2020 MacBook Air M1 Can't Connect to Home Wifi

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2020 MacBook Air M1 Can't Connect to Home Wifi

Hello! As of October 2025, I started having this issue with my computer not connecting to my home wifi (or rather stay connected indefinitely). Whenever I AM able to connect, it will only stay connected for about 30ish minutes. As far as I know, I've tried a bunch of troubleshooting research and attempts, but nothing has seemed to work.

Here are a few things I’ve tried (hopefully I’m not forgetting anything):

Resetting the router
Changing the wifi password
Changing the “Private wi-fi address” to Off or Rotating
Renewing the DHCP Lease - I think I did this, but after hitting both of the buttons on the following screen (‘Apply’ or ‘Don’t Apply’) nothing seems to happen
Removing all Known Networks
Restarting/shutting down my computer

Seemingly randomly, it was able to connect to my home wifi indefinitely for a couple weeks in November, shortly after the latest system update occurred and I thought it was fixed. Unfortunately, I'm back to it only connecting for short bursts. I believe it changed after I connected to a coffee shops wifi, but I’m not 100% sure.

I am able to connect to other wifi's for an indefinite amount of time and all of my other devices connect to the home wifi just fine. This makes me think it's my laptops issue. I have a 2020 M1 MacBook Air. My current version is MacOS Tahoe 26.1

I've found that if I connect for a short time, forget the network before my "time limit" is up, I can re-connect at any time, but if I "use all my time" it will take a day or two before I'm able to connect again. When I try to connect in that “overtime” period, this is the message I receive (see screenshot). I put the password in and it just gives me the same window with the error message saying “Connection Failed” at the bottom left. If I try again, it’s the same message.

I’m hoping that this post can help me and anyone else dealing with this issue. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 26.1

Posted on Dec 12, 2025 8:13 AM

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Answer 1

Bigwaff

Level 1

107 points

Dec 20, 2025 8:21 AM in response to BethkeT73

First, in System Settings > WiFi > (your network) > Details..., make sure Private WiFi address setting is "Off" or "Fixed" and then completely shutdown and restart. Verify your Private WiFi address settings have not changed after restart.

BethkeT73 wrote:

I've found that if I connect for a short time, forget the network before my "time limit" is up, I can re-connect at any time, but if I "use all my time" it will take a day or two before I'm able to connect again. When I try to connect in that “overtime” period, this is the message I receive (see screenshot). I put the password in and it just gives me the same window with the error message saying “Connection Failed” at the bottom left. If I try again, it’s the same message.

Can you explain in more detail how you have a "time limit" or "use all my time" or what "overtime" period is in context of your home network? Is this Apple Screen Time? Is this controls built into the router? Certainly sounds like these scenarios are the source of your issues. Without more details, it is virtually impossible to guide or help.

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Answer 2

Dec 20, 2025 8:57 AM in response to BethkeT73

Is your router using the 2.4Ghz band for Wifi? You can check by holding the option key on your Mac and choosing the WiFi signal in the menu bar after a connection has been made. Under Channels it will tell you what band it is connected to. If you do see 2.4Ghz, then that is the problem as that band is susceptible to interference from other devices and will start dropping connections. It is not unusual for the router to pick on a single device where other devices will still maintain the connection. The available channels are limited on the 2.4Ghz band where multiple devices will easily overwhelm the bandwidth.

The solution is to create a 5Ghz only network on your router and use that one for your connection. If you have older devices that don't support 5Ghz, then you may be able to create 2 separate WiFi networks on your router and connect to the 5Ghz only network with the supported devices and continue using the previous network for the older ones.

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2020 MacBook Air M1 Can't Connect to Home Wifi

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