Network Drives Reconnects Over Wifi Instead of Ethernet

[itsthenewdc]

I recently got a Mac Pro (2019). I've noticed some incredible slowdowns on my access to my Synology NAS and then realized it was using Wifi instead of the 10G Ethernet. I would turn off Wifi, reconnect to Synology, turn Wifi back on and everything would be fine.. until.. the computer goes to sleep and then when I come back it, for whatever reason, reconnects over wifi.

Is there anyway to stop/fix this? I need it to stay connected via 10G, otherwise it's incredible hassle to have to do the turn off/reconnect/turn on solution every single time I get back to the computer. It sort of defeats the purpose of a consistent connection.

I was previously using a 10G adaptor on my MacBook Pro and was told the Thunderbolt turns off when it goes to sleep, which is understandable, but a built-in 10G should not have this problem, especially since this is a workstation computer.. Why would it ever prioritize wifi over ethernet?

EDIT 1: Just incase anyone mentions it, my service order is Ethernet 1 > Ethernet 2 > Wifi.

 

[barbu]

I am puzzled, because as you correctly identify, the Service Order is the way to manage this. It is not clear why this would not result in things working the way you want. Can you post a screenshot of your network prefs?

 

[jeyf]

download the latest Synology firmware

I dont know about the ThunderBoldt port but you should not be using it
so
seems like you have a wifi box in your home. Does this wifi box have ethernet ports, it so connect the NAS box ethernet to one of these ports. Set the wifi function in pass through mode. There is no need to have the NAS box any where near your work station. Physically re locate the Synology NAS box next to the wifi.

 

[itsthenewdc]

I am puzzled, because as you correctly identify, the Service Order is the way to manage this. It is not clear why this would not result in things working the way you want. Can you post a screenshot of your network prefs?

[automerge]1581370319[/automerge]

download the latest Synology firmware

I dont know about the ThunderBoldt port but you should not be using it
so
seems like you have a wifi box in your home. Does this wifi box have ethernet ports, it so connect the NAS box ethernet to one of these ports. Set the wifi function in pass through mode. There is no need to have the NAS box any where near your work station. Physically re locate the Synology NAS box next to the wifi.

Synology is up to date. Thunderbolt to 10GBe adaptor is used on my MacBook Pro to achieve 10G speeds. However, I'm more concerned with my Mac Pro (2019) workstation. The Mac Pro and Synology both connect to the 10G switch. The switch and Synology are located in a server rack.

 

[RedTomato]

Can you not turn off the wifi on your Mac Pro? Why does it need to be on anyway - it should be receiving internet access via Ethernet anyway.

 

[itsthenewdc]

Can you not turn off the wifi on your Mac Pro? Why does it need to be on anyway - it should be receiving internet access via Ethernet anyway.

I could, but I also use Maps and location based stuff somewhat regularly that forces Wifi to be on to pickup my location. I should also not have to turn off Wifi to solve a services order problem when the services order is properly set.

 

[barbu]

I could, but I also use Maps and location based stuff somewhat regularly that forces Wifi to be on to pickup my location. I should also not have to turn off Wifi to solve a services order problem when the services order is properly set.

Agree that something is not working properly. One option is to leave Wifi on but leave disconnected from the network (ie “forget” the network). Then you still get location, airdrop etc but nothing will route over it. This is what I do with my iMac for the same reason.

 

[randolorian]

How do you know it is using Wifi instead of Ethernet for data transfers?

 

[itsthenewdc]

How do you know it is using Wifi instead of Ethernet for data transfers?

When it's on Ethernet it's getting 864 MB/s. When it's going at ~40 MB/s it's on Wifi. This is also confirmed because once I turn off Wifi, a few moments later the Synology disconnects from my computer. All I can think of is that for whatever reason when resuming from sleep it somehow sees Wifi first and no ethernet, and therefore tries to establish a connection with the Synology with Wifi.

 

[RedTomato]

Agree that something is not working properly. One option is to leave Wifi on but leave disconnected from the network (ie “forget” the network). Then you still get location, airdrop etc but nothing will route over it. This is what I do with my iMac for the same reason.

This might fix it. It isn't ideal, but it seems a valid workaround to get you back up and working & with location awareness etc working.

 

[Giffel]

I recently got a Mac Pro (2019). I've noticed some incredible slowdowns on my access to my Synology NAS and then realized it was using Wifi instead of the 10G Ethernet. I would turn off Wifi, reconnect to Synology, turn Wifi back on and everything would be fine.. until.. the computer goes to sleep and then when I come back it, for whatever reason, reconnects over wifi.

Is there anyway to stop/fix this? I need it to stay connected via 10G, otherwise it's incredible hassle to have to do the turn off/reconnect/turn on solution every single time I get back to the computer. It sort of defeats the purpose of a consistent connection.

I was previously using a 10G adaptor on my MacBook Pro and was told the Thunderbolt turns off when it goes to sleep, which is understandable, but a built-in 10G should not have this problem, especially since this is a workstation computer.. Why would it ever prioritize wifi over ethernet?

EDIT 1: Just incase anyone mentions it, my service order is Ethernet 1 > Ethernet 2 > Wifi.

Old thread... I know but i am having this exact problem with my new Mac Mini, did you ever find a solution?

 

[haralds]

Can you not turn off the wifi on your Mac Pro? Why does it need to be on anyway - it should be receiving internet access via Ethernet anyway.

Continuity, Watch unlock. location accuracy, etc. all depend on WiFi.

 

[haralds]

I keep running into the same issue on my Mac Studio. Very unpredictable. This has nothing to do with the NAS.

 

[Giffel]

I keep running into the same issue on my Mac Studio. Very unpredictable. This has nothing to do with the NAS.

Right the NAS is not the problem, everything worked just fine with my 27" iMac 2020.
Can't figure out what the problem is though...

 

[simacc]

Running into the same issue here. Very annoying!

I spent a fair bit of time on this and couldn't figure out why. Everything looks OK after sleep:

But it's definitely connecting on WiFi, and not 10G...50MB/s and not 1170MB/s...what's even weirder is the NAS still thinks it's the IP from the ethernet! I even separated the IPs by 100 on the router...wifi over x.x.x.200+...no dice. I haven't tried VLAN, as that could cause other issues...

The only workaround I can think of is to disable WiFi when the Mac sleeps and turn it back on after waking. Not the solution we want, but if anyone else has figured this out please reply.

So here's my workaround which seems to work (requires bettertouchtool):

 

[simacc]

here's the applescript to save you typing it out:

use framework "CoreWLan" tell the current application's CWWiFiClient's ¬ sharedWiFiClient()'s interface() to ¬ setPower:(not powerOn()) |error|:(missing value)

 

[Giffel]

My solution so far:

In settings - Wi-Fi press the 3 dots on the right side and select "Do not connect automatically".
Do this for all your Wi-Fi SSID's, turn off Wi-Fi and turn it back on, the Mac will not connect to Wi-Fi but you can still use Airdrop, unlock with Apple Watch, continuity etc.

 

[Dopemaster]

Wondering if anyone has found a viable solution to this?

Recently bought and setup a Synology 1821+ and M2 Ultra. On mine, it seems to randomly switch back and forth between the 10GB ethernet, to wifi, then back again. Very frustrating when trying to edit in Davinci Resolve, everything will be working fine, then it will grind to a halt. Diskspeed test goes from 900/1100MB's to 30/40MBs, then back again, for no good reason.

Just spent a bomb on this setup and don't want to have to turn off wifi for a ridiculous 'work around' when there's no reason it shouldn't work out of the box.

 

[Dopemaster]

Early days, so I may well come back looking for other solutions, but thus far switching off 'auto-join' on the wifi settings seems to have solved the problem. Stable editing for 2+ hours now when previously it was grinding to a halt every 20 minutes or so... Transfer speeds have been consistently saturating the 10GBE ethernet connection.

 

[simacc]

Early days, so I may well come back looking for other solutions, but thus far switching off 'auto-join' on the wifi settings seems to have solved the problem. Stable editing for 2+ hours now when previously it was grinding to a halt every 20 minutes or so... Transfer speeds have been consistently saturating the 10GBE ethernet connection.

Yes it's the easiest/best way...I actually got rid of my bettertouchtool/applescript workaround I had above, although it also worked...