How Do You Fix Common Wifi Internet Issues
Understanding Internet Addressing
When using the Internet, you are assigned a Public IPv4 address such as 245.65.19.203 or an IPv6 address like 2000:eb57:5522:9fde:1075:73f1:cc86:74eb. You can verify this information by visiting https://test-ipv6.com/. However, explaining these addresses, and even mentioning MAC addresses like 39:99:ad:c5:b2:c7, can become complicated and error-prone for those who are not technically inclined. Moreover, this method does not provide any historical data, particularly when addressing previous issues.
Navigating the World Wide Web
When accessing a website such as https://ankunding-dubuque.name, the initial step is to connect to a DNS server to convert the host portion (ankunding-dubuque) along with the Top Level Domain (name) of the URL into an IP address like 106.243.143.144. Your computer and browser send specific information with all web requests, such as Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Win 9x 4.90; SG; rv:1.9.2.4) Gecko/20101104 Netscape/9.1.0285.
The Significance of Default Gateways
The default gateway is typically an address that is automatically assigned through DHCP. An example of a default gateway would be 192.0.0.44 (although they usually end in .1 or .254 depending on the scope size). This is the location your computer uses to route all of its traffic. For IPv6, you can find an in-depth guide on how-to-fix-ipv6-connectivity/, and you can perform a check on Mac or Linux by using the following commands:
IPv4 Routes and the Host IPv4 Route Table (inc. VPN)
netstat -rn -f inet | egrep -i "default|0/1|128.0/1"
0/1 172.18.12.193 UGScg utun3 default 192.0.0.44 UGScg en0 128.0/1 172.18.12.193 UGSc utun3
Note: We are not just looking for the default but also for any VPN that overrides the public v4 address space.
IPv6 Routes and the Host IPv6 Route Table (inc. VPN)
netstat -rn -f inet6 | egrep -i "default|2000::/3"
If you have IPv6 active the above should return at least one route (as per below) via a known interface such as “en0 " on a Mac.
default fe80:9a1b:eebb:eb16:c577%en0 UGcg en0 default fe80::%utun0 UGcIg utun0 default fe80::%utun1 UGcIg utun1 default fe80::%utun2 UGcIg utun2 2000::/3 utun3 USc utun3
Note: We are not just looking for the default but also for any VPN that overrides the public v6 address space.
Debugging DHCP for both IPv4 and IPv6
To get a look at the low level DHCP configuration (Mac/Linux):
ipconfig getpacket en0
...
domain_name_server (ip_mult): {29.4.231.68, 240.151.144.202}
end (none):
...
So, in the above we are not getting IPv6 DNS servers from the DHCPv4 reply but…
ipconfig getv6packet en0
DHCPv6 REPLY (7) Transaction ID 0x80940b Length 76
Options[4] = {
CLIENTID (1) Length 14: DUID LLT HW 1 Time 668691856 Addr 39:99:ad:c5:b2:c7
DNS_SERVERS (23) Length 32: 2606:4700:4700::1111, 2001:4860:4860::8844
DOMAIN_LIST (24) Length 0: Invalid
SERVERID (2) Length 10: DUID LL HW 1 Addr 1f:4f:13:32:40:9e
}
Resolving Connection Issues for Wired and Wireless Networks
When it comes to transmitting data to your router, you might be utilizing either a wired or wireless (Wi-Fi) medium at the physical and data layer.
Troubleshooting Tips for macOS Systems
Regardless of the version of OSX or macOS you are operating on, whether it’s 10.12.3, 11.0.1, or 12.0.1, there are various tools available for troubleshooting network connection problems. However, these manual actions and scripts may not provide a comprehensive set of correlated values over time. This is where automated remote troubleshooting becomes valuable, especially for remote work and Work From Anywhere (WFA) setups.
Utilizing Pre-Installed Scripts for Assistance
A handy tool on OSX/macOS is sudo wdutil info, which provides a detailed dump of the current wireless settings through the command-line interface (CLI). It can also be configured to generate specific logs for troubleshooting purposes. In addition, the sysdiagnose tool offers a more comprehensive option for generating a wide range of logs, although many of them are only relevant to a specific point in time, similar to wdutil.
Running sudo nohup /usr/bin/sysdiagnose -u & in the background will create logs in /var/tmp/<blah>.tar.gz for you. If you prefer to run it interactively, you can execute sudo /usr/bin/sysdiagnose, which will prompt a privacy warning. When not run in the background, it should open Finder in the correct location, allowing you to navigate to /var/tmp, or you can use Finder with Cmd+Shift+G to reach the specified path. However, be mindful of the file sizes, which are typically around 300MB.
Possibly Helpful Videos
P.S. Tips For Remote Network and Client Support
Digital work requires reliable connectivity. Whether for low latency or regular data streams, Wi-Fi, DNS, and network issues cause teams to lose time and productivity. Even worse is when support teams waste time trying to recreate and isolate issues! See how PanSift saves time, money, and frustration on all sides with instant remote troubleshooting 🏠🏝🛰.
