Network Utility Deprecated in macOS Big Sur

[apparatchik]

You can see the connection speed in System Preferences/Network/Ethernet/Hardware without using Network Utility.

I might be wrong here but I don’t think that option reflects what your actual negotiated link speed is, but instead is the speed at which you prefer to connect to, both things can differ, I have it set at 1000 for example but the actual speed on Network Utility can read 100.

This very option you mention is what ifconfig outputs, the value can even be “autoselect”, which differs from what Network Utility prints which is the actual speed you end up connecting at.

 

[1369281]

You can see the connection speed in System Preferences/Network/Ethernet/Hardware without using Network Utility.

Not the negotiated speed.

 

[chrfr]

I might be wrong here but I don’t think that option reflects what your actual negotiated link speed is, but instead is the speed at which you prefer to connect to, both things can differ, I have it set at 1000 for example but the actual speed on Network Utility can read 100.

This very option you mention is what ifconfig outputs, the value can even be “autoselect”, which differs from what Network Utility prints which is the actual speed you end up connecting at.

If your adapter is set to autonegotiate (and it should be, except in very limited circumstances), the network preference pane will indeed reflect the actual connection speed and duplex status as long as there is an active ethernet connection.

 

[chrfr]

Not the negotiated speed.

The first screen capture here reflects my switch port locked to 10Mbps/half duplex and the adapter set to autonegotiate. The second screen capture shows both the switch and the adapter set to auto.
This same information is also available in System Information, under the network section.

 

[chucker23n1]

The degree to which many of you are averse to simple terminal commands (let alone the "man" command which gives you the complete syntax of each command) is mind-numbing. Your Mac uses UNIX. Don't recoil from it in fear. Embrace it. Also recognize that Network Utility has been going down a REALLY LONG path towards deprecation for a while now. This isn't a case of Apple deprecating something that people widely use and seemingly overnight.

Is this an audition for a gatekeeping reality TV series?

 

[Yebubbleman]

I traveled down the 'terminal commands' rabbit hole years ago.

What I found is that some of the utilities I was using, CORRECTLY, Had ZERO effect on the performance of macOS.

Seriously!!!

The command showed they completed. macOS completely ignored the changes I tried to perform. COMPLETELY!

I called Apple support, and requested to get sent to someone 'who knew the command line', and was sent to someone who said he was a programmer engineer, and had a huge history in Unix.

He lauded my drive to do what I was trying to do through the command line, but said that his experience is that the ability to change the overlying OS through the command line for what I was trying to do was 'patchy at best'. He said that what I was trying to do was 'valid' in Unix, and should even work in Mach, but macOS at that time tended to ignore some 'various' commands and results. Like I could query Mach, and see that the change happened, but macOS was looking at its own information, and it didn't support that particular function. It was an obscure ISP thing, and it's been so long, I can't remember the exact stuff I was trying to do, but he said that macOS wasn't going to do it.

So, command line is great. For what is still supported. I can imagine that the list of things that you can't change through the command line would fill several volumes in a library, so yeah, be aware that some stuff just can't be done, and it's not all 'heavy lifting'...

But have fun. Find what doesn't work. I was so frustrated as I remember. Obviously frustrated enough to call Apple support.

The Commands in Network Utility do not perform changes. They only present info. Not 100% applicable.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

The Commands in Network Utility do not perform changes. They only present info. Not 100% applicable.

True, sorry for bopping in like that, but so many people get the 'command line is SO POWERFUL, and, well, sometimes it's not.

It was just a comment. I was also reliving some of the angst from that moment. 'But it *should* be working!'

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I had problems with auto-negotiation with a client. Damndest thing, everything *should* have worked, but things weren't. I ended up replacing the jack in the wall, and used a different patch cable. It didn't make sense, but it fixed the problem. All I could figure out was the combination was slightly off spec, and the adapter, or switch, was throttling the speed down. No one else in that office was having issues. Sometimes I never knew exactly what fixed a problem, it was just fixed. *shrug*

 

[chucker23n1]

I had problems with auto-negotiation with a client. Damndest thing, everything *should* have worked, but things weren't. I ended up replacing the jack in the wall, and used a different patch cable. It didn't make sense, but it fixed the problem. All I could figure out was the combination was slightly off spec, and the adapter, or switch, was throttling the speed down. No one else in that office was having issues. Sometimes I never knew exactly what fixed a problem, it was just fixed. *shrug*

It could be that someone terminated the wall wiring inconsistently. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSI/TIA-568#T568A_and_T568B_termination

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

It could be that someone terminated the wall wiring inconsistently. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSI/TIA-568#T568A_and_T568B_termination

Isn't that kinda what I said?

But kinks, running along high voltage lines, or near high voltage lighting, motors, etc. Tons of stuff can introduce interference into a wired network. I remember a client that had a problem with losing connections, and another tech was there, watching their newly installed fish tank, and coincidentally, people started asking it he left at the same time he noticed their large tank heater flipped on. It was on the same circuit as their backbone switch, and apparently the power issues the reed switch introduced into the power was enough to cause the switch to freak out. They moved the heater to a different circuit from the breaker panel, problem solved. Sometimes the simplest things can cause the most bizarre issues. (just saying. Ethernet is pretty resilient, but 'stuff happens', and it's sometimes hard to track that stuff down)

 

[apparatchik]

Isn't that kinda what I said?

But kinks, running along high voltage lines, or near high voltage lighting, motors, etc. Tons of stuff can introduce interference into a wired network. I remember a client that had a problem with losing connections, and another tech was there, watching their newly installed fish tank, and coincidentally, people started asking it he left at the same time he noticed their large tank heater flipped on. It was on the same circuit as their backbone switch, and apparently the power issues the reed switch introduced into the power was enough to cause the switch to freak out. They moved the heater to a different circuit from the breaker panel, problem solved. Sometimes the simplest things can cause the most bizarre issues. (just saying. Ethernet is pretty resilient, but 'stuff happens', and it's sometimes hard to track that stuff down)

And this is exactly why Network Utility is so valuable to some of us, a centralized gui to check all the basics.

I've no idea why from time to time my ethernet connection negotiates at 100 Mbps instead of 1 Gbps, and with a myriad of remote computing and streaming computing (cloud computing, remote desktop, cloud gaming ala geforce now or stadia, etc, etc) the key word is latency. And to this day, nothing beats ethernet.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

And this is exactly why Network Utility is so valuable to some of us, a centralized gui to check all the basics.

I've no idea why from time to time my ethernet connection negotiates at 100 Mbps instead of 1 Gbps, and with a myriad of remote computing and streaming computing (cloud computing, remote desktop, cloud gaming ala geforce now or stadia, etc, etc) the key word is latency. And to this day, nothing beats ethernet.

It's always better to hard wire, but at the 'big box stores' they push wifi as 'magic that works all the time'. I can't count on fingers and toes the amount of people I've dealt with that wifi wasn't magic for then inn spite of what the sales droid told them. Walls, steel studs, rebar, etc, are all enemies of wifi signals, but the idiots at the box stores can get people all worked up over wifi and how magic it is. And if it's not magic, they sell those range extenders, sometimes multiples, to bring the magic back. *sigh*

 

[chucker23n1]

Absolutely no reason for apple to remove network utility, I use this app extensively.

Luckily when I upgraded to Big Sur from Mojave I kept the old partition around so I copied network utility from the previous install and thought id share it with everyone, but someone already has.
I packaged it up in a dmg so I may aswell share it now.
iCloud Download here

Huh, the Info tab is surprisingly broken for me.

It shows "Wi-Fi (en0)" (so far, so good), but all interface information is empty. If I then select "Thunderbolt (en1)" (also correct), it shows its hardware address, link speed, link status, vendor, model correctly (which isn't useful, as it isn't connected). If I then switch back to "Wi-Fi (en0)"… it still shows me info from the Thunderbolt adapter?

 

[chrfr]

Huh, the Info tab is surprisingly broken for me.

It shows "Wi-Fi (en0)" (so far, so good), but all interface information is empty. If I then select "Thunderbolt (en1)" (also correct), it shows its hardware address, link speed, link status, vendor, model correctly (which isn't useful, as it isn't connected). If I then switch back to "Wi-Fi (en0)"… it still shows me info from the Thunderbolt adapter?

I have seen the names of ports get mixed up. If you delete the existing ports from the Network Preference pane, you should be able to add each one back in and then they should be named as expected.

 

[BillfromF]

There is a relatively simple solution. I have done it! If you have an older operating system (I used Snow Leopard) it is possible to move the Network Utility to your public folder. Then connect from the Big Sur computer to that public folder over the network and drag the Network Utility onto the desktop. It is 64 bit, so no problem. Use the "open" from mouse+control key. Network Utility works perfectly on Big Sur. Move it to your Utilities folder for easy access. Don't forget to move it back to its original position on your older machine!

 

[minik]

I copied the one from macOS Catalina and brought it to Big Sur, it worked.

 

[fkt1]

Used it probably 4 times in last 16 years.

I use it constantly still!

I FOUND IT!

Where? How? (Thanks in advance!)

First things first. Just wait.

Finally macOS Bull Sh*t will be the one that will make us scratch the back of our heads thinking 'how could we let it get this far?'.

Yes, that and finally getting on the windows bandwagon ...

I don't think we need to worry about losing Terminal in MacOS. Given Apple's pattern, they are more likely to cripple more of their existing applications and then completely bury them in Terminal.

How did we go from this:

to this?

Welcome to macOS Sierra’s new Console: it’s buried in Terminal

So how do you check your logs to see if backups have been made correctly? Forget Console – you’ve got to use Terminal.

eclecticlight.co

Yes, it's sucks (but seems to happen in every industry ...)!

Thanks, Im holding on to Catalina, but plan on getting a new Mac Mini in January which of course will ship with Big Sur, if someone is able to try the classic Network Utility on an M1 Mac with this method and report back it would be greatly appreciated.

Here's a copy of it in case anyone in this thread needs it.

Forgive my ignorance; I downloaded it (many thanks), but then what do I do? Just open it and place it ... where? (On MAC OS 10.13?). Thank you in advance (if it doesn't take you too long to explain ...)!

 

[fkt1]

The degree to which many of you are averse to simple terminal commands (let alone the "man" command which gives you the complete syntax of each command) is mind-numbing. Your Mac uses UNIX. Don't recoil from it in fear. Embrace it. Also recognize that Network Utility has been going down a REALLY LONG path towards deprecation for a while now. This isn't a case of Apple deprecating something that people widely use and seemingly overnight.

How condescending! You may forget that many of us turned to Mac specifically because we didn't have to be a geek to operate a computer!! And so Terminal is not that easy for neophites, or rather, as you know, you can easely do somthg wrong on it ... And I've been on Mac since 1987, so it's been a while and so yes, I do mind very much - as others do - when such useful tools disappear (I still use several times a day on an older OS (10.6.8 for a program that no longer exists) as I travel a lot in countries with terrible internet connections ... and it does help and even seems to "relaunch" in a strange way the connections when they stall). It's not like "old" apps are useless because of a time factor, if evolution was always to the better we would have no collapse of civilizations ... so yes, sometimes (often in the computer universe) new doesn't mean better ...

 

[fkt1]

Huh, the Info tab is surprisingly broken for me.

It shows "Wi-Fi (en0)" (so far, so good), but all interface information is empty. If I then select "Thunderbolt (en1)" (also correct), it shows its hardware address, link speed, link status, vendor, model correctly (which isn't useful, as it isn't connected). If I then switch back to "Wi-Fi (en0)"… it still shows me info from the Thunderbolt adapter?

Absolutely no reason for apple to remove network utility, I use this app extensively.

Luckily when I upgraded to Big Sur from Mojave I kept the old partition around so I copied network utility from the previous install and thought id share it with everyone, but someone already has.
I packaged it up in a dmg so I may aswell share it now.
iCloud Download here

Forgive my ignorance please! I downloaded it, but then where do I install in on my OS 10.13? Many thanks in advance.

 

[Yebubbleman]

How condescending! You may forget that many of us turned to Mac specifically because we didn't have to be a geek to operate a computer!!

Except you STILL need to know what each of those tabs in Network Utility do, which is 90% of the geek you have to be in order to use those commands to begin with! The other 10% is merely typing them out!

And so Terminal is not that easy for neophites, or rather, as you know, you can easely do somthg wrong on it

If you are a neophite, what are you doing using Network Utility to begin with?! You need to understand what the UNIX commands even do BECAUSE THEY'RE THE SAME AS THE TABS IN NETWORK UTILITY!

... And I've been on Mac since 1987, so it's been a while and so yes, I do mind very much - as others do - when such useful tools disappear

It'd be one thing if Apple deprecated a utility that was widely in use. They hid it for four major releases of macOS before outright deprecating it and, again, it's a utility that, if you're savvy enough to even know how to use, you'll be able to use the Terminal equivalents just fine.

(I still use several times a day on an older OS (10.6.8 for a program that no longer exists) as I travel a lot in countries with terrible internet connections ... and it does help and even seems to "relaunch" in a strange way the connections when they stall). It's not like "old" apps are useless because of a time factor, if evolution was always to the better we would have no collapse of civilizations ... so yes, sometimes (often in the computer universe) new doesn't mean better ...

...except 100% of the functionality of Network Utility still exists; it's just in a place where you don't prefer. One would think that if you've been using a Mac since 1987, you'd be used to Apple constantly moving things around and changing them by now.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

And so Terminal is not that easy for neophytes, or rather, as you know, you can easily do somthig wrong on it ...

(Sorry, I corrected your misspellings. It's a habit)

HAH!!! What stops people from taking their lives in their own hands? I remember hearing about a local tech that was editing a clients Registry, ON THEIR SERVER! Talk about walking a wire, right? And the tech 'made a mistake'. Oops...

After everyone logged out, no one could login again. Ever. Oops... (He supposedly went running through the shop asking if anyone was still logged in, not that it would have saved him) Oh, and the backup had failed for the previous couple weeks, and no one noticed. Oops, *2...

I remembering people borking their Macs with Regedit. I loved Regedit! It was 'Do It Yourself' brain surgery.

There was also a string of shell script that was put out to 'fix issues' with some people's problems on Unix based systems. The string, as I remember it was rather obtuse, but seemed innocuous. But it borked the File System. Yeah, it KILLED your Unix base server dead.

Neophytes need to have a much higher degree of respect for the tools of Wizards. I had a problem that most people online said needed a 'registry hack'. I called Microsoft, and even the first guy I talked to was not sure what would happen if I did that. It worked out, but covering your butt is ALWAYS a great idea.

Terminal is what neophytes used, back in the 'dark ages'. And now they are retired, living in million dollar 'homes', with 'cottages' scattered around the globe.

But anyway...

Apple has tried to make it harder for people to end their Macs using terminal.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

If you are a neophite, what are you doing using Network Utility to begin with?! You need to understand what the UNIX commands even do BECAUSE THEY'RE THE SAME AS THE TABS IN NETWORK UTILITY!

NU is pretty harmless. It could be far worse.

 

[Yebubbleman]

NU is pretty harmless. It could be far worse.

Kind of beside my point. If you're savvy enough to use Network Utility, you're also savvy enough to get that same information using the exact same commands in the Terminal (because they're identically named).

People using the "I shouldn't have to open the Terminal to get Network Utility functionality; Macs are designed for the rest of us non-geeks" argument are missing the entire point of Network Utility to begin with!

The tabs in Network Utility literally correspond to the names of the commands in the Terminal! And it's not like you need fancy switches, options, or arguments either! Pinging www.google.com is pretty much typing "ping www.google.com"! Like, no geekery or IT degree/certifications required for that! The idea that this is beyond someone who is otherwise upset at Network Utility's removal in macOS Big Sur and beyond is mind-numbing!

 

[Change Agent]

is there a free alternative out there?

 

[justperry]

is there a free alternative out there?

Huh, Network utility was built into the OS, there's no such thing as an alternative.