Apple delivers another Yosemite beta as Wi-Fi issues persist

It's not clear what this second beta of Apple's OS is designed to fix

Apple has come out with a second beta of Mac OS X Yosemite for developers, but it's not clear whether this latest build will address the Wi-Fi problems that continue to affect an undetermined but apparently substantial number of users.

With this build, labeled 10.10.2 (14C68k), Apple didn't identify any specific problem areas it would like developers to focus on as they test the OS, according to multiple reports from news outlets and individuals with access to the release notes.

When Apple released the first beta of Yosemite little over two weeks ago, it asked developers to pay particular attention to several issues, including Wi-Fi, which has been a constant source of complaints since the OS came out.

That first beta yielded a formal OS update released to the public on Monday. However, that update, labeled 10.10.1, didn't stamp out the Wi-Fi problems. Affected users have continued posting complaints in Apple discussion forums, third-party sites and social media services.

The longest thread in the Apple Support site about this problem, titled "OSX Yosemite Wi-Fi issues," has more than 1,330 comments and has been viewed almost 259,000 times since Yosemite first came out in mid-October.

According to Computerworld, those figures stood on Monday at about 1,100 messages and 208,000 views, so since the release of the update the thread has grown by about 230 comments and by about 51,000 views.

The most common complaint from affected users is that after installing Yosemite their Wi-Fi connection becomes very slow or highly unstable, dropping every few minutes.

"Yup. Here on 10.10.1 on the same Retina MacBook Pro. Drops out about every 10 minutes for about 30-40 seconds, then remains somewhat stable for another 10 minutes before doing the same over and over again," reads the most recent comment posted on that thread, from a user identified as MrVinney96.

New threads have sprouted up specifically after the update failed to solve affected users' Wi-Fi problems.

Apple didn't respond to a request for comment on Friday, nor has it so far provided an explanation as to what might be causing the Wi-Fi problems, despite multiple attempts by IDG News Service and other news outlets to obtain information from the company.

Copyright © 2014 IDG Communications, Inc.