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Anyone having ethernet and wifi issues after updating to Big Sur?

G

gpspad

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 4, 2014
696
47
I noticed my late 2015 iMac keeps randomnly loosing its wifi and ethernet connections since upgrading to Big Sur. My iMac is connected via ethernet and wifi, I have been able to rule out the network, as only the one iMac looses internet.

If I reboot in safe mode the internet comes back, if i then reboot normally its restored, but it will keep dropping the internet connections.

Anyone else getting this?
 
Yea, but I'm also loosing there ethernet connection. I tried shutting off wifi, and while it shows the ethernet is connected it doesn't recognize anything else on the network. Ill randomly turn the wifi back on and it doesn't;t fix anything.
 
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May not matter but -
Check for router firmware,
Turn off 2.4Ghz

With just 5.0 mine has been better.
Depending on she of router might want upgrade. Wifi 6 provides some improvements, processing power, memory and cache, faster download. Even on older equipment.
 
After boot this morning, I noted my Air was not connected to Wi-Fi. Clicked the (greyed out) icon and it could 'see' my regular Wi-Fi, but not my usual connection 5G. Wouldn't connect to the found regular service, either.

Checked on my phone and it was using the 5G, so not a modem / ISP issue. Shut down the Mac and, as a bit of a belt and suspenders move, I unplugged the modem too. Came back a few minutes later - plugged it in, let it get fully up and running and then rebooted Mac.

Found and connected to my 5G no issue. Sigh...
 
gpspad said:
I noticed my late 2015 iMac keeps randomnly loosing its wifi and ethernet connections since upgrading to Big Sur. My iMac is connected via ethernet and wifi, I have been able to rule out the network, as only the one iMac looses internet.

If I reboot in safe mode the internet comes back, if i then reboot normally its restored, but it will keep dropping the internet connections.

Anyone else getting this?
Click to expand...
I am also getting this issue. On 2 separate devices, rebooting them brings it back, but it's random and annoying, and seems to be Big Sur related. One is iMac via ethernet, the other via wifi, MacBook Pro. Was not issue before Big Sur.
 
Im just getting having this issue with my late 2015 iMac connected via ethernet. My MacBooka have been Ok so far, as well as my 2012 mac mini server. So I know its a big sur issue now.

A temporary fix seems to be rebooting in safe mode (holding down the shift key, while it boots up), at which point you will have internet again, then reboot back normal and it will be all set. Until it happens again, I had to reboot twice today.

I did remove Little snitch and avast just to make sure, not sure if it has helped yet.
 
A similar problem here. In my case, I use my MacBook Pro 16'' in clamshell model with Ethernet connection. No problem with this one. But when I unplug the Ethernet, very often there is no connection. The WiFi shows it is connected, but I cannot ping any LAN devices and there is no Internet. A reboot fixes the issue. Started with 11.0. I'm now on 11.1 RC and the problem remains.

Never had this problem on Catalina.
 
I ended up un-installing little snitch and all my problems went away, so much so I forgot about this thread.

Are you running Little Snitch?
 
A similar problem here, and I don't run Little Snitch. One minute I'm connected, then suddenly it drops. A minute or two - or twenty at times - later it reconnects. Running a 2017 iMac Pro.
I've tried safe reboot and restart, but 20 minutes later the connection dropped again. This makes working remotely a huge challenge, suddenly getting disconnected from meetings.
 
On my old MBP 2016 (which is sold) and now on my MBA m! no issues. Big sur runs fine for me. Wifi problems is mostly a router thing.
 
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Similar problems here - Big Sur seems to stall, network drops - both wired and wireless, several apps beachball and then after a few minutes of nothing, it all comes back.
 
My Ethernet is fine but my wireless does drop out sometimes. Not often, but it can drop out after a few hours of use for about a minute. Turing off Wi-Fi and turning it back on fixes it.
 
The underlying problem if remedy could lie with router / firmware - was for me. I deslth with using Airplane mode and turning wifi off/for ages. Got worse during iOS 14 beta with Private Address and using local vpn. Symptoms not underlying cause. 2nd generation Wi-Fi 6 and problem is gone. Even Netflix stopped being an issue or thinking cable system was overloaded everyday at 3.
 
I have been having this since moving to Big Sur. Happens with Ethernet too. A temporary "fix" seems to be changing my IP address. Very annoying.

This only seems to happen on a work MBP; haven't seen it on my personal one or my Mac Mini. One thing that changed was a switch from Sophos to Defender, but I don't know if that means anything; just thought it worth noting in case others have that in common.
 
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I am experiencing the exact same issue with ethernet on my 2018 Mac mini. Started to happen after updating to Big Sur (currently 11.2.1), and it is really annoying. I have tried to delete the ethernet profile under Network, and add a new one. Doesnt help. To me it happens mostly within the first half hour of use after booting, then it seems to stabilize. It does not happen on my Macbook Air running Catalina, not on my wifes PC, nor any of our iOS devices, so it is definitely a Big Sur issue. And it is extremely frustrating!

As a side note, my colleague is running a M1 Macbook Air, and is experiencing the exact same issues via wifi.
 
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Here's an issue with a 2015 MacBook Pro running Big Sur: If I remove the Thunderbolt Ethernet cable, the machine thinks it's still connected to Thunderbolt Ethernet, and wi-fi can't connect to the Internet. The only solution is to remove Thunderbolt Ethernet from Network Preferences, disable wi-fi, and then re-enable wi-fi.
 
Same issue. Upgraded to Big Sur 11.5 from Catalina. Now, Ethernet connection is dropping. The hardware is working fine. Had to switch to WiFi.

I filed MacOS big report. This issue appears to be widely experienced by the user community.
 
WiFI connects- disconnect all the time. On two computers since the Big Sur upgrade. Not Wifi router or set up as all Smart Home, iPhone, Ipad's, etc have no problems. Reinstalled Big Sur - Nope. Working again now - but will see when it does the dance again.
 
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