Very weird issue with both my Macbooks!

[macpot]

Hello,

I have 2 Macbooks,
1. Macbook Pro 15" 2016 (macOS 10.14.6)
2. Macbook Air 2018 (macOS 10.14.4)

There is a really weird issue on both of them (exactly the same) since a few months ago...

Once I connect to Internet (Wi-Fi) suddenly the whole Macbook is very laggy, "every app" I try to open takes about 20-40 seconds!
but as soon as I turn off Wi-Fi, it is fixed!!!

Video of opening a random app without Internet (this is fine):

no-internet

Watch "no-internet" on Streamable.

streamable.com

Opening the same app, but after I connect to internet:

internet

Watch "internet" on Streamable.

streamable.com

P.S. The issue is also gone if I connect through a VPN... so maybe this is a problem with my network/router, but why does it affect the macOS so much? I can't even open a simple text document while connected to internet...

P.P.S. I have tried installing a fresh macOS on one of devices and still the same...

 

[casperes1996]

I found myself saying "fascinating" in the voice of Spock.

What does Activity Monitor report? Is the loud fan noise in the vid coming from the laptop?
Is there anything noteworthy being printed to console when you connect to wi-fi?
Are other, non-Mac devices behaving properly on the network?
Could you try loading Linux, Windows, BSD or another OS on one of the Macs and seeing if issue persist in another OS with the same hardware, ruling out the networking chip being a factor?

 

[macpot]

I found myself saying "fascinating" in the voice of Spock.

What does Activity Monitor report? Is the loud fan noise in the vid coming from the laptop?
Is there anything noteworthy being printed to console when you connect to wi-fi?
Are other, non-Mac devices behaving properly on the network?
Could you try loading Linux, Windows, BSD or another OS on one of the Macs and seeing if issue persist in another OS with the same hardware, ruling out the networking chip being a factor?

Thanks for replying,

• Activity Monitor is normal, nothing uses high resources
• There is no fan noise from Macbooks or heat issue, the noise is from my heater.
• Other non-mac devices are completely fine, I tested with my Windows laptop (which is a very cheap Celeron-CPU device), Android phone and iOS tablet and they all work fine.

But now that you mentioned it, I kept an eye on Console, and there is a lot of "trustd" errors, such as:

• load failed with error code=-1001
• finished with error - code: -999
• HTTP load failed (error code: -999 [1:89])

And the 3 error messages above keep repeating...

There are also some other errors but they don't have the same repeating pattern.

 

[casperes1996]

That is fascinating. My original thesis was that your CPU was constantly looping through some network checks that never responded, causing everything else to slow down, but based on normal Activity Monitor, even with the unorthodox console output that seems unlikely. Hope you find a resolution, but sadly, I don't think I have any good answers on this one.

 

[Fishrrman]

"The issue is also gone if I connect through a VPN..."

Sounds like you've discovered "the source" of your problem...

 

[macpot]

"The issue is also gone if I connect through a VPN..."

Sounds like you've discovered "the source" of your problem...

Not really, I know it's about my Internet connection, but not which process is causing it.

Is there a way I can disable trustd somehow to make sure it is the cause?
Not sure why macOS freezes in a loop if trustd can't send its requests?

 

[topcat001]

Hi, very strange issue indeed. Wild guess but is the laggy behaviour happening while opening apps which use the network? For example, do simple apps like TextEdit or Terminal have a lag while starting up?

Also in the laggy state, if you open Terminal and run a command like:

host www.google.com

do you get a response instantly?

 

[macpot]

Hi, very strange issue indeed. Wild guess but is the laggy behaviour happening while opening apps which use the network? For example, do simple apps like TextEdit or Terminal have a lag while starting up?

Also in the laggy state, if you open Terminal and run a command like:

host www.google.com

do you get a response instantly?

Yes, even the apps that don't use the internet are lagging...
When I shutdown my Macs, I have to turn off the Wifi first, otherwise if I turn them on with Wifi on, I'm gonna be stuck for 2-3 minutes while all apps in the menu bar load one by one (it happens quickly if wifi is off on both my Macbooks)

But it gets better after the second time, like when I close it and open it again quickly, it opens fast.

Maybe this is a certification error and my internet cannot access servers that trustd uses! I searched but couldn't find any reversible way to disable trustd to see if that's the case and then enable it again

Also host www.google.com responds quickly.

 

[topcat001]

Interesting! What if you use a different wifi network?

 

[macpot]

Interesting! What if you use a different wifi network?

I am using a 4G sim card in my router, I tried the same provider on my phone as hotspot with same results and also connected using Lan with same results.

But I tested with another internet provider, and it had no issue.

It's definitely my Internet connection, maybe some servers are blocked etc, I just wish there was a way so Mac wouldn't freeze like that if I don't use VPN...

Hope some one knows a way.

 

[ssmed]

Hello,

I have 2 Macbooks,
1. Macbook Pro 15" 2016 (macOS 10.14.6)
2. Macbook Air 2018 (macOS 10.14.4)

There is a really weird issue on both of them (exactly the same) since a few months ago...

P.P.S. I have tried installing a fresh macOS on one of devices and still the same...

If the problem is gone when using a VPN. I would check your DNS settings are correct. Perhaps try a common free one such as OpenDNS. (Primary, secondary DNS servers: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220) and see if this does a better job.

 

[macpot]

Tried 1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8 , 4.2.2.4 and also the ones you mentioned and still the same

 

[casperes1996]

Tried 1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8 , 4.2.2.4 and also the ones you mentioned and still the same

There's a saying in IT; It's always DNS, except when it isn't.

Did you ever try booting the laptop from Linux or Windows to see if same hardware, different OS behaved the same?

 

[ssmed]

Some options that I would try now, although I thought the DNS was a good punt

1. Run Malwarebytes or similar incase you have a DNS redirecting Malware

2. Back-up and then delete all of your keychains and try again (having turned off iCloud Keychain in the iCloud tab first)

3. Start again!
I would clone your OS in a format that can be completely and definitely re-installed (CCC would be a good choice) and make sure you computer can be booted from an external disk (need extra settings in newer models, although I think you will be OK) and then wipe the disk and re-install the OS and see what happens. Do not use iCloud Keychain when asked, but a local one and then see.

4. Make a genius appointment ;-)

 

[Isamilis]

I am using a 4G sim card in my router, I tried the same provider on my phone as hotspot with same results and also connected using Lan with same results.

But I tested with another internet provider, and it had no issue.

It's definitely my Internet connection, maybe some servers are blocked etc, I just wish there was a way so Mac wouldn't freeze like that if I don't use VPN...

Hope some one knows a way.

It seems, the issue is in your current provider. The issue did not happen when using VPN or other provider. You might want to ask your provider, what is recommended network setting (DNS, gateway, etc)?