Support Wifi Connectivity
Understanding Internet Addressing
When using the Internet, you are assigned a Public IPv4 address such as 195.75.47.129 or an IPv6 address like 2000:6e6a:ed90:74d3:f6c0:504:f51a:1600. You can verify this information by visiting https://test-ipv6.com/. However, explaining these addresses to individuals who are not well-versed in technology, or even discussing MAC addresses like 83:be:c7:b5:1d:a1, can be prone to errors and quickly become complex. In addition, this method does not provide historical data, especially for past issues.
Navigating through the World Wide Web
When accessing a webpage like https://hane.com, you initially connect to a DNS server to convert the host portion (hane) along with the Top Level Domain (com) of the URL into an IP address, such as 65.112.151.218. Your computer and browser sends its type with every web request, 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 an address configured automatically through DHCP. You receive a default gateway like 10.124.192.94 (although they typically end in .1 or .254 based on the scope size), and this is where your computer sends all its traffic to be routed onwards. For IPv6, we provide an in-depth discussion on how-to-fix-ipv6-connectivity/, but you can verify on Mac or Linux using:
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 10.124.192.94 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:aa3d:458:7a44:39fd%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): {153.35.187.80, 51.156.42.28}
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 83:be:c7:b5:1d:a1
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 11:3c:ed:e1:b2:7e
}
Fixing Network Connectivity Issues
When it comes to transferring data to your router, you may encounter connectivity problems at the physical and data layer, whether you’re using a wired or wireless (Wi-Fi) medium.
Troubleshooting Tips for Apple macOS / OSX
Regardless of the version of OSX/macOS you’re using, such as 10.13.8, 11.1.2, or 12.3.7, 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 crucial, especially for teams that embrace remote work and Work From Anywhere (WFA).
Useful Built-in Scripts
One valuable tool for OSX/macOS troubleshooting is the sudo wdutil info, which provides a dump of current wireless settings to the CLI and can be configured to generate specific logs to aid in troubleshooting. Additionally, the sysdiagnose tool can be used to generate a wide range of logs, although many are only relevant to wireless issues similar to wdutil.
To run the sysdiagnose tool in the background and generate logs to /var/tmp/<blah>.tar.gz, use the command sudo nohup /usr/bin/sysdiagnose -u &. For an interactive experience, run sudo /usr/bin/sysdiagnose and it will prompt a privacy warning. When not run in the background, it will open Finder in the correct location, or you can navigate to /var/tmp using Finder with Cmd+Shift+G. Be cautious of the file sizes, which can be 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 🏠🏝🛰.
