At the recent Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco, Calif., Apple unwrapped the updated ultra-thin 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models with all-day battery life. Powered by fourth-generation Intel (News - Alert) Core processors with faster graphics, the new ultra-thin notebooks feature 802.11ac Wi-Fi and flash storage that is up to 45 percent faster than the previous generation. Storage in the 11-inch version has been doubled, and the price tag (News - Alert) for the 13-inch model has been lowered.

All that sounds good as long as the new MacBook Air notebooks are not put into operation. Because when turned on, users start complaining. The 9to5 Mac site reports that 802.11ac Wi-Fi chipsets being used in the new laptops seem to be the cause of the problem. The report indicates that the afflicted MacBook Airs will first connect to Wi-Fi hotspots, but then quickly drop the connection, requiring a restart to connect to the hotspot again. 


Image via Digital Trends

The iPhone (News - Alert) maker is investigating the problem and is in the process of getting hold of the affected ultra-thin laptops. According to Apple, users who are facing the Wi-Fi problem should take the machines to their Apple (News - Alert) Store and request a replacement.

In fact, since the release, a number of users have complained about Wi-Fi issues troubling their respective MacBook Air models released during the week of WWDC. As per the report, the MacBook Air’s Wi-Fi problems are due to networking issues in Apple’s OS X software. Meanwhile, other reports indicate that Apple experts are independently investigating to identify what exactly is causing the new Wi-Fi-related problems.

According to a user, AppleCare and Apple Store Genius (News - Alert) Bar employees have been instructed to “capture” affected MacBook Air units. These units will then be sent back to Apple for further testing so a solution can be generated quickly. Meanwhile, one of the customers with affected models told 9to5 Mac that AppleCare provided a complementary USB-to-Ethernet adapter so that the new MacBook Air could connect to the Internet without Wi-Fi.