Basic interconnected technologies usually work so well that now I’m surprised when something really doesn’t work. This is especially true when using Apple technologies, but in January I started having issues with my M1-powered Mac’s Wi-Fi connectivity.
Turns out I wasn’t alone. Numerous M1 and M2 powered Mac users running macOS Ventura have reported issues staying properly connected to Wi-Fi networks. I say “stay well connected” because my Mac (and others’) kept showing that the computer was connected to the Wi-Fi network, but email, internet connectivity, Teams sessions, and other cloud services all failed.
An investigation of the Wi-Fi network settings revealed that the IP address assigned to the Mac frequently changed from a valid routable LAN address to the infamous 169.254.xy address, the value for automatic private IP addressing. addressing assigned when an address is not available or received via DHCP. The address 169.254.xy is of course not very routable — hence the errors.
Unfortunately, disabling and re-enabling Wi-Fi did not resolve the issue. Nor did renewing the DHCP lease resolve the error. In my experience and testing, only restarting the Mac resolved the issue. Even then, rebooting only fixed the error for about an hour, after which the problem often returned.
Intriguingly, I don’t run into the Wi-Fi issue when connected to my office’s wireless network, nor do I have any issues using my M1-powered iPad. The error only occurs with my M1 MacBook Pro when connected to my home’s mesh network. Additional research turned up a variety of possible explanations, including how beamforming and mesh networking work, but I didn’t believe that answer because my office’s wireless networking equipment seamlessly uses the same technologies.
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How to Fix M1 and M2 macOS Ventura Wi-Fi Connectivity
Update your version of macOS
Multiple sources indicate that updating macOS to the latest release, macOS Ventura version 13.2 at the time of writing, will resolve the issue. The specific M1/M2 Wi-Fi issues seem to have surfaced with the release of macOS Ventura in late October 2022.
To download and install available macOS updates, open System Settings, click General, and then select Software Update. macOS notifies you if updates are available: If so, clicking the appropriate button will begin the update process.
Alternatively, you may see the message in Figure A confirming that your Mac is up to date.
Image A
Downloading and updating macOS Ventura 13.1 did not resolve the issue on my M1 MacBook Pro. macOS update 13.2 improved my Mac’s Wi-Fi reliability, but didn’t completely fix the problem.
Disable the Apple Wireless Direct Link interface
meter And UCLA were initially among those who reported users experiencing the M1/M2 macOS Ventura Wi-Fi connection issue. The prevailing directive was to disable the Apple Wireless Direct Link interface, which was believed to be contributing to the problem. Meter even provided Terminal commands that users could use to disable AWDL, but other reports and my own testing indicated that AWDL quickly restarts on its own, so that option doesn’t really work.
Open and change macOS Wi-Fi information
Instead, I looked at the Mac’s Wi-Fi information. You can access this yourself when troubleshooting your own Wi-Fi problems by pressing the Command and Spacebar keys at the same time, typing System Information, and then pressing Enter. Scroll down to the Network category in the menu on the left and highlight Wi-Fi.
View the macOS lists of Wi-Fi network details in the right pane. The system specifies the channel, such as 44 (5GHz, 40Mhz), as well as signal-to-noise ratios, as shown in Figure B. The higher the ratio, the better the signal quality. Look for Wi-Fi configurations that provide at least a +25 dB difference between the signal and noise values.
Figure B
Also look for possible conflicts of other wireless network channels and frequencies that may be intruding on your location. Adjusting your Wi-Fi network’s channel accordingly to eliminate conflicts with other nearby networks should improve your wireless reliability.
Also check your WiFi equipment. Downloading and installing the latest firmware updates often helps to address and resolve such errors. The process is different for each device, so check the manufacturer’s website for the corresponding required steps.
Try the Wireless Diagnostics tool
In addition, you can run macOS wireless diagnostics. To run the integrated wireless troubleshooting tool, press the Command and Spacebar keys at the same time and type Wireless Diagnostics. When you press Enter, the Wireless Diagnostics menu appears, as shown in Figure C.
Figure C
Follow the directions in the menu to run the diagnostic tool, which monitors and records Wi-Fi traffic on the network you’re connected to. Once done, hit the Continue button and follow the remaining prompts to complete the process. The tool creates a diagnostic report with best practice guidelines and additional information that you can use to resolve potential network conflicts and errors.
If you’re having trouble deciphering the details of your Wi-Fi configuration, or if you’re having trouble interpreting the results of your Wireless Diagnostics report, seek help from a knowledgeable friend or colleague. These macOS tools are useful utilities that help locate problems
Should more complex troubleshooting be required, such as by your organization’s IT staff or a service provider, the diagnostic tool also creates files in your Mac’s /var/temp directory. These files contain additional detailed details for a number of processes and components that may be of further use in isolating and resolving Wi-Fi errors.
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Working Wi-Fi with macOS Ventura
In my case, these steps solved my wifi problems, at least for now, because I can’t replicate the problems. I recommend following the same steps: update macOS, check that the firmware of your Wi-Fi equipment is up to date, view the channels of your Wi-Fi network, and possibly adjust the Wi-Fi configuration to avoid conflicts with other networks. eliminate the neighborhood – if you are experiencing similar problems .
Read more tutorials from Erik here: Fix errors when enabling Apple’s advanced data protection And how to configure logitech g hub software on a mac.
