"Subject: RealPlayer causes unstable WiFi connection on MacBook
(I asked if problems occurred only when a browser was running)
The problem manifested itself irrespective of whether the browser was running and irrespective of whether RealPlayer was running. i suspect it has something to do with RealPlayer Downloader (or whatever that app is called which comes with RealPlayer) which starts whenever it detects a movie playing in your browser window and asks whether you'd like to save it (kind of useful), but on my system it seems to have interfered with the system's ability to access the net even when i wasn't using the browser.
(original mail on this issue follows)
I just thought I'd mention something which your readers may find helpful. I've posted the following onto the Apple discussion forums, but given the amount of noise over there it may easily be missed by people looking for a solution.(He has several threads on WiFi problems in Apple's Macbook forums. This is a copy of his last one on Realplayer being a culprit.-Mike)
As I've mentioned in another thread here, RealPlayer was the cause of my WiFi net connection problems. Very briefly, my previously unproblematic WiFi connection started dropping out every couple of minutes - the AirPort icon would still say that the connection was there, but I just couldn't get any network activity at all. The only way to solve the problem was to go to the AirPort icon, switch off AirPort, switch it back on, the system would re-connect, and within a couple of minutes it would disconnect again. Very annoying.

I then noticed that the internet connection problems were related to my use of another WiFi enabled device on my WiFi LAN. For instance, if I connected my iTouch to the network the MacBook would disconnect within a minute; if I connected my Nokia E51 (also a WiFi enabled device) to the wireless network then the MacBook would also disconnect. Somehow whenever device connected (or even _attempted_ to connect) to the network, the MacBook would freak out and drop the connection.

Eventually, someone posted a report which suggested that un-installing RealPlayer solved the problem. I tried this fix and instantly the problem went away. Before the problem was replicable like clockwork, but now over the last three days the MacBook has never disconnected from the WLAN even though I've been using my other wlan-enabled devices on my wireless network.

Moral of the story: if you're having wireless networking problems, and you have RealPlayer installed, then try uninstalling it since apparently it interferes with the system's wireless internet connection (hard to believe that an app could interfere with a system-wide service, but that's exactly what it does).

I hope this is helpful to some frustrated soul out there who's pulling their hair out trying to figure out why their net connection isn't stable. If the solution works then send me good karma please. =D
Cheers, dr.colekat"

I don't have Realplayer installed on this Mac, but I remembered seeing a RealPlayer 11.0.1 build 949 update Thursday that noted several fixes including "Addressed an issue with connectivity on some wireless networks". I asked if she tried the latest RealPlayer update to report back if it solved the problem. (I also asked just for the record if she'd installed the recent Airport Extreme 2008-004 update - she said yes.)
Another reader replied to this post he'd seen the same problem:

Another reader replied to this post:

"Real Player effecting WiFi
I, too, had this problem. My wife's MacBook began having issues connecting for any lengthy period to my TimeCapsule. Backups were nearly impossible.
We sent the unit away for repair, to no avail. It wasn't until a AppleCare tech had me remove some of the system plugins that I saw the Real Player issue solved. I scoured the net and found no one else with a similar issue, so I chalked it up to bad luck. I see now, that wasn't the case.
-David"

And a later reply noting the RealPlayer update released yesterday seems to have helped:

"Hi Mike, Also had the same problems, with wireless intermittantly dropping connection on the Macbook after installing Realplayer. Thought at first that it was problems with interference on the network, and tried changing frequencies to no avail. Then I saw this post, and installed the latest update from realplayer (RealPlayer 11.0.1 build 949).
Now everything seems to be back to normal and stable like it has been for the last 5 years. Thanks for the advice.
All the best, Dave"

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