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User profile for user: Zurarczurx
Zurarczurx Author
User level: Level 2
181 points

Mac Often Loses Internet Connection

My MBA loses its internet connection a a few times a day, seemingly at random. WiFi stays connected, WiFi has an IP address - I don't think it's an obvious WiFi connection problem (e.g. Airplay devices keep playing)


At first I thought it was a network issue at home - and I'm a long way from being competent in network stuff. When it happens I lose access the web and to some bits of my home network - for example I can't connect to my router on 192.168.1.1, but my Airplay devices still work. In spite of apparently not having access to the router the WiFi shows itself to be connected and it has an IP address assigned. Renewing DHCP lease doesn't help. The router/modem (Draytek) has no fault lights.


My iPhone (with mobile/cell data turned off) can access the the web - so it would appear not to be my router/modem, wireless or the WAN connection. Fixing it usually involves either switching the router/modem on and off or switching the wireless access point on and off or rebooting the MBA .


This week I'm at my mum's and the problem has occurred a number of times today, so I think it must be the MBA itself, rather than my network. When the internet access goes down I can't use FF, Safari, Ping, or anything - it's definitely the internet that's gone. I've tried adding some more DNS servers (I was on open DNS and I've added Google) but it's made no difference. DHCP lease renewal makes no difference.


There's nothing obvious in Console, but I'm not an expert on this so it would have to be very obvious for me to know it was relevant.


I know that asking people to diagnose a problem like this over a forum is asking a lot, but if anyone has any ideas I'd be grateful.


Thanks in advance.



Big Sur 11.6.4

Early 2015 MBA

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.6

Posted on Feb 15, 2022 10:56 AM

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User profile for user: John Galt
John Galt
User level: Level 10
141,934 points

Posted on Feb 15, 2022 6:03 PM

You already accomplished quite a bit of troubleshooting, and I agree the problem appears isolated to your Mac.


Try creating another network "location" according to How to use network locations on your Mac - Apple Support. Switch to that new Location and determine if it makes any difference. I rather doubt it will.


The next step is to use the following procedure, which may help point to an internal (hardware-related) cause. Unfortunately the random or intermittent nature of that problem is a hindrance to troubleshooting.


  1. Shut down your Mac.
  2. Load macOS Recovery by holding ⌘ and r (two fingers) while you start your Mac with a third finger.
  3. At the macOS Utilities screen, release those two fingers.
  4. Choose Get Help Online (or Safari, depending on your model Mac and its installed version of macOS)
  5. Safari will launch, but it will lack your bookmarks, favorites, history and other preferences.
  6. Load a few web pages and observe the results.


Restart your Mac normally and describe your results. Given the intermittent nature of the problem, it may take a long time to duplicate it. If the Mac works for several hours that way though it will be instructive and will justify the next step:


The next step is to read How to troubleshoot Wi-Fi connectivity - Apple Support. That article has been superseded but the steps it describes remain valid and are worth investigating. Its superseding article discusses using Wireless Diagnostics. It may or may not be useful to you personally, but the data it collects might be useful to Apple. If you got this far that's what you will need to do. Start with Get Support, but you'll already be ahead of the questions they will ask given all the troubleshooting you accomplished.


Please let me know how it goes.

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User profile for user: John Galt
John Galt
User level: Level 10
141,934 points

Feb 15, 2022 6:03 PM in response to Zurarczurx

You already accomplished quite a bit of troubleshooting, and I agree the problem appears isolated to your Mac.


Try creating another network "location" according to How to use network locations on your Mac - Apple Support. Switch to that new Location and determine if it makes any difference. I rather doubt it will.


The next step is to use the following procedure, which may help point to an internal (hardware-related) cause. Unfortunately the random or intermittent nature of that problem is a hindrance to troubleshooting.


  1. Shut down your Mac.
  2. Load macOS Recovery by holding ⌘ and r (two fingers) while you start your Mac with a third finger.
  3. At the macOS Utilities screen, release those two fingers.
  4. Choose Get Help Online (or Safari, depending on your model Mac and its installed version of macOS)
  5. Safari will launch, but it will lack your bookmarks, favorites, history and other preferences.
  6. Load a few web pages and observe the results.


Restart your Mac normally and describe your results. Given the intermittent nature of the problem, it may take a long time to duplicate it. If the Mac works for several hours that way though it will be instructive and will justify the next step:


The next step is to read How to troubleshoot Wi-Fi connectivity - Apple Support. That article has been superseded but the steps it describes remain valid and are worth investigating. Its superseding article discusses using Wireless Diagnostics. It may or may not be useful to you personally, but the data it collects might be useful to Apple. If you got this far that's what you will need to do. Start with Get Support, but you'll already be ahead of the questions they will ask given all the troubleshooting you accomplished.


Please let me know how it goes.

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Mac Often Loses Internet Connection

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