AWDL causing persistent WIFI Connectivity Issues

Grant, this is not a surface level user-error issue that can be approached with generic advice.

This has been a prominent flaw in Apple Silicon's network stack, do any amount of google searching for "awdl ping spikes," "awdl issues," etc will show a swath of posts on multiple forums with the same problem. Most people don't notice because it only becomes apparent in low-latency situations such as local game streaming through Moonlight/Sunshine.

The awdl network interface frequently switches to a specific wifi channel when connecting to other Apple devices for handoff, airplay, etc. This can be mitigated by changing your WiFi's channel to one that matches awdl's preferred channel (depends on frequency and region.) This can not be fixed until Apple figures out a way to do awdl tasks without constantly switching WiFi channels. But it has been years, and I doubt there is any way to fix this if it has been this long

By far the easiest way to cause poor performance, instability, overheating and crashing is to install ANY third-party speeder-uppers, Cleaners, Optimizers, or Virus scanners, Bit Torrent, or a VPN that you installed yourself.

¿Are you running anything like that?

Hold down the Option key while you click on the Wi-Fi icon on the menubar to open up the tools for investigating and fixing Wi-Fi issues

First is "Open Wireless diagnostics", which opens the wireless diagnostics Assistant, but does not proceed.

There are about eight different things you can do from here, but the top-level is to choose Diagnostics off the Window menu, or simply click continue, to do a quick check for Gross misconfiguration or operating problems. Your Admin password will be required. If any recommendations are shown, you should consider then seriously.

Next is to hold down the Option key and click the Wi-Fi icon as before. The screen that opens shows operating parameters of your network. Screenshot, transcribe, or photograph the results and post back in a reply on the forums. Looks like this older one.

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launch daemons start at system launch and run in the background, forever.

if you are having communications issues, this very intrusive Utility is the last thing you want running in the background at all times:

[Loaded] org.wireshark.ChmodBPF.plist (Wireshark Foundation - installed 2025-01-11)

Executable: /Library/Application Support/Wireshark/ChmodBPF/ChmodBPF

Consider downloading and running this little "discovery" utility, Etrecheck. It changes NOTHING. Etrecheck was developed by senior contributor here, and uses system calls to collect often-needed information.

it contains little tests for speeds of devices, CPU utilization, memory usage, energy usage and a digest of recent problems, in one easy to use package. it does not even need to be Installed. Because less can be learned when your Mac is running great, best time to run is when your problems are actually occurring, if possible.

if you follow the directions faithfully, its report (pre-laundered of all personally-identifiable information) can be "Shared" to the System ClipBoard, then Pasted into an ‘Additional Text’ window in a reply on the forums.

Use Etrecheck Pro for free:

http://Etrecheck.com

then start a reply on the forums, click the "additional text" icon, and PASTE

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you have very good raw signal at -44 dB, where around -40 is right at your Router, and -75 is unusably bad. Noise level of -92 is good.

you have made a connection using a very wide 802.11ax 160 Mhz channel on channel 11, and are are achieving amazingly good transmit rate of 1921 M bits/sec using two antennas and 256 patterns per signaling interval.

[in my opinion\ your problems are caused by your insistence on using a VPN. Completely un-install (not just switch off) the VPN, and I expect your problems will completely abate.

A virtual private network, or VPN, is a private connection over the Internet from a device to a specific network.  VPN technology is widely used in corporate environments. If you need to be "present" on an institutional network, a VPN is a great tool for accomplishing this. it is generally issued and controlled by the institution.

Almost all other uses are a SCAM. There is generally no need for you to have a private connection to a VPN vendor's Network, except to make it easier for them to harvest your data to sell.

If VPN vendors just stopped there, it would be bad. But many of these packages also insist on scanning all your files, non-stop, -- nominally looking for viruses, but who knows for sure what data they are harvesting. Their non-stop file reading punishes your computer's performance in the process.

Some also break into your other secure connections so they can be FIRST to examine your data, often leaving your Mac MORE vulnerable to attack.

https://gist.github.com/joepie91/5a9909939e6ce7d09e29

Hi, hatimdev.

It would be best to start your own thread so that your specific problem can be addressed by the group, rather than to hijack a thread that may or may not provide steps that will work for your circumstances. It kinda confuses things.

you have some unexpected issues.

Install and Un-Install

the fundamental principles:

• anything installed with drag-and-drop to the /Applications folder can be un-installed by Drag-and-drop to the Trash. After a restart, the Trash can be emptied.

• anything installed with a complex installer program requires the manufacturer's un-installer program. sometimes this is included as an "option" in the Installer package, but the software-maker's web site should specify how to un-install (if they don't, they get swamped with users clamoring for Un-install Instructions)

• anything claiming to be an 'uninstaller helper' is just JUNK. (worse than web site click-bait)

Like this, for exapmle:

AppCleaner SmartDelete (Julien Ramseier - installed 2025-01-11)

Modern Login Item

~/Downloads/AppCleaner.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/AppCleaner SmartDelete.app

The version of Docker you have installed does appear to be the latest, and is not signed with a developer certificate. Give the nature of what Docker does for you, that presents a serious security risk.

If you want to use Docker, be sure you are getting the legitimate version from the original source, and that it is signed.

Although google Chrome provides some additional services users like, Chrome does so at tremendous cost in terms of computer resources it uses up, and at the cost of your Privacy. it was never optimized for Mac.

If you can possibly switch to almost ANY other Browser, you would be far better off.

I use Safari, but have substituted Duck Duck Go search engine, and the search and other pages have far fewer ads and other distractions.

FireFox is another one that users like, and is also faster than Chrome and uses fewer resources.

Third-party file Sync-ers such as DropBox, BackBlaze, OneDrive, or GoogleDrive can ruin performance, but are not inherently dangerous.

They were Quickly ported from that other Operating System, and were never re-written to take advantage of the MacOS ‘File System Event Store’.  The typical brute-force search they use takes all afternoon for one pass. That relentless searching is a completely un-necessary waste of resources.

Synch and Backup programs like iCloud Drive and Time Machine that DO use the MacOS File System Event Store can find changes really quickly and be done with their work and suspend themselves. Time machine can run backups Hourly, while all those others are still beating on the file system for the first pass, four hours later. By the time those others have finished one pass, they need to start again.

I've been having this issue for a while now, still can't find a solution help please!

¿what is the date of your most recent backup, and by what method?.

¿if your computer died at this moment, how would you load your files back onto the replacement computer?