Slow internet with macOS Monterey

Also, just tried using a VPN, and no improvement for me, either with or without.

Apple's Wireless Diagnostics found no problem with wireless connection/network. And I'm using 5GHz channel, so that's not the problem, either. I'm convinced this is a problem with how the Mac is connecting to the internet in general, not wi-fi. Is anyone getting the same problem on a wired connection?

I still remain with slow internet speeds even after trying everything in this thread on how to fix (new network location, turn off bluetooth, removal of VPN, reset VRAM, unchecking Apple Analytics, etc).

Something I did notice is there is a bug with the Apple Analytics within System Preferences Privacy and Security Pane. When I uncheck the option for Apple Analytics and re-lock by pressing the lock icon in the lower left corner, after rebooting the computer the option is checked again for Apple Analytics. Its like unchecking the box does nothing because upon reboot it is checked again.

Any thoughts?

Hi,

I am in the same situation.

Could the problem be related to iCloud Private Relay?https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/ocv2vm/mac_os_monterey_preview_safaris_icloud_private/

I am not logged to icloud at this moment so I cannot deactivate but if you have an account and are logged…. Just to try…

Regards,

Isaac

Hey there!

I’ve seen kernel_task for many reasons. It tells you that some process is on overload and causing the system to heat up. In your case, it maybe related process that uses the network. The “Disk” as I put would be your physical internal drive which is represented in Disk Utility, if the issue does occur in another user and in safe mode, then I’d say repairing the disk is a good idea, otherwise, as I mentioned before, if it works normally in a new user account then repairing the user permissions maybe a good idea. If it’s an OS bug, or the OS was corrupted some how, I’d say repairing the Disk permissions while in recovery mode is a good idea, it’s a simple step that doesn’t take too long usually. Just make sure to select View > Show All Devices, start from the bottom up, (Usually Macintosh HD - Data, and run First Aid until on each, until you reach the main HDD/SSD (The disk), and do that one last, if all passes, great, restart and test. Hope you’re able to get it sorted out, not much these days can be done without a solid network connection, so I get it.

I upgraded to Monterey 12.1 and also encountered the internet issue mainly with Safai, Onedrive, App store.... intermittently with Firefox. I followed the lead to the webpage

https://osxdaily.com/2020/11/23/how-fix-macos-big-sur-wifi-issues/

and followed point 5 to set up a new location. Then the problem is solved at least in my case.

Hope this is helpful to some of you out there.

Cheers

Hello, we have similar problem:

Mac 24' M1 on Monterey performing incredibly bad in network, both wired and wifi. Network drops out or is disconnected. Uploads ridiculous slow compared to old (2011!) iMacs in the same network. Almost impossiible to work with data stored on a NAS.

It is four new iMacs all the same problems. Also printers in network get lost frequently and have to be reinstalled.

Update to 12.2.1 not possible because of "network errors".

All other machines Microsoft, Android and older Macs work fine in same network enviroment.

Tried all different settings but problems come back...

I've experienced this across all my apple devices. Spent 3.5 hours on with support and still couldn't figure it out. Smoking fast Mac Pro M1 max, older Mac air, iPad Pro and iPhone pro max 13 all showing same symptoms. Home: smoking fast gigabit mesh wifi 6 system. Hotels all over the USA and all showing same symptoms. Symptoms: Internet not found for several minutes.....then once a web page is located it takes several minutes to load......then it takes several minutes to find another.....it takes several more minutes to attempt streaming......it takes upwards of 30 minutes for the internet to speed up enough to be considered somewhat normal. Every time I shut down it happens again at home or hotel.

The solution for me is to turn off Bluetooth. That makes a world of difference to my Wi-Fi speed.

My connection is through a cellular hotspot which usually gives me about 30 Mbps. That's what I'm getting on a phone and tablet on the same network but only about 5 Mbps on the Macbook Pro. I tried everything else and then saw someone mention Bluetooth. I switched that off and I now get the expected 30 Mbps on the Macbook. I've switched Bluetooth on and off several times and the results are totally consistent.

It's kind of a hassle because I use a Bluetooth keyboard and trackpad. I guess I'll have to look for some USB alternatives. I didn't used to have this problem. Nothing else has changed so it seems to related to Monterey. Either that or it's a hardware problem.

I'm using a MacBook Pro 2019 on Monterey 12.2.1.

I experienced this problem after upgrading to 2021 MBP and Monterey. My iphone and older macbookpro, sitting right nest to it, on the same wifi network were 3 bard, very fast, the new MBP with Monterey, intermittent 2 bars, very slow, site loadings would often time out, etc.. I tried everything suggested in this thread. Often suggested sys option turn offs would already be off, I have no watch, bluetooth already always off, etc etc.. all of them. Don't let experts here lead you down a path of "fixing" everything but the mac, or contacting your ISP, etc... it's clearly a Monterey issue. Everything mac here that's not monterey worked dandy.

Here's what worked, see the posts for changing the location in the sys/network/wifi settings, that worked for me. At least for now. At first I thought it didn't.. don't forget to hit the "apply" button!!! Then it suddenly worked

I have the same issue and thought it was my internet provider. However all my other equipment including my 2 windows machine work just fine with no wifi problem or intermittent internet connection or slowness. I have a mac mini...2014.

I had an issue with slow connections but not slow internet. I have 1gig service and a velop mesh WiFi 6 system that pumps min 400mps in the whole house set up yet it was mind numbing slow connectivity only on Apple devices not streaming devices or smart home devices etc. I sent through hours of Apple reps via share screen and phone etc. I finally took my MacBook Pro M1 max brand new, iPad Pro and iPhone 13 to the Genius Bar for an appt. They couldn’t find a thing wrong with anything but the rep had a velop mesh system at home as well and told me to try unplugging EVERYTHING modem, router, nodes and then restart. I thought I’d done the reboot with the modem and router but he said to unplug nodes too. It worked. Something causes the communication to mess up I guess and since it was fixed I’ve had to do it one additional time (maybe a month later). So it’s something to be aware of for issues with connectivity.

This is what worked for me. Wired ethernet 2018 Mac Mini previously on 10.14 Mojave with zero issues using Chrome. Upon upgrading to Monterey, Chrome and Chrome Canary was not working properly. I have a special launcher since my Chrome profiles are on an external disk to offload disk wear.

After the initial upgrade, everything was okay. However this next morning, Canary would not even see an internet connection on the custom profile location, and Chrome was lagging/buffering on YouTube with NEVER happens. I was afraid that Monterey screwed up this ability, as running Chrome with the default profile on the main disk didn't have the problem. That's when I came searching for network issues, because this definitely wasn't normal.

I created a new network location, and turned off Limit IP Address Tracking. That fixed Chrome Canary at least getting internet connectivity.

EDIT: While it technically worked, my connection speed is still much more poor and not what it should be. There's still something going on. This is incredibly frustrating.

It seems there are many causes, so any one solution has a chance of working, but no guarantee.

For me, splitting the router's channels into separate connections and connecting only to the 5GHz channel is promising, after about a week. I currently think the problem was that, when the connection dropped temporarily, Mac OS wasn't able to reconnect properly - maybe a clash between what the Mac was trying to do and what channel the router wanted it to use.

The signal:noise on the connection is much poorer (due to distance from router), but speed and stability are fine nonetheless.

Has this not been fixed by Apple yet? My Mac Mini M1 (OS 12.3) can barely function, with reception bars changing all the time, and a connection 1/10th of what I get, in the exact same location, with 2 Macbook Airs and iPhones. This is really unacceptable. Thinking of dumping it actually.

Thanks Jason. I wouldn't know how to do that in the first place!

Anyway, I sorted out the problem by bringing the router much closer to check if there was a software bug. Nope. When the router's close, the connection is fine. So no software problem on my side. The reality is almost more annoying.

Comparisons with a MacBook Air and iPhone 13 in the same location, have simply demonstrated that the Mac mini M1 has a much lower quality of wifi antenna and reception than the other two machines. If the router is reasonably close, no problem. If the Mini M1 is challenged with more distance and walls, it just loses connection (or barely holds one) while the other two still pull a seriously good signal.

I know the Mini is entry level but I wasn't expecting to see cost-cutting there. It really sucks (for my needs at least). I might offload the Mini and just use the Air, or a good old PC.