mac mini wifi

Set up your router using Apple's recommended settings, and make sure that all Wi–Fi routers on the same network use similar settings. If you're using a dual-band Wi-Fi router, make sure that both bands use the same network name.

Analyze your wireless environment

Your Mac can use Wireless Diagnostics to perform additional analysis. 

1. Quit any apps that are open, and connect to your Wi-Fi network, if possible.
2. Press and hold Option (Alt) ⌥ key, then choose Open Wireless Diagnostics from the Wi-Fi status menu .
3. Enter your administrator name and password when prompted.

Wireless Diagnostics begins analyzing your wireless environment:

If the issue is intermittent, you can choose to monitor your Wi-Fi connection:

When you're ready to see recommendations, continue to the summary. Wireless Diagnostics asks for optional information about your base station or other router, so that it can include that in the report it saves to your Mac.

Click the info button next to each item in the summary to see details about that item. Wi-Fi best practices are tips that apply to most Wi-Fi networks.

Back up or make note of your network or router settings before changing them based on these recommendations—in case you need to use those settings again.

Monitor your Wi-Fi connection

Your Mac can monitor your Wi-Fi connection for intermittent issues, such as dropped connections. Follow the steps to analyze your wireless environment, but choose ”Monitor my Wi-Fi connection” when prompted.

During monitoring, a window shows that monitoring is in progress. Monitoring continues as long as this window is open and you're on the same Wi-Fi network, even when your Mac is asleep.

If Wireless Diagnostics finds an issue, it stops monitoring and shows a brief description of the issue. You can then resume monitoring or continue to the summary for details and recommendations.

Create a diagnostics report

Wireless Diagnostics automatically saves a diagnostics report before it displays its summary. You can create the same report at any time: press and hold the Option key, then choose Create Diagnostics Report from the Wi-Fi status menu . It can take your Mac several minutes to create the report.

• macOS Sierra and later saves the report to the /var/tmp folder of your startup drive, then opens that folder for you.
• To open the folder manually, choose Go > Go to Folder from the Finder menu bar, then enter /var/tmp.
• OS X El Capitan or earlier saves the report to your desktop.

The report is a compressed file with a name that begins “WirelessDiagnostics.” It contains many files that describe your wireless environment in detail. A network specialist can examine them for further analysis.

1. Go to the  Apple menu and choose System Preferences, then go to the “Network” panel
2. Selecting Wi-Fi from the left side menu, click on the “Advanced” button in the corner
3. Click into the “Preferred Networks” box and hit Command+A to Select All, then click the [-] minus button to remove all wi-fi networks – there is no confirmation it just happens instantly
4. Click “OK” to set that change
5. Back at the Network preference panel, pull down the “Locations” menu and choose “Edit Locations”
6. Click the [+] plus button to add a new network location, give it some name
7. Choose “Done”, then back at the Network panel again join the wi-fi network you want to connect to and enter the login details as usual
8. Choose “Apply” to set the changes and close out of System Preferences

Remove and re-add the Wi-Fi connection

• Go to Apple menu > System Preferences > Network
• Select Wi-Fi and click minus (-) button to remove. And click Apply.
• Now add the Wi-Fi interface by clicking the plus (+) sign. Select Wi-Fi as Interface and click Create.Then Click Apply and exit Settings.

Reset network settings

• Turn off Wifi by clicking the Turn Wi-Fi Off in the menu bar
• Go to Finder and click Go and Go To Folder… (or press Command+Shift+G)
• Enter the following and click Go /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/
• Select the following files:

com.apple.airport.preferences.plist

com.apple.network.identification.plist

com.apple.wifi.message-tracer.plist

NetworkInterfaces.plist

preferences.plist

• Copy these files to the desktop for a backup (you can restore them later by placing these folder back here again) and then delete (move them to the Trash) them from this folder. Make sure that they are no longer in the SystemConfiguration folder.
• Empty the Trash. Do not worry. Your Mac will recreate all new preference files for wireless networking.
• Reboot your Mac by going to Apple menu > Restart

Click on the cog (bottom left) of the network panel, select Service Order and make sure that Wi-Fi network is set to the top of the service order.

If it is a 2018+ Mac Mini Apple designed them so badly that if you have any USB devices connected at the back they will interfere with WiFi and Bluetooth and cause them not to work correctly.