KeepWiFiOn

On OS X, if Wi-Fi gets turned off, then automatically turn it back on.

What's the point of this?

Mac OS X Mavericks created a small problem for some users of antiquated MacBook Pros: when Wi-Fi gets turned off, the computer freezes within a few minutes. Rebooting does not help, because upon boot, the computer checks the Wi-Fi state, sees that it's off, and freezes again.

KeepWiFiOn prevents your computer from freezing by:

1. Turning Wi-Fi on automatically every time your computer boots
2. Monitoring the status of Wi-Fi during regular computer usage, and forcing Wi-Fi back on whenever it gets turned off

There is usually a delay of at least a couple seconds between turning Wi-Fi off and the computer freezing, so KeepWiFiOn should have enough time to get in there and save your computer.

KeepWiFiOn is only a band-aid solution, as it does not fix the underlying issue of why turning Wi-Fi off freezes the computer for some users. Perhaps only Apple can address that, but in the meantime KeepWiFiOn can spare you some frustration.

Installation

Option 1 (simplest):

1. Download the file install_KeepWiFiOn (right click and save link target) to ~/Downloads
2. Open Terminal and run the command ~/Downloads/install_KeepWiFiOn

Step 2 will download all the program files from this GitHub repository and install them. It may prompt you for your password, as it uses sudo to move the downloaded files around. After installation you can delete the installer if you'd like.

Option 2 (slightly less simple):

1. Download the following files (right click and save link targets) to ~/Downloads:

• install_KeepWiFiOn
• local.KeepWiFiOn.Daemon.plist
• local.KeepWiFiOn.Agent.plist
• turn_on_wifi

2. Open Terminal and run the command ~/Downloads/install_KeepWiFiOn --local

In this case Step 2 will use the files you already downloaded. Note that all 4 downloaded files must be in the same directory (e.g. ~/Downloads). The installer may prompt you for your password, as it uses sudo to move the downloaded files around. After installing you can delete all the downloaded files if you'd like.

The advantage of Option 2 is that if something goes wrong during installation, you can try again without having to redownload the files every time.

Uninstallation

1. Down the file uninstall_KeepWiFiOn (right click and save link target) to ~/Downloads
2. Open Terminal and run the command ~/Downloads/uninstall_KeepWiFiOn

Note that the uninstaller will only attempt to remove files created by the installer, not files that you downloaded. The uninstaller may prompt you for your password, as it uses sudo to remove the files created by the installer.

Disclaimer

This software is meant to be run on OS X Mavericks (and maybe later OSes, if the Wi-Fi bug persists). I have only tested KeepWiFiOn on my computer, a MacBook Pro 17" from late 2007, running OS X 10.9.4. I obviously cannot guarantee that it will work for you. If you do encounter any issues, please let me know.