Mac Mini M2 wifi issues

I was having severe packet loss on both wifi and on ethernet with my brand new M2 Pro Mac Mini. Ethernet alone was 70% + packet loss, and Wi-Fi alone was better but still way up in the double digits. USB ethernet worked okay but still had more loss than expected. My old MacBook has 0.6% loss on the same wifi network, so certainly can't blame he network.

There is a workaround in another forum thread for the ethernet adapter in System Preferences that mysteriously seemed to also fix the issue for me when on wifi. Unfortunately, this fix doesn't stick for me after powering down and back up.

Note: I installed Ventura 13.2 very soon after unboxing the Mac Mini and installing XCode. Then started noticing the problem when installing other development tools. Presumably, if the issue were present in 13.0 I probably wouldn't have been able to download the 13.2 update or XCode - unless the Apple servers are exceptional at handling packet loss.

Separating the SSID's doesn't fix it for everyone. Dropouts happen on my ASUS RT-AX86U flashed to Merlin 388.1, but not my AT&T BGW320-500, both with separate SSID's for 2.5 and 5GHz and both running WiFi 6 speeds.

MacMini M2Pro | Ventura 13.2

I had the WiFi problem that we are discussing here, and I have no HDMI cables at all. Also, my 2.4 and 5 GHz networks were separated from the outset but that did not stop the problem. As I mentioned in a previous post a few days ago, in my case the WiFi connection to all my networks suddenly stabilized and the speed went up from below 10 to over 500 Mbps. The reception still seems weak; not for my own networks (they are as strong as expected) but I can see only one or two of the gazillion neighbors that I can see on my other devices.

The only obvious activity of mine that seems to have brought this sudden change in the functioning of WiFi on my Mac Mini M2 Pro, is having restarted it quite a few times.

Because of all this I dare to conclude that the band separation or the HDMI might not be the root cause.

Messing around with this some more and found another thing that might help. I have a Netgear R8000p router. On the router I turned off beam forming (which I think is probably marketing bs anyway on a consumer router) and am getting a major improvement on packet loss at https://packetlosstest.com/

Before, it was random whether I would get 0% packet loss or 75%+ packet loss. After turning beam forming off I have been getting consistently 0% packet loss (still getting some late packets but no worse than my 2016 MacBook Pro in the same room) Even after turning air drop, air play, etc back on still 0% packet loss. I'm also able to maintain the 0% packet loss with a single SSID (not splitting my 5ghz and 2.4ghz bands). Also still maintains 0% packet loss after making ethernet active again (no ethernet network connection, but I had made ethernet inactive previously with some improvement)

None of my other devices had a problem with the beam forming router setting before the new mini, so this still is on Apple for whatever this defect is. Hopefully, the improvement holds. Various things I have tried sometimes show an improvement for awhile and then go back to being flaky. Only time will tell though.

I got around the problem by doing this. My Mac Mini M2 is located too far away from the main wifi router to connect using an ethernet cable. So, I connected to a nearby 2nd MESH wifi router using an ethernet cable. The 2nd MESH router is connected wirelessly to the main router. If you have 2 or more MESH routers with built-in ethernet port, connect to one of them. Hope this helps.

I am running 3 Asus GT AXE-16000 routers with a wired backhaul, and the M2 has no issues with drops or speed on 5GHZ, but I do have an issue with the M2 finding the 6GHZ network. Even using WiFi Pro Scanner I am unable to locate the 6GHZ network on the M2 even though the 6GHZ SSID is broadcasting. I am also running all separate bands for 2.4, 5.1, and 6.

Well, the beam forming was a temporary fix too. Every “fix” works for 30-60 minutes and then things revert to massive packet loss and sub-dialup speeds. Im done. Back to the Apple the mini goes. I’ve tried a few different new mac models in the last year and they all have had hardware defects. Guess I will see what PCs have to offer after 21 years of macs.

My Mac mini M2 (Base model) had the same terrible Wifi Performance when I set it up yesterday. I set it up the same location as my previous M1 Mac mini. Wifi reception never was an issue here.

Thanks to the helpful posters in this topic I was able to resolve my issues.

I can confirm the following two options worked for me:

### by hanlanx ###

Disable AWDL will solve the 5GHz connection problem:

Disable: sudo ifconfig awdl0 down

Enable: sudo ifconfig awdl0 up

###

Unfortunately you will lose some functionality like AirDrop oder AirPlay Receiver. So I also tried to switch my HDMI cable as some of you had reported this to be solving the issue.

As I had another spare monitor I switched from my Eizo HDMI Monitor to a DELL DisplayPort Monitor.

Afterwards I enabled AWDL again an restarted my Mac.

Since about 3 hours WiFi is finally working without any further issues.

Still, this is a bad first hand experience and not anyone can change to a different display connection.

I hope it will be possible to fix for everyone via software update.

For anyone that has Asus routers, you might have compatibility issues with the M2 or any new Apple enabled Wifi6E product discovering 6Ghz networks. Here is a write-up from Intuibits:

This is Adrian, the developer of WiFi Explorer.

Thank you for sharing the scan results. I’ve confirmed your ASUS Wi-Fi router is not using a capability called “Reduced Neighbor Reports” (RNRs) to advertise the presence of co-located 6 GHz networks. RNRs are necessary for macOS (and Wi-Fi Explorer using active scan mode) to discover 6 GHz networks. You can read more about RNRs here: https://rowelldionicio.com/reduced-neighbor-report-plays-a-critical-role-in-wi-fi-6e/

Please make sure the firmware in your ASUS Wi-Fi routers is up-to-date. Also, RNRs may be a capability that needs to be enabled in your Wi-Fi router. RNRs can also be referred to as out-of-band discovery.

If you can’t enable RNRs on your ASUS Wi-Fi router, you may need to contact ASUS and let them know about this issue.

I'm posting this information for anyone considering the exchange.

So, I had my Mac mini M2 pro sent back on Friday, Feb 3rd after working with Apple support. The Apple sales rep did state they will not be sending out a replacement until they receive my mini. I am tracking my return and the website states its still with the carrier. It is expected to arrive with Apple today and once they receive it my replacement will then be shipped out to me.

Now, I did explain to the apple sales rep this will cause an inconvenience for me for the whole week and they stated this is the only option I have as I purchased the item from the website and not a physical store.

With all this being said, my best guess would be Friday the earliest that I can setup and retest the WIFI.

I gave the genius bar (Berlin/Germany) all possible diagnoses New firmware no solution the employee cost the problem. Solution to wait for software update and hope that months will not pass.

I am very disappointed about this

I received my replacement MAC Mini M2 yesterday. Still unable to connect to any 5Ghz Wi-Fi access points or even see them broadcast from latest Ventura 13.2. The worst part of the story my order was for a custom config

M2 PRO WITH 12C CPU, 19C GPU, 32GB, 1TB of storage. The replacement they sent me was the wrong product the base version after waiting 11 days to receive a replacement and escalating the issue. This was my sign to return it and get a full refund.

I received my replacement Mac Mini M2 yesterday. Still unable to connect to any 5Ghz Wi-Fi access points or even see them broadcast from latest Ventura 13.2.

The worst part of the story my order was for a custom config

M2 PRO WITH 12C CPU, 19C GPU, 32GB, 1TB of storage. The replacement they sent me was the wrong product the base version after waiting 11 days to receive a replacement and escalating the issue.

This was my sign to return it and get a full refund.

Same issue here! The Wifi is terribly slow and unstable. It's really annoying. I had thought I received a malfunctioned product and brought it back to apple just to be told a few days later that they found no issues. I am really disappointed now and don't know what to do. I lack the technical skills to play around with Wifi frequencies or other tech stuff others have mentioned in this thread. I really hope Apple will release an update soon. :(

I have had my M2 mini a week and it uses WiFi as its only connection. I have an AirPort Extreme and 5 Airport Express's and this network works fine with my M1 Air and iPad mini and iPhone XR. All my network components are up to date.

the M2 is constantly dropping the network. Restarts and repairing disk permissions does not help. It has made the mini essentially unreliable.

any thoughts about stabilizing the settings?