from sleep. Please continue on from the above steps with the steps below.
6. Press the left arrow in the 'Network' window to return to the 'System Preferences' window. Now click the 'Energy Saver' application.
7. The 'Energy Saver' window will now be open. Now ensure that the 'Wake for network access' tick box is not ticked.
The result for me was after waking the laptop from sleep the system now connects to my home Wi-Fi access point within 5s compared to more than 60s that I was previously waiting. Yay!
1. Open the Apple menu by clicking the Apple icon in the top left corner. In this menu click the 'System Preferences...' item.
2. The 'System Preferences' window will now be open. Now click the 'Network' application.
3. The 'Network' window will now be open. Now click the settings cog (with the downwards facing arrow to the right of it) in the bottom left corner. This will open the menu shown below in the bottom left. You can now click on the 'Set Service Order...' item from this menu.
4. The 'Service Order' menu will be open as shown below in the top middle. If your Wi-Fi connection is your priority connection then ensure it is at the top of the list of network connections (or services as they are called in the menu). As stated in the menu to drag each service by name to change the order to what you require. I dragged my Wi-Fi connection to the top of the list and my problem was solved.
5. Finally now you can press the 'Apply' button in the bottom right corner to save your new preferences.
Update (26 Nov 2013): I believe I have now found a/the fix for the slow Wi-Fi connection after the system wakes up from sleep. Please continue on from the above steps with the steps below.
6. Press the left arrow in the 'Network' window to return to the 'System Preferences' window. Now click the 'Energy Saver' application.
7. The 'Energy Saver' window will now be open. Now ensure that the 'Wake for network access' tick box is not ticked.
