Use network tools to test connections

Use the ping tool to check whether a user’s Mac can communicate with another device. This type of test, called pinging, can help you determine whether the communication issue is related to the computer, connection, or remote device.

1. In the Finder, choose Go > Utilities, then open the Terminal app.

2. In the Terminal window, type ping ip address, then press Return.

   For example, if you’re testing network connectivity to a device with the IP address 10.0.0.1, you would type ping 10.0.0.1. The display indicates the number of bytes received, ICMP sequence number, time-to-live amount, and roundtrip time.

3. After you receive several ping responses, press Control-C or Command-period to end the ping process.

   Ping statistics appear.

4. Scroll to the bottom of the list, and verify that the number of packets transmitted equals the number of packets received.

   A successful ping test shows a 0.0% packet loss. If the other device responds to your ping, your basic connection is good. If the other device doesn’t respond, ping devices in other locations to determine whether the issue is with the network connection or the remote device. If you don’t receive a response from any device, you must continue to troubleshoot the issue.

   Note: When you’re testing network connectivity, be aware that devices and servers can block ping responses for various reasons.

You may be asked to help diagnose a Mac computer’s Wi‑Fi connection issue and monitor its network connectivity. macOS has tools that help you diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve Wi‑Fi connectivity issues that may affect its performance.

If a user’s Mac is connected to Wi‑Fi and experiencing problems loading web pages, sending or receiving emails, or streaming music or videos, you can use Wireless Diagnostics to evaluate the network’s internet connection.

The purpose of a Mac Wireless Diagnostics report is to help identify, analyze, and troubleshoot wireless network problems on a Mac. It’s a comprehensive report that collects technical data about a Mac’s Wi‑Fi environment and behavior at the time an issue is occurring. The report is a compressed file that contains many files that describe the wireless environment in detail. A network specialist can further analyze the files.

You can set macOS to monitor the Wi‑Fi connection for intermittent issues, such as dropped connections. Monitoring continues as long as the Monitor pane is open and you don’t change Wi‑Fi networks. If Wireless Diagnostics finds an issue, a brief description of the issue appears. You can then resume monitoring or continue to the summary.

1. On the Mac, quit all open apps.

2. Try to join the Wi-Fi network the user is having problems with (if not already connected).

3. Option-click the Wi‑Fi status icon in the menu bar, then choose Create Diagnostics Report.

4. Click Continue.

   It can take several minutes to create the report.

5. When the report is almost done, select “Continue to summary,” then click Continue.

6. If necessary, enter any additional information, such as, “User can’t connect to internal Wi-Fi,” then click Continue.

7. If necessary, enter the known Wi-Fi access point name or number, then click Continue.

8. To review Wi-Fi best practices, click the Info button.

After a wireless diagnostics report is created, the file is automatically saved in the folder /private/var/tmp.

1. In the Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder, enter /private/var/tmp/, then press Return.

   The file name starts with WirelessDiagnostics_ and ends with .tar.gz.

2. Locate the file, then move it to the Desktop or other location where you can send it to a network specialist for analysis.

Use this information alongside built-in network tools to evaluate signal quality, review network settings, and check for profiles or permissions that influence Wi‑Fi performance.

What to look for:

• Poor signal strength or interference.

• Overlapping channels with neighboring routers.

• Network misconfiguration.

• Intermittent drops due to software/hardware issues.

Steps to take:

• Check Wi-Fi signal strength: Mac computers begin scanning for a stronger Wi‑Fi signal at -75dBm. On a Mac, press and hold Option while clicking the Wi‑Fi status icon to view the RSSI value.

• Determine if network-specific or profile-related: Check if switching to another network location resolves the issue. In some cases, creating a new location resets misconfigured network settings and resolves connectivity problems.

• Review network services: Ensure correct ordering of network services. To change the order of network services, go to System Settings > Network, then click the Action pop-up menu to access the option for setting service order.

• Check DNS, proxies, and IP settings: Review advanced settings for each interface. Misconfigured DNS, incorrect proxies, or static IP addresses may cause connectivity issues.

• Use macOS network tools: Use Network Diagnostics or Terminal commands like networksetup -listalllocations, 
networksetup -switchtolocation <LocationName>, or ifconfig, ping, traceroute, and scutil.

• Check permissions and profiles: Check for configuration profiles installed through device management that may enforce network settings, and verify that the user has permission to modify network settings.

Forgetting a network doesn’t prevent your device from detecting the network and showing it in the list of available networks.

Have the user complete this task:

1. On the Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Wi-Fi in the sidebar.

2. Click Details next to the current network.

3. Click Forget This Network, then click Remove to confirm.

Forgetting a network doesn’t prevent your device from detecting the network and showing it in the list of available networks.

Have the user complete this task:

1. On the Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Wi-Fi in the sidebar.

2. Scroll down on the right and click Advanced to see the networks previously joined.

3. Click the menu button next to the network name, choose Remove From List, then click Forget to confirm.

   If you don’t have the option to forget this network:

   • If you’re using a supervised device that manages the connection to the Wi-Fi network, you might not have the option to forget that network. Similarly, certain public Wi-Fi networks set up by your wireless carrier and its partners are always recognized by your iPhone or other Apple cellular device as managed networks.

   • If your device never joined the Wi-Fi network, you don’t have the option to forget that network. Your device can forget only known Wi-Fi networks, which are the networks it previously joined.

   • Even without forgetting the network, you can prevent your device from automatically rejoining it. On the same Wi-Fi settings screen as Forget This Network, you can turn off Auto-Join (iPhone, iPad) or turn off “Automatically join this network” (Mac). After disconnecting from the network, such as by turning Wi-Fi off and back on, your device won’t automatically rejoin it.