Flaky WiFi Update: Not OS X Updates, Might be Parallels Desktop

By Todd Ogasawara
March 13, 2008 | Comments: 3

In an earlier blog entry, I speculated that my recent WiFi problems might be due to the batch of OS X updates a few weeks ago. However, although other people had similar problems, this assumption didn't make sense since it didn't look like it was as widespread as it should be (every Intel based Mac). I spent this evening with a couple of Terminal windows open and started looking at network behavior on my Mac. It started looking like Parallels Desktop for Mac might be the culprit. It occurred to me that I had finally gotten around to updating my installation of Parallels around the time of the last big batch of OS X updates. I tried simply disabling Parallels' network configurations for its Guest OSes. But, that was not enough.

So, I took a big gulp, uninstalled Parallels, and emptied my trash. Guess what? My network connectivity started looking normal after that. I'm not losing packets and sites (like Yahoo Mail) that did not resolve properly started appearing ok in my browser again.

It is hard to say that Parallels Desktop for Mac is the definitive culprit for my own Mac let alone other people with similar problems. But, my Mac's network connectivity is sure looking better since uninstalling it.

UPDATE: I spoke too quickly. The packet drops seems to have stopped after removing Parallels Desktop and turning off its network connections configurations for Guest OSes which persist even after removing Parallels. However, I'm still having some routing issues with some sites (but not as many as before). And, again, other non-Macs on the same network (including an iPod touch) are not encountering any network issues. I suspect I need to go into the network files from the command line and remove all references to Parallels network. Failing at that I may need to rebuild the Mac from scratch to get a fresh network configuration.

3 Comments

Todd Ogasawara

said:

Jeff: As far as I can tell, Parallels had NOTHING to do with my problem. It looks like it was, after all, a problem with the then current OS X update or, perhaps, a problem with my cable provider. A workaround that helped the situation was to switch from my cable providers DNS to OpenDNS. The reduced the frequency of disconnections. Note, however, that you need to switch back to the provider's DNS server when using a proxied service such as a T-Mobile/AT&T Wireless HotSpot or a hotel LAN connection.

December 16, 2008 3:56 PM

Jeff Gramlich said:

I'm having similar Wi-fi problems with my Mac which has Parallels 4.0.3540 installed. It's quite frustrating to carry around an ethernet cable all the time.

What happens when you uninstall Parallels? Do you lose your data? Do you lose your Windows programs? This is a scary thought, especially if it doesn't solve the problems (as suggested above).

How did you ultimately resolve this?

Thanks.

December 16, 2008 1:43 PM

Kevin Gibb said:

I have had a similar experience. I have the latest build and once we installed it I can not route to other subnets that belong to my private network. Local subnet and internet browsing are OK. Were you able to get anywhere with this? I left a post in the parallels forum. Thanks, Kevin

April 23, 2008 6:11 PM