WiFi having request timeout for icmp_seq

Question

Level 1

16 points

WiFi having request timeout for icmp_seq

Recently, for some reason or other, my WiFi seems to have ceased to function properly. It was first obvious when pages started taking forever to load.

I decided to do a simple 'ping' in terminal to see if there was a problem there: if it could establish a proper connection. Upon doing so, each time I would ping any website, I would get a few successful packet transfers, yet this would be interspersed with: 'time out for icmp_seq 1' (or any other number according to which ping it was). Like so:

Thank you for you time if any of you can sort this out. 🙂

MacBook Air, macOS Sierra (10.12.4), The computer dates from 2011

Posted on Jun 2, 2017 3:20 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Andreas Burgdorf

Level 1

28 points

Jun 3, 2017 3:05 AM in response to PortableDoor

Hi PortableDoor,

the ping says there is some problem between your mac and google's webpage. The cause may be poor WiFi connectivity or poor Internet connectivity. I would do the following:

1. Restart the router, hoping anything's good afterwards.

if problems persist or comes back soon:

2. Pinging the router - if pings to the router are stable (latency <1ms, no timeouts), your WiFi is fine, continue with 3.

if not:

- troubleshoot your WiFi (Reduce distance to router, change WiFi channel)

- troubleshoot your Router: Sometimes the router is just busy because other devices in your network cause heavy load. Or something consumes your routers CPU time in performing a lot of authentication failures. This "something" can be a misconfigured device on your network or even somebody trying to hack your WiFi. In this case, MAC Address filtering maybe a solution.

3. There is a problem with your internet connection. Possible Reasons:

- poor cabling - check all connections

- poor internet connection - maybe the cause is at your provider

- router busy - check whether other devices in your network cause heavy load

Hoping this helps you to solve the issue,

Andreas

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Answer 2

brenden dv

Community Specialist

Jun 2, 2017 3:53 PM in response to PortableDoor

Hi PortableDoor,

I understand that your Wi-Fi connection appears to not be functioning properly and you're seeing latency when web pages are loading. I know it's important to get the most from your Wi-Fi connection and I'd like to assist you. I'd recommend taking some time to review both Check for Wi-Fi issues using your Mac and Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points to troubleshoot the behavior you're experiencing.

Best Regards.

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Answer 3

PortableDoor Author

Level 1

16 points

Jun 5, 2017 7:36 AM in response to Andreas Burgdorf

Hello Andreas,

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, I can confirm that my router is not at fault, as I have been able to connect several other devices to it, as well as going through all of the steps you have described above, and them not solving my problem. Furthermore, if it is of any significance, I now connect to wifi via a USB WiFi card I happened to have bought for my Raspberry Pi that seems to be doing a decent job for now- however I would ultimately like to get to the bottom of the problem. 🙂

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Answer 4

PortableDoor Author

Level 1

16 points

Jun 5, 2017 7:42 AM in response to brenden dv

Hello Brenden,

Thank you for replying. I had already used the Apple WiFi diagnostics tool (which I probably should have included in my post), and it only states that seems to be no problems with my internet connection- or whatever the default 'all clear' message is. I have also monitored the WiFi connection of several routers that I have connected to over time with the same tool, and they all seem to be showing me that they have a stead connection. Furthermore, it may also be of use to you to know that though some pages may take a rather long time to load, others seem to not load at all (right now I think it is just a matter of luck).

I have also told user 'Andreas Burgdorf' that I am currently using a USB WiFi card (Realtek EW-7811Un, if it is of any use), which seems to be working perfectly well.

This seems to make the problem all-the-more interesting as I think it may have something to do with the internal WiFi card itself. However, as I had previously mentioned, it was working perfectly until some time ago.

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Answer 5

Old Toad

Level 10

210,111 points

Jun 2, 2017 4:00 PM in response to PortableDoor

Have you tried rebooting your modem and router?

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Answer 6

PortableDoor Author

Level 1

16 points

Jun 5, 2017 7:27 AM in response to Old Toad

Yes, I have. Unfortunately I can confirm that it definitely is not the router's fault.

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