Mac OS X 10.4.9 Special Report: AirPort: Loss of connectivity, card not recognized, more

Some users are reporting various difficulties with AirPort functionality after updating to Mac OS X 10.4.9, including an inability to recognize the built-in hardware, problems connecting to wireless routers (including AirPort Base stations) and more.

Apple made some significant AirPort modifications with this release, particularly in its modification of the AirtPort kernel extensions (/System/Library/Extensions/AppleAirPort.kext)

MacFixIt reader Michael writes:

"I have an iMac 2GHz PowerPC G5 Flat Panel that I just updated to Mac OS X 10.4.9, and after restarting I could no longer connect via AirPort. It says that 'no airport hardware found.'"

Your first course of action in the case of AirPort difficulties after installing the Mac OS X 10.4.9 update should be to try some of the less invasive workarounds offered in our tutorial "Fixing Wireless connectivity (including AirPort) problems: Dropouts, slow speed, more."

If the less drastic workarounds prove ineffective, you may want to try reverting to older version of the AirPort kernel extension via the following steps: [WARNING: This workaround is risky because you should not generally mix and match kernel extensions after updates, you will lose some improvements (including security refinements) brought about by Mac OS X 10.4.9, and new conflicts can ensue. Still, in a bind, it can restore wireless connectivity where other workarounds fail.]

1. Download the Mac OS X 10.4.8 combo updater appropriate to your system (from Apple's download page).
2. Download and install the shareware application Pacifist
3. Drag the Mac OS X 10.4.8 installer package (e.g. MacOSXUpd10.4.8Intel.pkg) onto the Pacifist application icon.
4. Click the triangle next to "System" to expand it
5. Click the triangle next to "Library" to expand it
6. Click the triangle next to "Extensions" to expand it
7. Scroll down and find the file AppleAirPort.kext. Drag it to your Desktop or another location (you will have to enter your administrator password)
8. On your Mac OS X startup drive, navigate to /System/Library/Extensions and locate a similarly named file (AppleAirPort.kext). Move it to another location for safe keeping.
9. Now drag the file from step 7 (the one that you retrieved from the Mac OS X 10.4.8 install package) into the /System/Library/Extensions, in effect replacing the newer file (installed by the AirPort updater) with and older copy -- you will have to enter an administrator password.
10. Restart your Mac

Index:

• Release notes
• Update procedure recommendation
• Common workarounds for when things go wrong post-update
• Downgrading to Mac OS X 10.4.8 (uninstalling Mac OS X 10.4.9)
• Files modified by this update

• AirPort: Loss of connectivity, card not recognized, more
• Application launch problems
• Bluetooth device issues
• Classic: Will not run, other issues
• Desktop icons missing
• Disk images not mounting
• Eject key issues: Longer duration before action takes place
• External optical drives: hardware errors
• Final Cut Pro/Express: Capture issues, performance concerns
• Finder persistently crashes and re-launches
• Frozen windows
• iSync issues/general synchronization problems
• Mail.app: junk filters not working
• Microsoft Office: Various issues
• Networking problems with Mac OS 9 systems
• Persistent booting into Windows
• Printer problems, fixes
• Problems starting up
• Quicken: .Mac backup failure: Fixes
• Resolved issues
• Secure site access broken: fixes
• Segmentation faults
• Server connection drops
• Third-party device issues (Nikon Capture NX, Griffin AirClick, more)
• Update to Final Cut Pro 5.1.4 for best performance
• Volume significantly louder: boon for some, drawback for others
• VPN connectivity issues
• WWAN update included, how to remove

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