MBP - acting strangely - could it be network?

[AceC]

I'm away from home, and am using a different WiFi network, of course. The problem is that whenever I use the internet, it works for a few minutes before the spinning wheel appears. After is appears, the mac becomes frozen and I have to hold the button down to power off and restart. I've done this about 10-15 times tonight.

However, the only thing I can think of that has been making my mac act differently is the WiFi network I'm on. I currently am not on this network, and am using my phone's WiFi hotspot; I have run into no problems yet, and my mac appears to be working normally again.

So my question: is it possible for a network to affect a mac like this? It just seems really weird that it has been acting up so much and is suddenly fine again once I am no longer using the network.

Thanks.

 

[Superspeed500]

What browser are you using? Have you tried to check the Activity monitor on your Mac for unusual requests? Do you have a firewall enabled? It's always recommended to have a network firewall enabled on your Mac when you are connected to a Wi-Fi network that you do not have controll over.

 

[Fishrrman]

Are you by any chance in a motel or hotel?

I've stayed in a few places which offered "free wifi", where the wifi speeds in the evening (when everyone was in their rooms and online) was terrible. Too many connections trying to claim their share of limited bandwith.

 

[grahamperrin]

Might a network issue require a forced stop of the Mac? That's extremely unlikely.

Please read other topics that discuss the symptoms (technically: the beach ball is a spinning wait cursor).