How To DiagnOSe Common Wifi Connectivity

Understanding Internet Addressing When you connect to the Internet, you are assigned a unique public IPv4 or IPv6 address. This can be verified on https://test-ipv6.com/. However, for those who are not familiar with technical aspects, communicating or referencing these addresses, as well as MAC addresses like 9c:0d:24:08:6c:b7, can be error-prone and complex. Understanding Internet Addressing When you connect to the Internet, you are assigned a unique public IPv4 or IPv6 address. This can be verified on https://test-ipv6.com/. However, for those who are not familiar with technical aspects, communicating or referencing these addresses, as well as MAC addresses like 9c:0d:24:08:6c:b7, can be error-prone and complex.

Understanding Internet Addressing

When you connect to the Internet, you are assigned a unique public IPv4 or IPv6 address. This can be verified on https://test-ipv6.com/. However, for those who are not familiar with technical aspects, communicating or referencing these addresses, as well as MAC addresses like 9c:0d:24:08:6c:b7, can be error-prone and complex. Furthermore, this method lacks historical data, especially when issues have occurred in the past.

To access a website such as https://toy.org, your computer initially communicates with a DNS server to convert the host name (toy) and the Top Level Domain (org) of the URL into an IP address, such as 126.10.153.227. Every web request actually includes the type of your computer and browser, for example:
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

Your default gateway is typically automatically configured through DHCP and is assigned an address like 10.45.105.87 (although they typically end in .1 or .254, depending on the scope size). This is the destination where your computer sends all its traffic to be routed onwards. For troubleshooting IPv6 connectivity on Mac or Linux, you can refer to our in-depth guide at how-to-fix-ipv6-connectivity/.

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  10.45.105.87    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   fe80:8c3e:c448:9eea:8475%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): {0.93.227.33, 209.212.218.37}
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 9c:0d:24:08:6c:b7
  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 a1:b6:a0:1e:01:89
}

Resolving Wired vs. Wireless Issues

When transmitting data to your router, you might be utilizing a wired or wireless (Wi-Fi) connection at the physical and data layer.

Troubleshooting Tips for Apple macOS / OSX

Regardless of the version of OSX/macOS you are using, whether it’s 10.13.9, 11.4.7, or 12.0.4, there are various troubleshooting tools available. However, these manual actions and scripts do not provide a series of correlated values over time. This is where automated remote troubleshooting becomes valuable, especially for teams that are embracing remote work and Work From Anywhere (WFA).

Helpful Built-in Scripts

One very useful tool on OSX/macOS is sudo wdutil info, which provides a dump of current wireless settings to the CLI, and it can also be configured to generate specific troubleshooting logs. In addition, the sysdiagnose tool offers a more comprehensive option for generating a wide range of logs, although many are only point-in-time logs related to wireless, similar to wdutil.

To run sysdiagnose in the background and write logs to /var/tmp/<blah>.tar.gz, use the command sudo nohup /usr/bin/sysdiagnose -u &. If you prefer to run it interactively, use sudo /usr/bin/sysdiagnose, but be cautious of the large file sizes of about 300MB.

Possibly Helpful Videos

Video Title Channel
Hotspot 2.0 WLPC Wireless LAN Weekly EP 49 Wireless LAN Professionals
WiFiShark Fu Eddie Forero WLPC Phoenix 2019 Wireless LAN Professionals
WIDS/WIPS / Reseller FAQ WLPC Wireless LAN Weekly EP 14 Wireless LAN Professionals
Wi-Fi diagnostics built into MacOS you might not be aware of Wireless LAN Professionals
Do You Have A Wired or Wireless Problem Wireless LAN Professionals
Table 1.0 - Video Help



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 🏠🏝🛰.

Design Benefits + 2 Free Agents


Install on any mobile or stationary Mac for immediate visibility.

Click for a frictionless and instant live demo

2x free agents for problem machines and upgrade for more!

Click for a frictionless and instant live demo

Install as remote sensors at any site or location!

Rapid Digital Experience Monitoring for teams, clients, and sites!

Instant Agent

2 x free macOS agents

Instant Demo

No registration, immediate live demo!