Mac will not connect to Wi-Fi network automatically, will connect manually

[crammedberry]

I have a MacBook Pro (13 inch, retina, late 2013, running macOS Mojave) that won't connect to my Wi-Fi network automatically but does connect to it when I click the network in the Wi-Fi status menu in the menu bar after a few minutes.

To give you a little bit of background, the MacBook Pro connects to other networks automatically (for example if I create a hotspot from a phone using Wi-Fi, not bluetooth). My Wi-Fi network consists of two routers: one connected to my modem as the main station and the second one in WDS relay mode to expand the network (both are tp-link routers if it helps). The network is set up to use the 2.4GHz band (b/g/n) as the 5GHz band can't go through the walls in my house. In addition to the MacBook Pro, we have two iPhones, two iPads, two Android phones, and two Windows PCs in the house that have no trouble connecting to the network. Only the MacBook Pro has trouble connecting.

When first starting up or waking up from sleep mode, the MacBook will search for a Wi-Fi network for a few minutes. Eventually it stops searching and the Wi-Fi status menu is grayed out – this is when I can manually select the network, and it connects without a problem then. Wireless signal strength isn't a problem, as all devices have full bars when connected.

What I have tried:

• Deleted and recreated Wi-Fi under network settings
• Removed all other devices under Wi-Fi settings (Thunderbolt bridge, Bluetooth PAN, etc.)
• Forgot network and logged in again
• Tried Apple's Wireless Diagnostics app (doesn't detect any problems after I manually connect to the network, says I'm not connected otherwise)
• Deleted network locations and started fresh under Wi-Fi settings
• Reserved an IP address specifically for the MacBook Pro (using the MAC address) in the router network settings to see if it would help
• Reset NVRAM (or PRAM) and SMC
• Updated computer to latest version of Mojave (I have 32-bit apps I still need, so can't update further)
• Deleted network plists

I've read any thread and any network problems page on the internet I could find that's even remotely related, but I'm at a loss. If anyone has any idea what's wrong and what I can do to fix it, I would be extremely grateful.

 

[jpn]

I have a MacBook Pro (13 inch, retina, late 2013, running macOS Mojave) that won't connect to my Wi-Fi network automatically but does connect to it when I click the network in the Wi-Fi status menu in the menu bar after a few minutes.

To give you a little bit of background, the MacBook Pro connects to other networks automatically (for example if I create a hotspot from a phone using Wi-Fi, not bluetooth). My Wi-Fi network consists of two routers: one connected to my modem as the main station and the second one in WDS relay mode to expand the network (both are tp-link routers if it helps). The network is set up to use the 2.4GHz band (b/g/n) as the 5GHz band can't go through the walls in my house. In addition to the MacBook Pro, we have two iPhones, two iPads, two Android phones, and two Windows PCs in the house that have no trouble connecting to the network. Only the MacBook Pro has trouble connecting.

When first starting up or waking up from sleep mode, the MacBook will search for a Wi-Fi network for a few minutes. Eventually it stops searching and the Wi-Fi status menu is grayed out – this is when I can manually select the network, and it connects without a problem then. Wireless signal strength isn't a problem, as all devices have full bars when connected.

What I have tried:

• Deleted and recreated Wi-Fi under network settings
• Removed all other devices under Wi-Fi settings (Thunderbolt bridge, Bluetooth PAN, etc.)
• Forgot network and logged in again
• Tried Apple's Wireless Diagnostics app (doesn't detect any problems after I manually connect to the network, says I'm not connected otherwise)
• Deleted network locations and started fresh under Wi-Fi settings
• Reserved an IP address specifically for the MacBook Pro (using the MAC address) in the router network settings to see if it would help
• Reset NVRAM (or PRAM) and SMC
• Updated computer to latest version of Mojave (I have 32-bit apps I still need, so can't update further)
• Deleted network plists

I've read any thread and any network problems page on the internet I could find that's even remotely related, but I'm at a loss. If anyone has any idea what's wrong and what I can do to fix it, I would be extremely grateful.

its sounds to me that for some reason the problem is caused by something in the way the network has been set up, and the the way it is assigning available addresses.
i bet that if you take the time to reset up the network using yr mac (not setting up the network by using a windows device), and avoid assigning what you think is a reserved IP address for yr Macbook Pro, and then having the windows devices and the iPhone connect to that network that it would solve the problem.
the thing to confirm this after setting it up with yr macbook, with actually reinitialising the router completely-going the whole 9 yards to make a different network name and password, using mojave drivers to reset up the router;
then shutdown yr mac and confirm that it is connecting automatically.
the point is that you need to confirm yr router is in fact is working as expected without any other device connected, under a Mojave set up first, and then connecting the other devices.
reserving an IP address for a specific mac address is tricky to do with most routers and often has problems with various devices and the OS systems they are using. reinitialising it by using yr mac has a greater chance to succeed and rule out that it is not a windows set up thing misbehaving with a device attempting to join under Mojave.

 

[crammedberry]

its sounds to me that for some reason the problem is caused by something in the way the network has been set up, and the the way it is assigning available addresses.
i bet that if you take the time to reset up the network using yr mac (not setting up the network by using a windows device), and avoid assigning what you think is a reserved IP address for yr Macbook Pro, and then having the windows devices and the iPhone connect to that network that it would solve the problem.
the thing to confirm this after setting it up with yr macbook, with actually reinitialising the router completely-going the whole 9 yards to make a different network name and password, using mojave drivers to reset up the router;
then shutdown yr mac and confirm that it is connecting automatically.
the point is that you need to confirm yr router is in fact is working as expected without any other device connected, under a Mojave set up first, and then connecting the other devices.
reserving an IP address for a specific mac address is tricky to do with most routers and often has problems with various devices and the OS systems they are using. reinitialising it by using yr mac has a greater chance to succeed and rule out that it is not a windows set up thing misbehaving with a device attempting to join under Mojave.

The current network setup was done using the MacBook Pro (under Mojave). I initially set it up using a Windows PC, but as only the Mac was having trouble, I reset the network (new SSID, new pass, used different channels, reset the modem, reset the main station, and even reset the relay station). Note that it has issues with or without a reserved IP address – that's just something I tried to see if it would help, but it did not change anything. The devices I listed are the only ones on the network, and when I set up the current network, the MacBook Pro was the only one on the network but the connection issues were unchanged (no other devices were connected as they didn't have the new network credentials).

 

[crammedberry]

I managed to solve my problem on accident. In case anyone else is having a similar problem now or has one in the future, this is what seems to have worked.

The network issues kept driving me nuts so I turned off Wi-Fi, went into network preferences, deleted Thunderbolt Bridge, Bluetooth PAN, and Wi-Fi (all the interfaces in my case – you might have a few more). I then added back only the Wi-Fi interface. I also "forgot" my network so that I could input the details again. This turns Wi-Fi back on, so I manually turned it off again. I then went to /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/ and deleted the following:

• com.apple.airport.preferences.plist
• com.apple.wifi.message-tracer.plist
• NetworkInterfaces.plist
• preferences.plist

I am running Mojave, so I didn't have a com.apple.network.identification.plist. If you are running a prior version, you might need to delete that too.

With Wi-Fi still off, I restarted my MBP. After that it just worked. I've restarted a few times since and I don't have the problems I had before. Wi-Fi connects automatically as soon as I log in and doesn't just keep searching for a network until I force it anymore.

I'd had this problem for a few months and had just about given up (almost bought an external Wi-Fi adapter because I was beginning to think it was a hardware issue). In my case it looks like it was just a software bug that was fixed by this random series of steps. Hope this helps someone!