Slow wi-fi after switching to fiber

If your Mac isn't connecting to the internet over Wi-Fi - Apple Support has a lot of mostly obvious suggestions but Wireless Diagnostics is likely to provide the most actionable information.

Refer to Use the built-in diagnostic tools.

dgerety wrote:

I would love to run over ethernet all the time, but I'd have to pull ethernet through the attic and fish it down a wall.

Totally worth it in my opinion 😄 but it won't exactly address what's wrong.

Definitely remove the VPN. A valid reason for using a VPN might be justified if you were using a hostile Wi-Fi network, but that isn't the case here.

Remove it, don't just deactivate it or "turn it off" since they may be insufficient remedies.

Apple Diagnostics is not Wireless Diagnostics.

If your Mac isn't connecting to the internet over Wi-Fi - Apple Support recommends the latter: Use Wireless Diagnostics on your Mac - Apple Support

Apple will probably be interested in the data it collects. Kindly let us know what they have to say.

Have you reviewed the router SSID configuration to provide WiFi-6E (802.11ax) to your M2 Mac Mini Pro and Apple's weird requirements for that connectivity? That SSID will require WPA3 security to connect.

Any reason why you can't run off of Ethernet all the time?

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac?

If you want to see if there is a possible hardware issue or WiFi router issue, go to Utilities->System Information. In the window side bar, select Network->WiFi. Scroll down if necessary to find the network you are connected to. It will show the channel, with frequency and bandwidth, PHY Mode, and it will also show Signal/Noise. Report your findings. By the numbers you are reporting, it seems almost as if you are connecting to a slower speed 2.4 GHz band instead of the higher 5 GHz+ bands.

The numbers look fairly good, so it appears that the WiFi "radio" is functioning in terms of receiving a signal although with that signal level the noise seems a bit high but the ratio of 42 dB signal to noise ratio should be more than ample to get a better speed. You are also connected to the higher speed 5GHz.

So, basically the signal link is good and the hardware is good. However, it doesn't mean that isn't an interference issue.

Try this, place the Mini on its side so that the bottom is facing the router and also disconnect any thing from it other than display, keyboard and mouse. Then perform the download test and look at the signals.

Also, out of curiosity if you haven't already tried it, power down the node so you can directly connect to the main unit and check the above numbers and the download performance. Just want to make sure you were connecting to the node and not the main unit. This can sometimes happen in mesh systems.

Again I come back to that noise level. I have an app called WiFi Scanner (free in the app store) and in my local system and any other source that the app is detecting the noise levels are in the -90's. So, there could be an interference source between the Mini and the node or between the node and the main. It may not be enough to kill data transfer completely but it can cause things to slow down a lot as you end up with multiple requests to resend corrupt data packets.

dgerety wrote:

.....I don't think the node on the desktop is doing any good. The speed numbers aren't much different with or without it, so I'm going to unplug it now and look for another place in the house for it.

Just to another to add, based on this, is your iPhone at this location have the same speed with or without the node active? Just want to add another piece to the puzzle.