New Mac Mini M2 has constant issues with wifi. Its unusable. Ethernet works perfectly, but when using wifi the connection will consistently drop packets. Wifi works perfectly with older Mac mini M1, MacBook Pro, Intel Mac in the same small office. I have turned off all other devices and still have same issue. Did a factory reset and same issues.
Mac mini (2023 with M2)
**Solution discovered** (but Mac MUST release a fix for this soon. Very unhappy with my new Mac Mini M2 Pro.)
it is a problem with Wi-Fi 6 routers that combine all the bands under one SSID (Wi-Fi name).
If you have Spectrum, their “smart” router doesn’t have the function to separate the bands and therefore will NOT work. You need to get another router and the bands have to be named separately as others have said in the posts.
this is an issue that shouldn’t be an issue, and I’m surprised no fix has come for this yet so regular people don’t have to become network professionals to get their internet to work!
I also took my Mac mini to the Apple store. And it worked fine and told me there was no problem, but as soon as i got back home I still had the problem. Now ive got a wireless Wi-Fi repeater right beside my mac wired with an Ethernet cable and there is no problem. It should not have to be this way so if anybody knows what I can do please tell me!
When I had what seems to be the same issue with the new MacBook Pro M2 Pro, I happened to speak with a so-called 'Senior Advisor' on the tech-support team. I just called the Apple number and asked for tech support, but I'm guessing you can ask to speak to a senior advisor specifically. He told me I wouldn't need to worry about the two-week deadline for returns. Then again, he wasn't willing to give me that in writing, so I personally decided to return it within the deadline. Up to you.
My connection is still operating at full speed now after changing the wi-fi channels, however, something very strange that I have noticed now, is that whenever the Displays system settings panel is active in the foreground, my internet connection is interrupted. If I select any other system settings panel, or put the System Settings app in the background, the internet connection is restored.
I have all the Link to Mac or iPad settings turned off under the Advanced... screen.
Anyone else seeing this, or know why it would be?
Different symptom, but from my research it's all related to the same AWDL process. Opening the Displays system settings pane and waking a nearby iPhone both trigger AWDL functions for checking Sidecar and AirDrop.
Interesting question. That's one thing I do not have in order to test. However, @OrionC1 was ingenius on using a WiFi repeater. That eliminates AWDL as the Mac thinks it's hard wired.
What you're curious on, may give similar results.
I would advise against step 2 specifically. Although that works to clear preferences, it’s potentially dangerous to suggest everyone mess around with system files. And its not needed in this case.
AWDL has been determined to be the root cause. And this service is separate, so that has no impact. If you haven’t seen my earlier posts, check them out and give them a shot.
Let us know how it works out for you.
Julian, is this you? If not, you’re not alone…
Ran across this while gathering other sites regarding AWDL.
I tried ;/
Side note for others. I now have a list of 31 different threads and articles containing thousands of people with the same findings, from around the world. Having to disable AWDL or use 6/149 (44 UK). Everyone that did this, solved. Also found AWDL reverse engineering and tech docs.
Remember, Apple claims to be “unaware”. All of this will be very useful for what I plan on doing with it.
Tomorrow I’ll be looking into .ch, .ru, .jp, and .uk sites.
I had the issue on my m2 pro Mac Mini and returned it as it was unworkable to connect to wifi.
After 13.2.1 was released and there was some positive feedback about the wifi issues so I ordered one again and indeed while still had some minor packet loss it was mostly ok.
I upgraded to 13.3 and it’s a compelte regression back to 13.2 wifi issues where you experience packet loss, high latency and sometimes it’s unable to conmect.
I’ve tried all workarounds proposed but nothing has worked for me so far, sometimes you reboot and the issue goes way but eventually reappears.
So my advice is to stay at 13.2.1 if that has been working well for you
It's 5GHz WiFi only. No any cable connected except the power cord & hdmi.
The Mac mini is connected to sub-router wifi signal.
My Mac placed inside my bedroom, The sub-router is located outside the door.
My main-router is using 1000Mbps wired at the living room.
For me, AWDL doesn't re-enable itself unless I actively try to use something like AirDrop, Sidecar etc. I did those tests 4 hours ago leaving AWDL off and it's still off now. As mentioned previously, if I click AirDrop in a Finder sidebar, or the Displays system settings pane, AWDL will enable itself then, and my connection will drop.
I prefer PrettyPing - far easier to spot any patterns in the pings at a glance than scrolling up and down through a plain list of numbers, and shows the information in more compact area - better for screenshots.
I may try the re-install route. Haven't yet found a suitable alternative router to test with.
Just tried Macbrush solution (Turning off location service for WiFi and Network in Privacy settings), not working for me:
So not a 100% fix, need more time to test if it fall not down to 100Mbps or less again
Read that 13.4 BETA has newly WIFI issues, so Apple is trying to fix something in that area....
Just tested on my Mac mini m2 pro and I do not get the same result.
So either interferences or power issues. The longer the issue stay open, the more I doubt it can be solved by software
NOTE: I use a cheap HDMI cable with the 4 thunderbolt NOT in use (a shame!) and a USB3 powered hub to enjoy max WIFI speed. I'm not so happy but can wait....
I had the same suggestion as they couldn't get it to work in the Apple store. They ended up reinstalling OS, instead of replacing the logic board. I ended up using a new Cat 6 ethernet cable (wasn't game to use wifi again) direct to modem and haven't had a problem since, goes like a bullet. Not sure replacing the logic board will solve the issue unless the 6E chipset has changed. Hope it solves your problem, otherwise it might be a return for refund or using an ethernet cable if you can.
Yes, AbuYang, touching the plastic sheath of the HDMI connector is enough to eliminate most Wi-Fi interference. I was just wondering if interference would further decrease if the metal portion of the connector was grounded. Your video and other accounts of grounding the HDMI port suggests the HDMI port is emitting EMF interference and grounding the HDMI port eliminates a lot of the Electro Magnetic Field interference.
Mac Mini M2 wifi issues
