How to Diagnose Your Mac’s Wi-Fi Problems
A good place to start when looking at Mac Wi-Fi problems and dropping or lost connections is to diagnose the issue. The native macOS Wireless Diagnostics tool can be quite helpful. If you are experiencing more than just Wi-Fi issues, it may be a good idea to learn how to fix an unresponsive Mac. Tip: if your noise levels are high or spiking, try finding a better Wi-Fi channel. Alternatively, log in to your router settings through your browser and change from the 2.4GHz band to the 5GHz band.
How to Fix Mac Wi-Fi Not Working After Sleep-Wake Cycle
This is a common problem for Mac users. After the computer wakes from sleep, the Wi-Fi won’t work or the connection keeps dropping.
How to Fix Common Mac Wi-Fi Problems
Below are several different solutions to try when your Mac won’t connect to Wi-Fi. They’re not in any specific order, so feel free to choose one that looks like it may help with your issues. If the first option you try doesn’t work, move on to another. These solutions apply to both Monterey and Ventura.
Restart Your Mac
Before getting into more complex solutions, try restarting your Mac to see whether this resolves the problems with your Wi-Fi dropping. If your Mac connects to the Wi-Fi after it restarts, it could be a temporary glitch. Click on the Apple logo in the Menu Bar and select the item labeled “Restart” from the drop-down list. Follow the onscreen prompt to restart your Mac.
Disconnect Your USB and Wireless Signal Devices
This is a simple troubleshooting method. You can get things back up and running by disconnecting any USB and USB-C devices on a temporary basis. There’s a simple reason why this could be a solution: some USB devices emit a wireless signal that can interfere with your connection. Devices such as USB hubs can also disable the Wi-Fi port. This is similar to how a plugged-in Ethernet cable can disable your Wi-Fi connection. First try disconnecting your USB devices one by one to see whether the Wi-Fi connection comes back.
Reset the NVRAM/PRAM and SMC
You can also try resetting the Parameter Random Access Memory (PRAM) / Non-Volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM) and the System Management Controller (SMC). These are the areas of your Mac that control basic operations that are critical for basic system functions. However, you won’t be able to do this reset on an Apple Silicon machine, as it doesn’t have an SMC. The equivalent is to turn the machine off, wait 30 seconds, then boot it back up. For an Intel machine, start with the PRAM. There are five straightforward steps: As for SMC, the process will vary depending on whether your Mac is a desktop or laptop and whether it has a removable battery. Look up your particular Intel or Apple Silicon machine to find which method you should follow to reset the SMC.
Reconfigure the DNS
In layman’s terms, the Domain Name Server (DNS) converts IP addresses into readable web addresses (such as “maketecheasier.com”). It’s akin to a phone book of sorts for the Internet. This step will only address Internet connectivity issues, assuming your Mac can connect to your Wi-Fi network. However, sometimes the given DNS for a service provider won’t work properly. You can test this theory with a free public DNS. There are a few providers, but Google and Namecheap have solid solutions. Here, we’re using Namecheap’s public DNS or 198.54.117.10. Follow these steps to reconfigure the DNS.
Adjust Packet Size
If only some pages are failing to load, it could be down to the number of packets (or “data”) that can transmit across the network. Adjust the value to let all sites load without fail. You’ll have to monitor the performance and connection, much like reconfiguring the DNS, to ascertain whether these changes resolve your problems.
Change Network Location and Renew DHCP Lease
Sometimes the automatic location determined by your Mac isn’t correct. In these cases, we can set up a custom location and settings and renew the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) lease and Internet Protocol (IP) address. DHCP is a protocol to help you arrange IP addresses, so changing it can help make sure traffic goes to the right location. Browse the web and monitor your performance and connection before trying another option in this list.
Forget Your Wi-Fi Network
If you are having trouble establishing a reliable connection to a Wi-Fi network try “forgetting” the network before reconnecting to it. Your Mac will always attempt to automatically connect to Wi-Fi networks it has previously connected to. If the attempt to connect fails, your Mac will keep trying with no success. Break this endless cycle by forgetting the network that you are trying to connect to.
Check for System Software Updates
Apple frequently issues updates to macOS addressing some of the most common network connectivity issues. If you are having difficulty maintaining a stable Wi-Fi connection, it is a good idea to keep your Mac up to date. Image credit: Wes Hicks via Unsplash. All screenshots by Brahm Shank.
