I have a D-Link DIR-625 router with the most recent firmware. We have more than a dozen devices connected to the router, at least five of which routinely use the wireless connection to access the Internet. My Mac is the only of those devices that consistently experiences incredibly aggravating problems maintaining its connection.
Here’s what happens: When I open my MacBook Pro’s screen, AirPort immediately detects the presence of the access point and attempts to join. This is successful more often than not, but not always: sometimes it times out (requiring me to turn AirPort off and then back on again). Sometimes the connection is successful and I don’t have to worry.
But as often as not, it will acquire a local IP address – something like 192.168.1.104 – which never, ever results in connectivity to the Internet. At this point, I have to go into System Preferences, Network, Advanced, TCP/IP and click “renew DHCP Lease”. This sometimes results in a new IP address – like 192.168.0.190 – which always connects to the Internet. But other times it just results in the same IP address as before, or another local IP which doesn’t give me any connectivity. When that happens, it may take 6-10 renewals before I get the “right” IP address and can connect to the Internet.
My wife’s WinXP laptop doesn’t have this problem, nor do my BlackBerry or her iPhone. Is this a known problem with D-Link routers? Or is there some super-secret Mac config option I need to check like “[ ] Never acquire a useless IP address”?
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