MacBook Pro M1 WiFi issue

hey man, my m1 air also has a problem with 5GHz network which uses 802.11/ac. Sometimes it connects to 5GHz but most of the time it cannot. It connects to 2.4 GHz network which uses 802.11/n though. I have also early 2015 macbook pro which has no issue with neither networks. It always automatically connects to 5GHz and network is stable in general. So, it is clear that the problem is related with my m1 air.

Btw, 2.4GHz network is also quite unstable on my m1 air. At first i thought that this is related with my ISP. However, when i did speedtest at the same time for both my Macbook, download and upload speeds are always higher in my old macbook. Sometimes the difference is so dramatic that while there is no connection issue with the old one, m1 air cannot even handle 144p YouTube video. I am really frustrated by this. As i understand from this discussion, there are a lot of people here with similar problems. Therefore, i think it should be a software problem. So, should we return this flawed machine? Do you have any hope Apple solve this problem in the near future? I added the last speed test i did for both Macbook.

Well that was a super clever find of yours, especially if it holds up.

I wonder if you have many networks around you that you would consider joining? Also I wonder if your preferred network is at the top of the list. Oh - and I just reread your message more carefully and see that you asked the same question.

Meanwhile, the 80 mhz vs. 40 mhz made things worse for me, so I went back up to 80. I get 450 mbps via my closest satellite, which then must retransmit to the main router and out to the internet. I think that's pretty darn good considering the 45 networks within range of my laptop.

I routinely prune my list and there's only 5 at the moment, and none of them is a public one like starbucks or some hotel, so really places that are far from each other. I haven't had much trouble since the first few days, and I don't know why, except I deleted my networks and started over.

Anyway - get back to us if this continues to work well for you. I still consider it to be a nasty bug at the driver level most likely, but every little bit helps.

Just tested that (with awdl0 interface re-enabled prior to toggling Bluetooth off) and the disconnections returned immediately.

After a little googling, I found a report of one more user (possibly) having the same procedure working for them: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251462554

Similar issue, slow internet, dropped connections, migrated from a MB Pro 2018 which had no issues. Running 12.1 on a 14" M1 Max. Most expensive machine in the household with the worst wireless experience. Safe mode "fixes" it but how can it be explained that it works well in safe mode but not in regular boot mode? Also LAN connection does not seem to have the same issue, only wireless. Created New Named Network location with Apple Care support to no success. - very disappointing, maybe a hardware issue

Having the same wifi issue here. I bought the 16 inch M1 Max MBP right after it came out. The Wifi hasn't been working properly since day one. Every time I wake up in the morning and open my laptop, the wifi status in the menu bar appears perfectly normal, but the computer isn't actually connected to the internet. Chrome or any other application couldn't connect to the internet despite the system showing the Wifi connection as connected. This issue happens every day. It's very consistent. I have never had this issue on my previous Macs and all my Windows machines, including an intel i7 5k iMac, intel i9 5k iMac, 2020 16 inch MBP, 2017 13 inch MBP, etc. Don't tell me it's the router. I'm sure it's not. It has to be a software issue with the laptop itself.

Hi newusersince1991,

I was literally going to write the same note that you just wrote, perhaps in response to the bluetooth interference reference above.

I have been through this exact same experience back when 802.11/ac was the new kid on the block. Exact same situation. In the end, and 2 years later, it turned out to be a device driver issue. During those 2 years I spoke directly to engineers, reset my laptop from scratch multiple times (I got really good at it). I have no idea what finally pushed them to realize it was a device driver. One of my former colleagues got a job at Apple and he was the one who let me know. Maybe I should reach out to him and let him know it's happening all over again.

However, this is a little different now. At first my wifi could not find a signal ever and was always dropping and trying to reconnect, and was super slow and horrible. Since I reset my router and forgot completely my network, it has been nearly 100% reliable. But just the other day I experienced the same situation again for about 5 minutes ... Something that is not completely, 100% reliable is obviously much harder to debug. And with millions of laptops being sold, clearly not everyone is suffering the way we are. I think the people who suffer are those with modern wifi in their house, as I have now and as I had back then, and when more and more people catch up with their wifi infrastructure and start seeing issues, perhaps then we'll see a solution.

But yeah - I agree completely with everything you said including your last 2 words.

<< We are not asking you to be “the enforcer”, but  >>

There do seem to be a lot of issues, but there are also are a lot of users who said, "that works for me!" after following the so-called "generic" suggestions made here.

Apple can and will dig in on your specific case if you contact support and work with them:

Get Support

.

I am having the same issue. I bought the new M1 because I needed better RAM to run data processing platforms for grad school. However, the internet connection is constantly dropping so I've been having to use my previous MacBook Pro (from 2012) because the internet connection is so much better. I use both computers in the same place in my house on the same wifi network, so the internet connection and speed shouldn't be differing. My husband is also using the same network with his 2012 MacBook Pro and isn't having any issues, so I know it is an issue with the new M1 laptop and not my wifi. Very frustrating considering I spent over $1500 on the M1. Hopefully Apple figures out the issue soon.

My experience has taken a turn for the worse. I now have other people in the house with me using the same wifi with M1 Macs as well, and now my wifi is dropping often and routinely.

The system periodically decides it doesn't like the network it's on and picks another one from the list of 4 signals all on the same SSID. I have two 2.4 Ghz and two 5.0 Ghz, and it clearly picks the wrong one (sometimes) and other times it's just not on any and my wifi indicator in the menu bar is "searching":

I am getting > 300 mbits/second on the current selected channel even though it's not the strongest. The other one is much slower.

I spent three days and multiple hours on the phone with Apple support trying to diagnose and fix a similar issue. Brand new MacBook Pro and initially would not connect to the internet at all. After a format and OS install, I could connect to the Internet but not through my hotspot. Every other computer in my house could connect to the Internet through my hotspot. Finally just returned the computer very frustrated

Same issue for me. M1 is two months old and won’t connect at all on some days. Reboot 3 times then it works.

Disgusted.

Do something Apple.

xfinity seems to want to keep YOU out of your Router, so that you do not turn off access for every xfinity phone in the world to use your internet to connect.

what model xfinity gateway?

Yes, regularly on 12.0.1 -- keep monitoring via wireless diagnostics in addition to just noticing it in the moment.

¿Do you think just disabling Bluetooth (for those who have the luxury to do so) would work to improve stability as well?