Support Common Wifi Internet Issues
Understanding Internet Addressing
When using the Internet, you are assigned a Public IPv4 address, such as 31.255.132.36, or an IPv6 address, like 2000:303e:816b:c9c5:34d:2c0a:df44:f669. This information can be verified on https://test-ipv6.com/. However, conveying these addresses or MAC addresses like ad:99:88:2b:f9:6d to non-technical individuals can lead to errors and complexity, especially without access to historical data.
Navigating the World Wide Web
Accessing a web page, such as https://hegmann.biz, requires communication with a DNS server that translates the host portion (hegmann) and the Top Level Domain (biz) of the URL into an IP address, such as 163.190.181.169. Furthermore, your computer and browser include its type in all web requests, for example: Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 9.0; AOL 9.7; AOLBuild 4343.19; Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; Trident/5.0; FunWebProducts)
Significance of Default Gateways
The default gateway is typically an automatically configured address via DHCP and is often assigned as 10.208.143.30 (though the address may end in .1 or .254, based on the scope size). This is where your computer sends all its traffic to be routed onward. For IPv6, detailed troubleshooting information can be found in our how-to-fix-ipv6-connectivity/, and instructions to check on Mac or Linux are also available.
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 10.208.143.30 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:ae7:86b7:6546:6079%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): {161.56.67.116, 206.243.229.77}
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 ad:99:88:2b:f9:6d
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 dc:b7:94:f8:a0:56
}
How to Resolve Issues with Wired and Wireless Connections
When it comes to sending data to your router, you might be utilizing a wired or wireless (Wi-Fi) medium at the physical and data layer.
Troubleshooting on Apple macOS / OSX
Regardless of whether you are using 10.13.5, 11.4.2, or 12.1.4, OSX/macOS provides a variety of tools for addressing issues. However, these manual actions and scripts do not offer a set of correlated values over time. This is where automated remote troubleshooting becomes valuable, particularly for teams that embrace remote work and Work From Anywhere (WFA).
Useful Built-in Scripts
A useful tool on OSX/macOS is sudo wdutil info, which provides a dump of current wireless settings to the CLI and can be configured to generate specific logs for troubleshooting. Additionally, the sysdiagnose tool can be used to generate a wide range of logs, although much of it is only relevant to wireless settings at a specific point in time, similar to wdutil.
To run sudo nohup /usr/bin/sysdiagnose -u & in the background and write logs to /var/tmp/<blah>.tar.gz. You can also run it interactively by using sudo /usr/bin/sysdiagnose, which will give a privacy warning. 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. Keep in mind that the file sizes are approximately 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 🏠🏝🛰.
