How To Test Wifi Internet Issues
Understanding Internet Addressing
When using the Internet, you are assigned a Public IPv4 or IPv6 address. These addresses can be checked using tools like https://test-ipv6.com/. However, for those who are not technologically inclined, communicating these addresses can be prone to error and quite complex. Moreover, it does not provide any historical data of previous issues.
Navigating the World Wide Web
Accessing a website, such as https://dare-schmidt.co, involves first connecting to a DNS server to translate the host portion and the Top Level Domain of the URL into an IP address. Additionally, your computer and browser send specific information with each web request.
Understanding the Significance of Default Gateways
The default gateway, typically obtained through DHCP, is where your computer forwards all its traffic. Whether it is an IPv4 or IPv6 address, understanding and configuring the default gateway is crucial for proper network 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 10.26.46.207 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 fe80:4397:494f:daea:e73e%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): {17.46.54.236, 198.98.116.159}
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 ae:13:fa:de:6c:2b
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 90:44:77:89:c2:e7
}
Solutions for Dealing with Wired and Wireless Connectivity Issues
When it comes to transmitting data to your router, you may be using either a wired or wireless (Wi-Fi) medium at the physical and data layer.
Tips for Troubleshooting on Apple macOS
No matter which version of OSX/macOS you are running, whether it’s 10.14.3, 11.1.7, or 12.1.2, there are a variety of 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 embrace remote work and Work From Anywhere (WFA).
Effective Built-in Tools for Assistance
An extremely helpful tool on OSX/macOS is the sudo wdutil info command, which provides a dump of the current wireless settings to the CLI and can also generate specific logs for troubleshooting purposes. Additionally, the sysdiagnose tool can be utilized to generate a wide range of logs, although much of it is only point-in-time data 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 the command sudo /usr/bin/sysdiagnose. Be aware that the file sizes are approximately 300MB or more. If not run in the background, it should open Finder in the correct location, or you can navigate to /var/tmp using Finder with Cmd+Shift+G.
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P.S. PanSift Tip For Work From Anywhere Support
Digital work requires reliable connectivity for voice, video, and data. Inevitable Wi-Fi, network, and system issues cause teams to lose time and productivity, or worse, to miss out on opportunities. Whether working from home, a shared space, or an office, and irrespective of the network being managed or unmanaged, forward thinking technical teams embrace smarter tools to save their users and clients time and money! See how PanSift provides instant remote troubleshooting, irrespective of location 🏠🏝🛰.
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