Macbook Pro random dropping wifi with Google wifi

I have been having an issue with loosing wifi on my MacBook pro (15" 2017 - A1707) for at least a year. When it happens everything else in the house still has internet/wifi and works. I loose access to the internet and cannot ping my Default gateway but my wireless says its still connected. I recently ripped out all my older Google APs and replaced them with 4 new Google Nest Wifi Pro APs. All AP are hardwired. I also removed a hodgepodge network I had consisting of an old cisco 3750 switch and replaced the whole thing with a Ubiquiti Dream Machine SE and a couple Unifi flex mini switches. I went with Ubiquiti because it was the cheapest way to get decent network monitoring from the fabric. I am a Cisco CCIE and generally know my stuff when it comes to networks. I also bought a new MacBook Pro M2 max. My MacBook never moves causing any roaming issues or anything - its on my desk in front of me. All this was replaced within the last 10 days. However, the problem is still occurring randomly. I cannot recreate it. Its sporadic - maybe a couple times a day and sometimes I don't notice it for several days (but that could be because I'm not using my MacBook during the outage). Outages last for 1-10 mins. On my old wireless setup I had a Guest SSID and i could switch to that and be back online pretty quick - on my newly rebuild network, I haven't turned on Guest yet just to keep stuff simplified. Every other device on my network seems to keep working fine when my MacBook wifi fails - leads me to believe its MAC related. A reboot seems to resolve the issue for a while - but it takes a few minutes to reboot and wifi normally comes back with a few minutes anyways.


Devices that I have on my network include...


-AppleTV - 3 of them

-a few ipads

-a few iphones

-couple apple watches

-Sonos Speakers - 6

-Reolink DVR (runs its own private LAN for cameras)

-Nest thermostat

-Some IoT devices like garage door openers, temp/humidity sensors etc

-HP Printer

-Lexmark Printer


no game consoles


I currently am running a single VLAN except for that private vlan that Reolink uses for cameras - its non routed.


I use "Family Wifi" to turn off the wifi to my kids iPads @ 9pm every night but this issue doesn't seem to correlate with that.


I saw a couple other threads on this but they are all no longer accepting replies.


Has anyone solved for this?


Since everything is now "new" - I am tempted to just start opening support tickets with all the manufactures until I frustrate them. :) I have spent in excess of $7k in the last 2 weeks replacing a MacBook, all APs, all switching and have nothing to show for it. Plus, working as a Senior engineer on enterprise networks - this stuff shouldn't kick my arse - yet here we are. LOL



Posted on Apr 19, 2023 6:43 PM

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Posted on Nov 1, 2023 12:34 AM

Dear @flytripper


Your AP's are configured to support the 160 MHz band feature and your MacBook is using it:


I'm experiencing comparable wifi dropouts when it's configured to use 160 MHz wide channels on crowded networks.

Suggest to disable the 160 MHz wide channels of 802.11ac in your AP configuration and retest.


Arguments and technical background of the 160 MHz topic:


Good luck,

bue


Similar questions

37 replies

Aug 16, 2023 5:01 PM in response to FooKoo

<< I connect the points with Ethernet cable in series. >>


that is a GREAT solution!


I live in a house far from neighbors, BUT, the solid masonry construction and wire-lath behind the plaster makes it a WiFI dead zone. I have FIVE wired Routers/Access-points to cover just the house and garage.


Apple recommends connecting in parallel, if possible:




This kind of solution works in crowded network neighborhoods without adding more wifi traffic at the same time.


The network created by your router can freely mix Ethernet cabled and wi-Fi connected devices as well. So don't dismiss pulling an Ethernet cable to the far end of the house and just plugging it in to a computer there.



Aug 17, 2023 8:08 AM in response to FooKoo

In series, as you have it, will work just fine.


At the extreme high end, you may notice the additional 'store and forward' (one 'hop') delay added at each Access Point traversed. This is because the ENTIRE packet is received and its Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) is checked for correctness (stored and forwarded) before ANYTHING is done with it. In general, this is not an issue.


The amount of time to transmit an entire 1500 Byte packet at Gigabit speed using 10 bits/Byte including overhead, about 150,000 bits divided by 1,000,000 bits/sec, or about 0.015 seconds (15 milliseconds) transmission time added per 'hop'.

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Macbook Pro random dropping wifi with Google wifi

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