MacBook Pro M1 2.4GHz Wi-Fi drops out, need channel advice

The channel numbers assigned for the 2.4 GHz band were invented so long ago, that today there are only THREE 20 MHz channels available in conventional use: 1, 6, and 11. Each spills up and down the spectrum so as to swamp anything else on the intervening channels.

When your neighbor hogs 2.4 GHz by demanding a 40 MHz channel, it essentially takes HALF 2.4 GHz spectrum with their data.

this illustration from Wikipedia:

Graphical representation of Wireless LAN channels in 2.4 GHz band. Channels 12 and 13 are customarily unused in North America. As a result, the usual 20 MHz allocation becomes 1/6/11, the same as 11b. Note "channel 3" in the 40 MHz diagram above is often labelled with the 20 MHz channel numbers "1+5" or "1" with "+ Upper" or "5" with "+ Lower" in router interfaces, and "11" as "9+13" or "9" with "+ Upper" or "13" with "+ Lower".

So you can go knock on doors and see if you can find that guy, and ask them to change to only 20 MHz channel, or you can abandon 2.4 GHZ and move to 5G Hz, where you appear to have at least one great connection on channel 36. possibly two if both of those are yours.

Create a 5Ghz only Wifi network on your router and connect your devices to that WiFi network, that is all you need to do and your problem will be solved. It is a waste of time trying to get multiple devices keeping a connection on a 2.4Ghz network that is limited by channel bandwidth and device interference. It was fine 29 years ago when the 2.4Ghz band was first adopted, but that is no longer the case and only remains for backwards compatibility with older devices. All your Apple devices will be able to connect to the 5Ghz band.

Another great tool for this work is WiFi Explorer. it is inexpensive and has a trial period.

Its "spectrum" display shows just how congested things might be

note that this 2.4 GHz band is paralyzed, and nobody is getting much through.

The very crowded and interference-prone 2.4 GHz band is never a way to escape from problems in the higher, 5 GHz band -- it is invariably the reverse.

You older Router can not go any faster than the speed you reported on the other thread, about 866 M bits/sec, and does not suggest anything is broken or disconnected -- you were running at top speed available using both your antennas under 802.11ac rules, which is Router dependent. A newer Router could likely reach 1200 M bits/sec using 802.11ax protocols.

if you can set different channels on your main Router and Access Point, or set both devices to "Automatic", your problems should abate after a Restart of all your access points.

You would be better served by continuing your discussion in your original thread — specifically, by following the previous suggestions for using Wireless Diagnostics:

2020 M1 MacBook Pro Wi-Fi drops, poor signal, aerial damage?

Without empirical data you're just stumbling in the dark.

DoogyDawg wrote:

So which one do you suggest?

I have an update to the problem I have been having, but another question associated with it.

Why limit yourself to just two threads? Start a third! 🤪 But seriously, scattering the discussion can’t be undone, so pick one of the two threads and post. Probably best right here though, as this has the newest info, and I’ve added a link in the earlier thread.

Back to the discussion, 2.4 Ghz is a mess in many places, automatic channel selection is problematic as channel contention increases, and the whole band is probably best relegated to IoT gear.

DoogyDawg wrote:

I separated the two (SSID) and renamed it to my name 5MHz , logged onto that, and it works like a charm, not dropping, and we don't need a booster upstairs any longer. I can even go and sit on the patio again.

Cheers.

Great to hear, thanks for the update!

your other thread is still open, and you can add to it.

Neither possible nor necessary. It just makes things easier on yourself not to create multiple threads, and to reply with answers to questions likely to help advance troubleshooting.