Some people who have updated their Macs to OS X 10.10.3 are noticing dropouts in Wi-Fi connectivity. While such problems have affected past OS X versions, in these cases often the problems only started after updating to version 10.10.3, and not before.
Whenever Wi-Fi problems crop up in OS X, unfortunately there can be a myriad of reasons that might take meticulous troubleshooting to fix; however, one issue that seems common to many affected people is some interference with the iCloud syncing features in Photos.
When you updated your Mac to OS X 10.10.3, you will have installed Apple’s new Photos program that is a replacement to iPhoto and bridges the Photos experience with the Photos experience in iOS.
As with the iOS version, this not only manages your photos in a local library, but also syncs them to iCloud, and the way Photos handles them appears to be causing some Wi-Fi connections to be lost.
Unfortunately, this type of issue will likely require a fix from Apple; however, in the mean time you can address it by disabling Photos’ various iCloud-related settings, especially if you keep your photos organized on your system and only use iCloud as a peripheral syncing and sharing service:
- Open Photos.
- Go to the Photos > Preferences menu.
- Go to the iCloud section.
- Uncheck iCloud Photo Library
After doing this, see if your Wi-Fi connection becomes more stable. If not, then try unchecking the other options in this preferences setting, including My Photo Stream and iCloud Photo Sharing.
Uncheck these options in the Photos program’s preferences. Do so systematically and test your Wi-Fi connection to see if it helps your network stability.
