MacBook Pro M1 WiFi issue

I just got the M1 Pro MBP and got the same issue. The issue occurs when I use a usb-c adapter for HDMI. I've tried different adapters and thought it's the adapter issue, but changing adaptors didn't work. After I unplugged the HDMI from the adapter it worked for me.

Today has been the worst day since the problem started. There was way to get my computer to connect to internet. I tried wifi, nothing. I tried ethernet, nothing. Funny thing is that the computer is seen on the network by other computers when connected via ethernet.

I ended up reseting the PRAM and it worked. This whole situation is very frustrating especially when your work depends on it. APPLE, please fix this...

It is possible "lift it up" or "adjust the angle of the display" issues are showing a hardware issue such as a poor connection where the antenna wires clip on to the mainboard. These use a special connector.

A visit to the Genius Bar (appointment required, but no charge for evaluation) of you local Apple-Owned Store can put such issues to rest. These guys put their hands on these machine all day every day, and have tremendous insights about how they ought to be working.Be sure that you post out this and any other issues you may be having.

In my opinion, your network neighborhood is too crowded to operate reliably the way you have that set up. You have so much competition, it's a wonder anything works!

In my opinion, choosing a 40MHz data pathway in your very crowded 2.4GHz band invites the other Router data to clobber yours. I suggest you try dialing back to a 20 MHz data pathway in the 2.4GHz band, which should be more reliable in the long run.

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My problem is the reverse of yours. I am "out in the woods" so have no competition, but my house is solid masonry construction, and the signals just don't carry.

My answer has been to pull Ethernet cables. This allows me to cable desktop computers and printers directly, and to reach "satellite" Access Points without using awful "over-the-air" connections between access points. I recently added a powerline Ethernet/Router combination to reach a detached garage that has no ethernet cabling (and until recently, no Internet).

Update: now over 2 weeks since upgrading to Monterey12.1. Still going strong. No Wi-Fi dropouts and kernel panics.

UPDATE: I upgraded OSX to 12.1 on my MacBook. "Limit IP Address Tracking" was enabled by default, and the slow WiFi returned. I disabled this option and WiFi speeds are back to normal again.

Hello Luca,

We understand you've been experiencing Wi-Fi connectivity issues with your MacBook Pro with Apple M1 chip since first starting it. You've done a great job isolating it to this specific device, and confirming that you don't experiences issues if you're closer to your router.

We can also see that you've used other services to test your Wi-Fi connection. Have you tried analyzing your wireless environment using Wireless Diagnostics? If so, what were the results? If not, please see that section in this link for steps on how to use Wireless Diagnostics: If your Mac doesn't connect to the Internet over Wi-Fi

You also mentioned trying the suggested settings for your router. The Wireless Diagnostics provides additional utilities for network specialists. When reviewing this section in the same link above, please be sure to compare those to the Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points.

We'd also recommend ruling out any type of wireless interference that can cause Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity issues. Please see how to Resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference for steps on how to do so.

Cheers!

Luca,

You're very welcome! We want to be sure you're able to use your MacBook Pro as expected, so let's continue to work through this.

Since Wireless Diagnostics didn't find any issues, we'd recommend following the steps to analyze your wireless network, but instead of choosing to continue to summary, we'd recommend choosing "Monitor my Wi-Fi connection" when prompted. As long as the Wireless Diagnostics window is open and you're on the same Wi-Fi network, monitoring will continue even when your Mac is asleep. If needed, please see the section on how to monitor your Wi-Fi connection in the same link we used before. Here's that link again, just in case you need it: If your Mac doesn't connect to the Internet over Wi-Fi

You mentioned the network dropping when using more network intensive tasks, like video conferencing. We'd like to try replicating the Wi-Fi connectivity issues you've experienced while Wireless Diagnostics is monitoring your Wi-Fi connection.

If you're unable to replicate Wi-Fi connectivity issues, this tells us that your MacBook Pro and Wi-Fi connection are working as expected.

If you are able to replicate any Wi-Fi connectivity issues, knowing what was identified by Wireless Diagnostics will help us determine how to proceed.

Thanks!

I did not suggest this is a Router issue. I wanted to see if there was a way to set your 5GHz channel-width to 40 instead of 80, which users report as a good work-around.

This is not a "fix". It ought to work at 80, but 80 is unique in this band in that it often splits the bandwidth into two parts, which is the likely source of the problems.

I also wanted to suggest you do the software update to 11.5, in the remote chance the problem is fixed in that version.

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The online manual I found (by searching for the model number) says you can make more changes by skipping the iPhone App and connecting with a Web Browser, entering the Router IP address in the search bar, typically 192.168.0.1 Then choose Advanced administration.

But it does not say whether you can change the channel width from the initial setting of 80.

<< That's why I'm curious if any else is having the same issue and has a router where they can make that change does their problem go away. >>

Yes, another reader reported that changing to 40 MHz channel solved all their problems. That's not speculation --there is some (admittedly thin, but some) data behind it.

<< I live in a small apartment >>

Apartment dwellers often discover that the 2.4GHz band is COMPLETELY overwhelmed with neighbors' Routers. Dropping the connection when you have 10 other Routers visible is almost unavoidable.

Do you have a Router with 5GHz band? Have you tried the 40 MHz channel work-around?

I'm a college network administrator, and the "reduce the bandwidth" suggestion is absurd. Enterprise networks don't work that way -- we don't give any single client a bunch of channel width because we have too many clients for that.

Cray57 -- you have something I don't have, which is that it's your kid who has one of the affected computers. I've got a freshman girl who thinks I'm crazy and has disappeared. :-)

Tell your daughter to hold down the option key and click on the airport icon in the top bar of her mac. When you option-click, the menu has a bunch of extra options, including "Open Wireless Diagnostics..." Have her run the wireless diagnostics while connected to the school's APs, and then call Apple support, or take the output from multiple runs to the Genius Bar.

So I just want to make sure that people are remembering to "forget the network" on their new laptops and then rejoining it.

If you copied your laptop from a previous laptop I am wondering if there are settings from the previous thing that were somehow interfering. A bit far-fetched but after having loads of trouble initially, I haven't had any in a long time.

Actually, I both forgot my network by pressing the "-" button in the Advanced network settings and rebooted my router. Only after that did I rejoin the network.

My previous laptop did not speak 802.11/ax but my new M1 does.

So after the Monterey update finally finished and I got onto 12.0.1, the issue (knock on wood!) seems to be gone. Speeds are great, no packet loss to speak off and no random wifi drops for long periods.

I have a ping running from my daughter's room (worst possible location for wifi in the house) and it went nearly 3 hours with zero dropped packets!

Is anyone still experiencing this on 12.0.1?