Slow Internet on M1 Laptop

Once you get this sorted… If you are interested in privacy as well as the existing end-to-end TLS connection security, consider enabling iCloud+ Private Relay. That can and sometimes will slow some network connections as adding two hops into your link will do that, but I trust Apple somewhat more than I trust the first-few-hops VPN providers, and Apple built the two-hop Tor-like relay design with user privacy in mind.

I’ll assume you meant MacBook Pro and not the rather large tower Mac Pro configuration.

Which macOS version? (The macOS 10.13 version shown in the footer won’t boot on an M1, so that’s not it.)

Now as for the Wi-Fi network…

Incorrectly-configured Wi-Fi can cause connectivity issues, as can buggy or failing routers. Check for and apply available router firmware updates, too. If there’s more than one Wi-Fi router present (and configured as a router, not as an access point), that can play havoc with connectivity when subnets are not configured.

How many IP network routers are present? Just one?

Or is there another Wi-Fi router, or maybe an ISP IP router/firewall/gateway box involved?

Does the (presumably) MacBook Pro Wi-Fi network run faster when connected to other Wi-Fi networks elsewhere?

Wi-Fi interference can also be a potential issue. The built-in Wi-Fi troubleshooting tools are adequate and have the benefit of being trivial, while tools such as WiFi Explorer app can make troubleshooting shooting easier.

To view the basic Wi-Fi environment characteristics, Option-Click on the Wi-Fi logo 🛜 in the menu bar, and capture some Wi-Fi network data. Post the items shown in the following image including the Security mode and from Channel to NSS inclusive (Security, Channel, Country, RSSI, Noise, Tx Rate, PHY mode, MCS, NSS, green highlight) (without posting the Wi-Fi address, any local HotSpots that might be present, the network name, or the BSSID, all of which are expurgated from the image shown below, red highlight), and we can take a look at the basic network environment.

Update your macOS to macOS 14.5, if you can get a stable connection on another Wi-Fi, or can get a USB-C to Ethernet dongle*.

That Wi-Fi network is fine based on RSSI and noise and 11ac, which means the problem probably lurks elsewhere.

I’ll assume the IP address you have been allocated is not a 169.254.0.1 to 169.254.255.254 IP address, but is somewhere in your 10.0.0.1 to 10.255.255.254, 172.16.0.1 to 172.16.255.254, or likely somewhere in the most common 192.168.0.1 to 102.168.255.254 network range. If you are in 169.254.x.y, that’s a particular type of problem.

Could be a problem within the AirPort Wi-Fi router, or could be the ISP link. I’ve had all sorts of problems with several AirPorts and ended up replacing them all. They were dropping out hard for ~15 seconds at random, and with no messages and no flashing LED. That gave clients grief. But those dropouts were also afflicting all clients with network pauses.

Does this MacBook Pro perform well when connected on other networks? This to rule out the MacBook Pro as a likely problem.

Or this could be a problem some add-on anti-malware apps, add-on security tools, add-on VPN client apps, or add-on cleaners. Any of those installed on the MacBook Pro here?

*I’d look for a 2.5 GbE or 5 GbE dongle here and not a 1 GbE dongle, as wired networks are transitioning from 1 GbE to faster speeds. No sense buying the old stuff, whenever the difference in the dongle prices are minimal. Faster dongles do work with slower 1 GnE networks, too.

VPN software can be VERY invasive, even when working properly. Most user-installed VPN software is scare-ware -- the makers suggested you install it to Improve security, and it does EXACTLY the opposite while reducing Privacy and making them richer from selling your (now concentrated) data.

Except if you need to be "present" on an Institutional network, I strongly suggest you un-install that user-installed VPN software and NEVER re-install it.

Remove the VPN. Ignoring that first-few-hops VPNs badly solve a problem that hasn’t existed for a decade or so, and ignoring that VPNs are perfectly positioned to collect personally-identified metadata, VPNs also inherently mess with IP routing.

Your Wi-Fi 5 router connection still looks fine.

I use the WiFi Explorer app to scan the local network environment, among other troubleshooting tools. That app will show nearby Wi-Fi networks that can cause interference.

If you’re using iCloud+ Private Relay, disable that and test again.

Same for any ad-blocker, nanny- or other content-filtering, or related browser add-ons and extensions.

If you want us to review the local Mac configuration, please download and run (free) EtreCheck, and share the results to the clipboard. Then open a new reply here, and press the Additional Text button that looks like a printed page, and paste and post the hardware and software configuration report here. From that, we can get a little more detail about what is installed and what is running here.

Do try the connection in another location with a different Wi-Fi, too.

If whichever otra Wi-Fi you were connected to was and is usually speedy, that’s not great performance.

Etrecheck? Yes.