Tag: OSX

Fix Apple Macbook Air/Pro Wifi Roaming Wireless Problems

As it can be expected from Apple, there is no user interface to adjust or change the wifi roaming agressiveness.
This is VERY IMPORTANT if for example you use Macbooks in a very dense wifi environment. If you have a Macbook that’s dropping packets when roaming or having trouble roaming from AP to AP, then open a terminal and run the following.

sudo /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Versions/A/Resources/airport prefs joinMode=Strongest

Of the options available, the “strongest” option tells the wifi drivers on the Macbook to connect to the AP with the strongest (and thus hopefully the closest) AP, when multiple APs are available to connect to. Apple has configured the default setting to keep you connected to the same AP as long as possible, even if a better one is available. This is great at home, but not in a corporate environment.

Here are the other options available:
JoinMode (String)
- Automatic
- Preferred
- Ranked
- Recent
- Strongest

Sources:
https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/66919/how-to-enable-faster-wifi-roaming-with-mac-os-x-airport-base-stations

airport – the Little Known Command Line Wireless Utility for Mac

Microsoft still hindering Outlook 2016 for MAC (OSX)

Coming from the PC version of Outlook, the latest MAC client, 15 (Office 2016 for Mac) is still missing several key usability features. The only reason to not implement these well liked (and requested via the official UserVoice forum) features is to send a “haha, good luck” to businesses trying to use Macbooks.

Missing functionality:

  1. Opening .MSG files.   Seriously?  2016 and Outlook can’t open it’s own messages?
  2. “Favorites” Folder options in the main window.
  3. The entire “To-Do Bar”.
  4. Quick Steps

Literally unusable (for me. Slight exaggeration I admit, but it’s amazing how much slower it is to use the app without those features.).

Super Easy Way to Mount a Shared Drive in OSX

OSX has problems “mounting” shared drives. The typical process is to open finder, click “Go” and then “Connect to Server”….

By following these quick steps you can get a Shared Drive icon on your OSX Dock.

  1. Open Finder, go to Preferences, Enable “Show Connected Servers”
  2. Connect to a Share via Finder -> Go -> Connect to Server (Typically SMB Share from a Windows Server or computer)
  3. After Connecting, you’ll see an icon for the Share on your Desktop. Drag that icon to the right side (document side) of your OSX Dock.
  4. Click the Icon for the Share anytime you need to connect to it!

Why Apple has to make this so difficult, I’ll never know. OSX needs a “Mount Shared Drive” option like Windows does. Until then, this is the closest solution.