My mac keeps dropping Wi-Fi connection

Macs despite their sleek appearance are prone to issues just like any other PC.

Your Mac dropping off Wi-Fi connection is mostly due to your Mac attempting to connect to another Wi-Fi network apart from the preferred Wi-Fi network. You can resolve this problem by deleting all the saved Wi-Fi networks on your Mac, reconfiguring the sleep settings, or disconnecting USB devices connected to the Mac.   

Why am I seeing this error? 

This issue mostly occurs when your Mac tries connecting to a different Wi-Fi network instead of your preferred Wi-Fi. For example, if your Mac was connected to say a public Wi-Fi and you attempt to connect to another network like your neighbor’s. 

Diagnose your Wi-Fi connection

The best place to start is by understanding the problem you’re facing. To get to exactly know what is causing this, run a diagnosis using Mac’s diagnostic tool. It’s inbuilt, and to launch it press and hold the Option key. While still holding this key, click the Wi-Fi icon located at the top-right corner of the screen. Next, click on ‘Open Wireless Diagnostics’ and follow the on-screen wizard instructions.

How to fix

Delete all saved networks

When a Mac is connected to any Wi-Fi, it remembers the Wi-Fi name, password, and all connection details of the Wi-Fi network. This makes it easier for the Mac to automatically connect the next time you’re within range without having to type in the password. The result is that many Wi-Fi networks that the PC has ever connected to are saved and remembered. This issue can be resolved by deleting all the Wi-Fi networks and then add your preferred Wi-Fi network.

Open the Apple menu and from the drop-down menu, select ‘System Preferences’. Click on Network’ from the System Preferences screen and then click the Lock icon on the bottom-left corner of the screen. On the popup window, enter your administrator username and password and click the ‘Unlock’ button. On the left pane of the Wi-Fi screen, click the ‘Advanced’ button and then select the Wi-Fi tab. Under the Wi-Fi tab, select the Wi-Fi network that you wish to remove inside the ‘Preferred Networks’ box and then click on the minus (-) button at the bottom of the window and save the changes by clicking on OK.

If you wish to delta multiple Wi-Fi networks, click inside the Preferred Networks box and then press the Command key + A on your keyboard to select all the saved Wi-Fi networks. Click the minus (-) button and remove all the Wi-Fi networks selected.

You can add your preferred Wi-Fi by navigating to the top menu bar and click on the Wi-Fi icon. From the dropdown menu, select your preferred Wi-Fi network and enter the password in the popup screen.

Reconfigure sleep settings

Click the Apple menu and select System Preferences from the dropdown menu. Go to the ‘Energy Saver’ section and increase your Mac’s sleep time for both the Battery and Power Adapter. Besides, you can also disable the ‘Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible’ option when the mac is in both the Battery and Power Adapter’ modes. Note that when you change these settings, your battery will drain quite faster.

Disconnect USB devices

Some Mac users have reported that disconnecting certain USB devices has helped clear this problem. This is because certain USB 3 & USB-C devices emit wireless signals that tend to interfere with the Wi-Fi; especially if the Wi-Fi signal is weak. Try disconnecting these USB devices one by one while monitoring your Wi-Fi and see if it stops disconnecting.

FAQs

How do I access the Performance Graph on my Mac?

When you launch the Diagnostics tool, navigate to the top of the screen, click on ‘Window’ and then select ‘Performance’. This opens a graph that displays the signal quality, transmission rate & noise levels of your Wi-Fi. The signal quality and transmission rate tend to affect each other directly. When the signal is bad, the transmission rate is poor too.

How can I improve my Wi-Fi signal on my Mac?

You can improve the signal strength of your Mac by moving it closer to the router or by changing your router settings from 2.4GHz to 5GHz.