New MBA M2 Causing Network Issues

[hez86]

Not sure if this is the right section, but thought someone may be able to offer some help.

I have a new MBA M2 that I have had for a couple of weeks now. I've noticed issues with my network recently and hadn't considered the new MacBook was causing it.

Having tested it tonight, if the MacBook is connected the network the ping time is very high and the same occurs on other devices such as my iPhone X. As soon as I disconnect the MacBook from the Wifi the ping goes right back down back to what it always used to be on my other devices.

I used migration assistant to set the MacBook up from an old 2013 MacBook Air I had been using. Could this be the issue? Has it copied over some old settings? Or could it be a hardware issue?

I have tried a number of things such I have found online such as deleting the network and re-adding, but nothing is changing it. Its causing issues with our TV working if I am using the MacBook at the same time as some of our set top boxes piggy back off of the main Sky TV box.

Any suggestions or shall I get in touch with Apple?

 

[Apple_Robert]

If the M2 is't on ethernet, try changing the network from 2.4 to 5Ghz for the M2 and see if that helps. If that doesn't help, try turning off "Private Relay beta" under System Preferences > Apple ID. If you didn't have that enabled, try changing your DNS server.

 

[hez86]

If the M2 is't on ethernet, try changing the network from 2.4 to 5Ghz for the M2 and see if that helps. If that doesn't help, try turning off "Private Relay beta" under System Preferences > Apple ID. If you didn't have that enabled, try changing your DNS server.

Ok, thanks.

It was on 5Ghz anyway, but have tried both. Private Relay Beta was already off. Changed the DNS server too.

Same thing happening unfortunately.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Ok, thanks.

It was on 5Ghz anyway, but have tried both. Private Relay Beta was already off. Changed the DNS server too.

Same thing happening unfortunately.

I would set up as new and see what happens. If the doesn't help, I would look to your router and make sure it can handle the amount of devices that are connected.

 

[hez86]

I would set up as new and see what happens. If the doesn't help, I would look to your router and make sure it can handle the amount of devices that are connected.

I tried 1.1.1.1 and that didn't change anything. Have now tried 8.8.8.8 and that seems to have fixed things.

I am not 100% what a DNS server is or what changing that has done. Is 8.8.8.8 one you would recommend using?

Many thanks for your help so far. Hopefully that has fixed it now!

 

[Apple_Robert]

I tried 1.1.1.1 and that didn't change anything. Have now tried 8.8.8.8 and that seems to have fixed things.

I am not 100% what a DNS server is or what changing that has done. Is 8.8.8.8 one you would recommend using?

Many thanks for your help so far. Hopefully that has fixed it now!

Nothing wrong with using Google public DNS server or Cloudfare for that matter, even though it didn't work for you.

The following article may be of help.

What You Need to Know About Network DNS Servers

A DNS server is a computer used to resolve hostnames to IP addresses. For example, a DNS server translates lifewire.com to 151.101.2.114.

www.lifewire.com

 

[hez86]

Nothing wrong with using Google public DNS server or Cloudfare for that matter, even though it didn't work for you.

The following article may be of help.

What You Need to Know About Network DNS Servers

A DNS server is a computer used to resolve hostnames to IP addresses. For example, a DNS server translates lifewire.com to 151.101.2.114.

www.lifewire.com

Many thanks, will have a read.

I am still baffled as to why this Macbook would’ve had issues or caused issues though. All I have done is swap my old one for this one. Haven’t ever changed DNS settings before and not had issues previously.

Must be a reason though, even if it’s not something I’ll ever work out.

 

[hez86]

Ok, so its back to being slow again even with those DNS settings changed. Speeds back up as soon as I disconnect the MacBook from the wifi.

Maybe setting it up as new is the best option.

 

[BanditoB]

It sounds like for some reason the MBA is flooding the network with traffic. Does it cause these issues even when no applications are running, just MacOS? Does it cause issues if it is booted, but not logged into? Do the issues start when you log in? All these questions could help you determine if there is an app or a driver that gets loaded and is causing the problem.

Before you set it up as new, I would reinstall MacOS over your existing installation to see if that might correct the issue.

Good luck!

 

[hez86]

It sounds like for some reason the MBA is flooding the network with traffic. Does it cause these issues even when no applications are running, just MacOS? Does it cause issues if it is booted, but not logged into? Do the issues start when you log in? All these questions could help you determine if there is an app or a driver that gets loaded and is causing the problem.

Before you set it up as new, I would reinstall MacOS over your existing installation to see if that might correct the issue.

Good luck!

Thanks for that. You could be right, the issue seams to build up over time.

So I re-booted and stayed logged out, no issues. Logged in, no issues. Opened Safari and Mail, no issues for a few minutes. Then it started again.

 

[Nipperserphil]

You might want to check the network usage in the Activity Monitor.

I remember had something similar happen to me when I originally activated iCloud Photo Library. I had quite a large local photo library (ca. 380Gb), and when the system began uploading that lot in the background it completely hogged our internet connection. All other devices became either unusable … or extremely slow.

The upload speeds around here are much much lower than downloads, so it took a couple of weeks (!!!) to complete the sync. That was fun ;-)

 

[xboxbml]

Thanks for that. You could be right, the issue seams to build up over time.

So I re-booted and stayed logged out, no issues. Logged in, no issues. Opened Safari and Mail, no issues for a few minutes. Then it started again.

Sounds like it's resolving some iCloud sync items, like Photos Library etc.. That can go on for quite some time depending on how much you have in there like Nipperserphil said. Alot depends also on your internet provider speeds. I believe even though you transferred data with Migration Assistant, it still syncs with iCloud which takes alot of time depending on size. I've never used Migration Assistant so not 100% sure on its operation, but have read some folks have had issues with it. I've always used TimeMachine backup from an external drive to restore mine. As others have said, check Activity Monitor to see what's using most processor/network. Good luck. Hope you figure it out.

 

[ManuCH]

I had that problem too, and it was caused by Universal Control. Depending on your network, the Mac can flood your wifi with Multicast packets and they end up creating all kinds of weird issues.

Go to System Preferences -> Displays -> Universal Control and remove all checkboxes. Give it a few minutes. Your network will be fine again.

 

[hez86]

You might want to check the network usage in the Activity Monitor.

I remember had something similar happen to me when I originally activated iCloud Photo Library. I had quite a large local photo library (ca. 380Gb), and when the system began uploading that lot in the background it completely hogged our internet connection. All other devices became either unusable … or extremely slow.

The upload speeds around here are much much lower than downloads, so it took a couple of weeks (!!!) to complete the sync. That was fun ;-)

Sounds like it's resolving some iCloud sync items, like Photos Library etc.. That can go on for quite some time depending on how much you have in there like Nipperserphil said. Alot depends also on your internet provider speeds. I believe even though you transferred data with Migration Assistant, it still syncs with iCloud which takes alot of time depending on size. I've never used Migration Assistant so not 100% sure on its operation, but have read some folks have had issues with it. I've always used TimeMachine backup from an external drive to restore mine. As others have said, check Activity Monitor to see what's using most processor/network. Good luck. Hope you figure it out.

I had that problem too, and it was caused by Universal Control. Depending on your network, the Mac can flood your wifi with Multicast packets and they end up creating all kinds of weird issues.

Go to System Preferences -> Displays -> Universal Control and remove all checkboxes. Give it a few minutes. Your network will be fine again.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try those tonight and report back.

 

[hez86]

I had that problem too, and it was caused by Universal Control. Depending on your network, the Mac can flood your wifi with Multicast packets and they end up creating all kinds of weird issues.

Go to System Preferences -> Displays -> Universal Control and remove all checkboxes. Give it a few minutes. Your network will be fine again.

I think this was the solution!

So I checked the network activity and there wasn't anything too weird or intensive going on there. Then turned universal control off and it was all back to normal after that. I will keep monitoring it, but hopefully that solves it.

Do you know why this causes an issue on certain networks? If it was something I wanted to use in the future would I need to change my network? Or some settings somewhere in order for it not to kill my WIFI for everything else in the house?

Many thanks and thanks to everyone who offered suggestions. I've learnt a fair bit about WIFI and what a DNS is etc.

 

[Mascots]

I vaguely remember reading a thread (maybe Reddit?) about someone have major network issues and aligning all devices which have Universal Control enabled to a single band resolved it.

 

[ManuCH]

I think this was the solution!

So I checked the network activity and there wasn't anything too weird or intensive going on there. Then turned universal control off and it was all back to normal after that. I will keep monitoring it, but hopefully that solves it.

Do you know why this causes an issue on certain networks? If it was something I wanted to use in the future would I need to change my network? Or some settings somewhere in order for it not to kill my WIFI for everything else in the house?

Many thanks and thanks to everyone who offered suggestions. I've learnt a fair bit about WIFI and what a DNS is etc.

It has something to do with how different network devices handle Multicast and mDNS (not DNS!) packets. Many (most?) wifi routers have bugs related to that, especially when multiple devices are spread across different wifi bands (2.4 vs 5 GHz) or even different wifi access points (like in my case: I use Ubiquiti Unifi devices, I know how to handle networking stuff, but I was never able to truly fix the issue). Things get prioritized the wrong way and it messes up everything else.

As @Mascots said, aligning all devices on the same wifi router and frequency band may solve the problem, but it doesn't always.

 

[BanditoB]

One last thing to do is to confirm that your router is on the latest and greatest firmware. Most of the companies that produce the routers offer relatively frequent updates to keep up with the latest threats and to eliminate bugs in their code.

 

[ctg7w6]

I actually had the same issue and I set my M2 Air up as new. Over the first few days it destroyed my internet on many devices. Instead of 100 mbps my M2 was getting 0.5-10 mbps. It seemed to resolve itself somewhat over time, I haven't seen an issue in 2 days.

Still, I turned off universal control like someone here said. I don't use it and the m2 really screwed up my network and I can't have that.
BTW I used universal control with my old intel pro and never had issues.

 

[hez86]

One last thing to do is to confirm that your router is on the latest and greatest firmware. Most of the companies that produce the routers offer relatively frequent updates to keep up with the latest threats and to eliminate bugs in their code.

Thanks, my router seems to be up to date. It is a slightly old router direct from my ISP, but it seems they are still updating it. Plus I have read that their newer router is actually worse, so I am happy keeping it.

I actually had the same issue and I set my M2 Air up as new. Over the first few days it destroyed my internet on many devices. Instead of 100 mbps my M2 was getting 0.5-10 mbps. It seemed to resolve itself somewhat over time, I haven't seen an issue in 2 days.

Still, I turned off universal control like someone here said. I don't use it and the m2 really screwed up my network and I can't have that.
BTW I used universal control with my old intel pro and never had issues.

Mine was slightly different in that it was the ping time and then the initial speed that suffered rather than overall speed.

On a speed test my ping time is around 20ms normally. It was in excess of 500ms and then the speed would start slow at around 1mbps and gradually build until it got up to the usual speed.

Made it very noticeable though as when you hit enter on a website, it took 5 seconds of white screen before it even started loading, then very slowly started loading content then suddenly load it all once it got up to speed.

 

[ManuCH]

What mine did is that the speed overall got lower, and I had random packet loss and increased ping times. On a speed test you would see it going up and down between 400 and 600 Mbit/s, and in FaceTime calls you would have the audio stuttering once every second, so it was really annoying.

 

[hez86]

What mine did is that the speed overall got lower, and I had random packet loss and increased ping times. On a speed test you would see it going up and down between 400 and 600 Mbit/s, and in FaceTime calls you would have the audio stuttering once every second, so it was really annoying.

Our other issues with it was because of how Sky TV works in the UK, you have one box connected to the satellite dish and the rest are piggybacking from that box. So our TV's were all constantly stuttering like your FaceTime calls were.

Extremely frustrating! But glad it is all sorted now.

 

[xboxbml]

One last thing to do is to confirm that your router is on the latest and greatest firmware. Most of the companies that produce the routers offer relatively frequent updates to keep up with the latest threats and to eliminate bugs in their code.

Be careful when updating router code... Make sure you research before updating. There are newer code versions out there that actually break things.(IE. Linksys EA7300).