Default gateway is semi-functional

Question

Default gateway is semi-functional

I'm experiencing some very weird routing issues in macOS. I can ping 8.8.8.8, but can't ping my default gateway.

Bad

Routing tables

Internet:
Destination        Gateway            Flags               Netif Expire
default            192.168.10.1       UGScg                 en0
127                127.0.0.1          UCS                   lo0
127.0.0.1          127.0.0.1          UH                    lo0
169.254            link#14            UCS                   en0      !
169.254            link#14            UCSI                  en0      !
192.168.10/23      link#14            UCS                   en0      !
192.168.10/23      link#14            UCSI                  en0      !
192.168.10.1/32    link#14            UCS                   en0      !

Not sure what those flags are or how my routing table is getting corrupted to stop it from working. Having to restart every time I get home from work is really getting annoying.

I'm guessing the dual 192.168.10/23 has something to do with it, but while tech savvy, not network savvy enough to know what the issue is.

Looking for help in troubleshooting these issue and learning. TIA

Good (after a restart)

Routing tables

Internet:
Destination        Gateway            Flags               Netif Expire
default            192.168.10.1       UGScg                 en0
127                127.0.0.1          UCS                   lo0
127.0.0.1          127.0.0.1          UH                    lo0
169.254            link#14            UCSI                  en0      !
192.168.10/23      link#14            UCSI                  en0      !
192.168.10.1/32    link#14            UCS                   en0      !

MacBook Pro 16″

Posted on Jan 13, 2026 3:03 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Tesserax

Level 10

158,316 points

Jan 14, 2026 9:21 AM in response to Shareef Yousef

Based on everything you’ve shared, I agree that this does not appear to be a UniFi or subnet configuration issue, especially since every other device on the /23 network is functioning normally and the affected Mac shows the same behavior on other networks as well. The symptoms strongly point to a local routing or network stack issue on this specific macOS system, rather than anything upstream.

I believe the most likely causes include:

A corrupted or conflicting routing table on the Mac.
Multiple active interfaces (Wi-Fi + Ethernet + virtual adapters) creating ambiguous default routes.
A leftover VPN, security, or packet-filtering driver modifying outbound traffic.
A damaged network preference or system configuration file that macOS is still referencing.

Since inbound traffic reaches the Mac but outbound traffic fails, that usually indicates the system either has an incorrect preferred gateway, or traffic is being sent out the wrong interface before it ever reaches the router.

If I was troubleshooting this issue, I would take the following steps:

I'd start by verifying the active interfaces and default routes. by using the following command in Terminal to confirm there is only one preferred route for your active interface as you did before: netstat -rn
Then, temporarily disable any unused adapters (Wi-Fi, Thunderbolt Ethernet, USB Ethernet, etc.) in System Settings → Network*
Next, I would reset the Mac's network configuration by removing the following files, and then, rebooting:
- /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.airport.preferences.plist
- /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.network.identification.plist
- /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/NetworkInterfaces.plist
- /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/preferences.plist

macOS will rebuild clean networking profiles on next boot.

Next, I would disable any active VPNs by going to: System Settings → Network → VPN.
Next, I would check for any "hidden" network extensions or filters with this command in the Terminal: systemextensionsctl list
Next, I would confirm there are no local (aka, macOS software) firewall or packet filter rules present by running the following command in the Terminal: sudo pfctl -sr If unsure, you can temporarily disable PF with sudo pfctl -d for testing.
Next, I would test with a fresh network profile and the best way to do that is to create a new macOS user account and connect to the same network. If routing works there, the issue is almost certainly confined to the original user profile.
Finally, as a last resort, I would perform an in-place macOS reinstall.

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Answer 2

Jan 15, 2026 11:53 AM in response to Tesserax

Thanks for this. Tested with a new admin user and the issue persists. I also noticed this happens when I switch between my work office network and home office network (different physical locations). Work office is an enterprise location which I do not have access to configs so I'm not able to provide any insight into how that's configured.

I made all network connections inactive except for wireless and still the same issue.

However, when I created a new location and switched to it my wifi disconnected. I turned it off and then back on and I was able to ping the gateway!!!! I switched back to the original location which was named "Automatic" and turned off/on the wifi and it worked for that location as well. Such a weird issue. I'm glad that I'm able to get it working without having to restart now, but am wondering how the "location" setting impacts network configs.

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Answer 3

MrHoffman

Level 10

146,821 points

Jan 13, 2026 5:31 PM in response to Shareef Yousef

I’d suggest re-asking this over in the Ubiquiti forums, as the 23 CIDR, Docker and bridging, the site-to-site link, and multiple subnets makes this rather less likely to be a macOS-specific issue and more likely a network configuration or routing issue. Also post over there which version of UniFi Network 9.4/9.5/10 is in use too, as those change some details of the setup.

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Answer 4

MrHoffman

Level 10

146,821 points

Jan 13, 2026 3:29 PM in response to Shareef Yousef

For the CIDR, using 192.168.10 /24 (mask 255.255.255.0, subnet 192.168.10.0 - 192.168.10.255) would be more common, though /23 (mask 255.255.254.0, subnet 192.168.10.0 - 192.168.11.255) is not unheard of.

If you do choose to use a /23 subnet, you need to use /23 everywhere. And all your network gear must support a /23. Some gear might or does not.

What is the rough outline of your local network configuration? One IP router, or multiple routers?

Request-response network traffic including ICMP ping involves two separate parts: the route to the destination, and the (not necessarily the same) route back from the destination. The selection of the route to the destination is independent of the selection of the route back.

Use of ping also assumes somebody didn’t enable port “stealthing” somewhere. Stealthing and such and using hidden SSIDs and such can be problematic, and unhelpful.

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Answer 5

MrHoffman

Level 10

146,821 points

Jan 30, 2026 12:20 PM in response to Shareef Yousef

Contact Apple Support then, given that further local testing is seemingly blocked.

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Answer 6

MrHoffman

Level 10

146,821 points

Jan 30, 2026 9:34 AM in response to Shareef Yousef

Shareef Yousef wrote:

The location trick is no longer working. Back to having to restart to fix this very annoying issue.

Have all locally-installed add-on VPNs been removed, restarted macOS, and the configuration and routing tested?

Tested without the UDMP or whatever site-to-site VPN active?

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Answer 7

MrHoffman

Level 10

146,821 points

Jan 14, 2026 6:35 AM in response to Shareef Yousef

Is this issue isolated to this network, and routing works correctly on other networks?

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Answer 8

Jan 13, 2026 4:20 PM in response to MrHoffman

I have a Ubiquiti UniFi setup at home (single Unifi Dream Machine Pro) and the network is indeed configured as a /23. Another macOS system I have on my network (where I'm able to ping the gateway) has the following route table:

Routing tables

Internet:
Destination        Gateway            Flags               Netif Expire
default            192.168.10.1       UGScg                 en0
127                127.0.0.1          UCS                   lo0
127.0.0.1          127.0.0.1          UH                    lo0
169.254            link#14            UCS                   en0      !
169.254.105.203    link#14            UHLSW                 en0      !
192.168.10/23      link#14            UCS                   en0      !
192.168.10.1/32    link#14            UCS                   en0      !

And another (with Docker installed, bridge100 interface):

Routing tables

Internet:
Destination        Gateway            Flags               Netif Expire
default            192.168.10.1       UGScg                 en0       
default            192.168.10.1       UGScIg                en1       
default            link#26            UCSIg           bridge100      !
127                127.0.0.1          UCS                   lo0       
127.0.0.1          127.0.0.1          UH                    lo0       
127.255.255.255    127.0.0.1          UHW3I                 lo0    133
169.254            link#6             UCS                   en0      !
169.254            link#12            UCSI                  en1      !
192.168.10/23      link#6             UCS                   en0      !
192.168.10/23      link#12            UCSI                  en1      !

I'll also add that I can ping the IP of the Mac with the routing issue. So traffic IS being routed going in, just outgoing seems to be the issue. I can even ping 192.168.30.1 from the bad Mac as that IP is available via a site to site link between my router and another on a VPN tunnel over the internet.

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Answer 9

Jan 14, 2026 6:15 AM in response to MrHoffman

This isn't a Ubiquiti issue. Docker is installed on a DIFFERENT machine that's working fine. Actually EVERY connected device, including non Apple ones (over 200 of them, hence the /23), are working fine on this network. Literally this ONE machine is having the issue. Hence why I'm posting this on Apple's forum. It's a routing problem within macOS.

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Answer 10

Jan 30, 2026 10:35 AM in response to MrHoffman

I haven't modified the site-to-site VPN as no other machine on this network exhibits this issue. Even if disabling the site-to-site VPN allows the computer to work, that's not a fix. The fix needs to be a config reset or modification on the Mac exhibiting the issue, not to break the functionality of the entire network so that this one machine can work.

As I've previously mentioned, a restart of the Mac will always fix the issue, but my hope is to better understand why routing breaks to begin with and to implement a fix without having to restart. I can't delete the VPN as that too is needed. This is a work computer so it has endpoint protection suites and other corporate applications that I won't be able to remove. I'm more interested to learn about the difference in the route table when it works and when it doesn't. I didn't notice it last time, but there's a line in the route table specific to the router (192.168.10.1). Not sure what UHLWIir refers to. Here's the config when it's working, though I didn't catch the config when it's not working:

Destination        Gateway            Flags               Netif Expire
default            192.168.10.1       UGScg                 en0
127                127.0.0.1          UCS                   lo0
127.0.0.1          127.0.0.1          UH                    lo0
169.254            link#14            UCSI                  en0      !
192.168.10/23      link#14            UCSI                  en0      !
192.168.10.1/32    link#14            UCS                   en0      !
192.168.10.1       xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx   UHLWIir               en0   1196

I'll get the broken route table posted next week when I go into the office and come home and it breaks again.

I also removed the NetworkInterfaces.plist and preferences.plist configs per @Tesserax, so will see if that stops the issue from reoccurring.

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Answer 11

Jan 14, 2026 8:19 AM in response to MrHoffman

Not related to this network specifically. I've had similar issues at work on this computer.

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Answer 12

Jan 30, 2026 7:46 AM in response to Shareef Yousef

The location trick is no longer working. Back to having to restart to fix this very annoying issue.

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