Internet issues on Monterey

I had been experiencing the same problem since updating to Monterey - and I do use Cisco AnyConnect. After reading all 11 pages on this thread until midnight last night, I did one last hail-mary google search - and I found a fix that has kept my connection ON ALL DAY today.

I followed the advice in the third solution on this page - which isn't exactly about the dropped internet connections, but does make references to many of the topics brought up in this thread.

https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/420773/the-process-com-cisco-anyconnect-macos-acsockext-hogs-mac-cpu-but-cannot-be-kill

In a nutshell, the solution that worked for me:

Go into the Applications folder and open the Cisco folder.

Delete the Cisco Socket Filter application but NOT the Anyconnect client.

I have a 2019 iMac running Monterey 12.4. This problem didn't seem to start immediately after the update - maybe a week later? All of a sudden I was dropping internet connection (every few minutes). I assumed it was the access point or the modem, so I wasted a bunch of time resetting those. Then I realized every single other device was working normally. Only my computer was dropping the connection. I did all the wifi setting changes others have tried, with no luck. Rebooting in safe mode, then in normal mode, seemed to help, but only for about an hour - then back to dropping the internet connection every few minutes. Had to use my phone as a hotspot to get work done. I did notice that on Chrome I would get the DNS Error screen, followed by the No Internet screen - as described throughout this thread. If I let it sit and spin for 30-90 seconds, the connection would come back (and then drop again after a few minutes). Rinse and repeat.

I should also mention that over the past several days I've heard the fan come on inside my computer. The back was very hot to the touch. This was mentioned in the page I linked to above. Since deleting the Cisco Socket Filter application, my computer isn't getting hot any more (at least not all day today). I tested the connection to my work VM - successful. Pages have been loading in all browsers, all day.

Right now I'm praying I didn't just jinx myself by declaring this problem solved on this machine.

Wow, this is a long thread. Sorry to hear that.

I have a few new suggestions, however I think first, (And forgive me if this has been said already), best test is to see is the internet drops while in recovery mode. This may help to determine the culprit as you are not booted from your normal startup disk, this may help to see if it’s a hardware, software, or network conflict. Please test Safari while in recovery mode:

Use macOS Recovery on a Mac with Apple silicon - Apple Support

Use macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac - Apple Support

Thanks!

I had the exact same problem after installing the MacOs Monterey update. After trying all recommended solutions, the following fix was the only one that resolved all WiFi-problems I had:

• To get rid of problems, navigate to System Preference> Network> Wi-Fi.
• Hit Advanced> DNS.
• In the DNS Servers section, one or more IP address will be featured.
• (Take a picture of or write down the existing DSN Servers, as they might disappear in the next step).
• Now, tap on the Plus-Sign (+) Button and write 208.67.222.220.
• You have to perform the same procedure using 208.67.222.222.
• (You have to perform the same procedure using the DNS Servers you wrote down if they disappeared).
• Hit OK> Apply
• (Restart your Mac)

I hope this works for you as well!

I may have found the cause of this issue (at least on my Mac). Is anyone else having this issue running AdGuard for macOS? It's an excellent ad-blocking, privacy, malware protection layer that I've been using on macOS for 7 months and on Windows and Android for a couple of years now. However, there may be some issues with AdGuard and macOS Monterey. Since disabling AdGuard, I haven't had any DNS or other network issues for more than two days. I'm working with AdGuard support to troubleshoot.

Another important piece of information is that I was using a wired connected to my cable modem. I had forgotten about that. This proves Wi-Fi configuration was definitely not a factor—although I was already confident about that since my network connection was rock solid for 7 months until upgrading to Monterey.

I was able to work this out with a senior technician at Apple (AFTER updating to 12.1 today).

After doing a million other steps the thing that got my speed back was by going to System Preferences > Network > Location, Edit Location > Hit the plus sign and add a location (I left it "untitled") then hit done.

It took a second for the ethernet/wifi to reconnect and turn green but when they did I ran my speed test which went from 0.09 mbps upload to 50.0 mbps

An interesting point was that the speed was normal (fast) in safe mode before I made these changes.

I hope this helps. Cheers.

I just downloaded and upgraded to the latest version of AnyConnect and now the race condition is gone (anyconnect-macos-4.10.04071-predeploy-k9). I did have the same issue with AnyConnect/DNS before now

I have a MacbookPro 16" 2-19 Intel Core i9 with Monterey 12.1 I have the same issue where DNS stops responding after 24 - 48 hours. Either a reboot or executing the following 2 commands fixes this. The commands are:

sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; 

sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

This command netstat -anxv -p udp | wc -l shows the following counts:

• Under Monterey 12.1 total count is forever increasing. It is well above 103K
• Under BigSur macOS 11.6.2, the total count does not exceed 100

Clearly, Monterey has issues. Apple needs to address this ASAP.

Thanks,

AT

Can confirm. The number of sockets now remains stable, which indicates that the system correctly removes them once they are closed. This should prevent the runaway/exhaustion condition from popping up again. I will report if anything changes, but for now, it looks like Monterey 12.2 fixed the problem with Cisco AnyConnect.

Thank you mtohidn for correctly diagnosing the problem earlier.

To clarify the above post, go to System Preferences->Network and under the Location menu at the top, select Edit Locations…. Here you will hit the + (plus) button and create a new location. I called mine "Monterey". Then, as stated, click Apply in the lower right of the prefs pane.

Worked for me.

After updating to Monterey 12.2.1 I immediately began having problems with websites freezing; I'd have to reboot the computer to get it to "unfreeze" only to have it freeze again later. My wife also started having issues with streaming videos freezing on her iPad. Finally I rebooted the router/modem and voila!, the problem disappeared. My suspicion is that the downloading of 12.2.1 (just a w.a.g.) did something to the modem...what, I could not say. It only takes a couple of minutes, worth a shot. Actually, I'm beginning to think that this (reboot the modem) should be the 1st step in any trouble-shooting exercise.

I had this same problem with an update with Monterey 12.2.1. I allowed the update to come through overnight and in the morning no internet access. Following the messages below about 3rd party software, I uninstalled my Norton 360, and internet access was restored.

I have a similar problem; DNS queries on Monterey periodiically fail on "POSSIBLE_DNS_PROBE" (on Chrome) with similar errors on other browsers and "SERVFAIL" on dns queries using "dig". The problem does not occur with queries directed to a local DNS server. It does happen using multiple ISP's.

I'm usually able to resolve the issue and restore DNS access by flushing the cashe. The command I use is:

"sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder" (in a terminal window).

I am experiencing the same problem with 12.3.1 - after a few hours the dns just stops working.

Interesting observation - yesterday this happened during a Zoom meeting. The Zoom was running fine - video/audio/screen sharing - but I was unable to ping or open any web site or IP.

I am using GlobalProtect VPN 5.2.10-6 which is compatible with Monterey. If I disable it, I manage to work for more than a day without restart.

All my problems were solved by completely removing every trace of Cisco Anyconnect from both my macs. I use OpenConnect via command line now instead. No further issues.