MacBook Pro Wi-Fi Dropping After macOS Tahoe? 9 Fixes

After the macOS Tahoe update, your MacBook Pro Wi-Fi starts dropping, crawling, or showing the maddening "connected, but no internet." Here is what almost every generic fix list gets wrong: that one symptom hides at least four completely different causes, and the fixes for them are opposite.

I went through the real Apple Community threads on this, and the fastest wins on Apple Silicon Macs are genuinely counterintuitive. The top one is to turn Bluetooth off, because on these Macs Bluetooth and a hidden Apple feature keep hijacking the Wi-Fi radio. As one person on Tahoe 26.3 put it, "this issue only started upon updating. Zero issues at all before this." Let me take you through it in the order that actually finds your cause.

First: Update Tahoe, Then Start Testing

Apple patched some of these Wi-Fi regressions in point updates, so get current before you dig in.

Here's what to do:

• Open the Apple menu, System Settings, General, then Software Update.
• Install the latest macOS 26 release (26.0.1 fixed dropping for some early users).

If it is still dropping after updating, work down the list.

Step 1: Turn Bluetooth Off and Re-Test (the Biggest Win)

This is the single most effective fix on Apple Silicon, and it surprises everyone. Bluetooth shares the radio with Wi-Fi, and on Tahoe they fight, which tanks your speed and spikes your ping.

Here's what to do:

• Turn Bluetooth off from Control Center, or System Settings, Bluetooth, and toggle it off.
• Test your connection. If the speed jumps back and the drops stop, Bluetooth was the cause.

Pro tip: If turning Bluetooth off fixes it but you need your mouse or keyboard, reconnect your devices one at a time to find the offender, or switch a peripheral to a USB receiver instead of Bluetooth.

Step 2: Stop AirDrop and Handoff Hijacking the Radio

This is part two of the same problem. AirDrop, Handoff, and AirPlay Receiver all keep waking a background feature (called AWDL) that grabs the Wi-Fi radio, causing those little freezes and latency spikes.

Here's what to do:

• Open System Settings, General, then AirDrop & Handoff.
• Set AirDrop to No One, turn Handoff off, and turn AirPlay Receiver off.

Users reported their connection "completely stabilized" after exactly this, going from 50 to 100 millisecond spikes back down to a steady 3 milliseconds.

Step 3: Forget the Network and Rejoin

A network profile carried over from the old macOS can get scrambled by the upgrade. Forgetting it and rejoining builds a clean one.

Here's what to do:

• Open System Settings, Network, then Wi-Fi.
• Click the three dots next to your network, choose Forget This Network, then reselect it and type the password back in.

Step 4: Fix the "Connected but No Internet" IP Problem

If you are truly connected with no internet at all, and changing your DNS does nothing, this is a different beast: your Mac failed to get a real address from the router and gave itself a dead one (it starts with 169.254). This is an IP problem, not a DNS one.

Here's what to do:

• Open System Settings, Network, Wi-Fi, then Details.
• Go to TCP/IP and click Renew DHCP Lease.
• If it keeps happening, set Configure IPv4 to Using DHCP with manual address and reserve that address on your router.

Step 5: Check VPN and Filters (the Silent Blocker)

Here is a cause that fools everyone, because Wi-Fi looks perfectly connected while nothing loads. A security tool like Little Snitch, or an old VPN, can silently block all your traffic after the update.

Here's what to do:

• Open System Settings, Network, then VPN & Filters.
• Disable any Little Snitch DNS Proxy filter or VPN you find, and test.
• If you use Little Snitch, update it to the Tahoe-compatible build (6.2.4 or later), then turn it back on.

Step 6: Stop the After-Sleep Drop

If your Wi-Fi is fine until the Mac sleeps and then dead when it wakes, the interface is getting stuck in a suspended state. Two settings stop the loop.

Here's what to do:

• Open System Settings, Battery, click Options, and turn off Wake for network access.
• To recover a stuck connection without rebooting, open Terminal and run `sudo ifconfig en0 down`, wait five seconds, then `sudo ifconfig en0 up`.

Step 7: Turn Off the Privacy Features That Fight Routers

A few privacy settings clash with some routers on Tahoe and cause drops. Turning them off for your home network is a safe test.

Here's what to do:

• In System Settings, Network, Wi-Fi, Details, turn off Private Wi-Fi Address and Limit IP Address Tracking.
• Then open Apple Account, iCloud, and turn off Private Relay.
• Test, and leave them off only on your own trusted network.

Step 8: Fix It at the Router (the Most Durable Cure)

If the drops follow you no matter what you change on the Mac, the most lasting fix is on the router. A couple of common settings cause exactly this after Tahoe.

Here's what to do:

• In your router settings, turn off WPA2/WPA3 mixed (transition) mode and run plain WPA2 or plain WPA3, not both.
• Disable 802.11r Fast Roaming (Fast Transition) and aggressive band steering.
• Split your network into separate 2.4GHz and 5GHz names, and connect your Mac to the 5GHz one. Several users said that alone ended it: "since then I haven't had any issues."
• Update your router or mesh firmware.

Step 9: The Deeper Resets

If you have genuinely worked the list, here is the heavier stuff.

Here's what to do:

• Rebuild the network preferences. Turn Wi-Fi off, open Finder, press Shift + Command + G, go to `/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/`, and move these to your Desktop (do not trash them): `com.apple.airport.preferences.plist`, `NetworkInterfaces.plist`, `preferences.plist`. Restart and rejoin.
• Make a new Network Location. System Settings, Network, the three dots, Locations, add a new one, then reconnect.
• Test a fresh user account. If Wi-Fi is perfect in a new account, the fault is in your old profile, not the OS or router.
• Run Wireless Diagnostics. Hold Option, click the Wi-Fi menu, and choose Open Wireless Diagnostics for a full report.

Quick Recap

In the order I would actually try them:

1. Update to the latest macOS Tahoe.
2. Turn Bluetooth off and re-test, the biggest Apple Silicon win.
3. Set AirDrop to No One and turn off Handoff and AirPlay Receiver.
4. Forget the network and rejoin.
5. Renew the DHCP lease for "connected but no internet" (DNS will not fix that one).
6. Check Network, VPN and Filters for a silent blocker like Little Snitch.
7. Turn off Wake for Network Access to stop after-sleep drops.
8. Turn off Private Wi-Fi Address, Limit IP Tracking, and Private Relay.
9. Fix the router: no WPA2/WPA3 mixed mode, no Fast Roaming, split the bands.

The big takeaway: stop reaching for the router first. On a Tahoe MacBook the fastest fixes are counterintuitive, turn Bluetooth off and quiet AirDrop and Handoff, because they are hijacking your Wi-Fi radio. That alone steadies the connection for most people.

Where to Next

More macOS Tahoe help: This fix is part of our macOS Tahoe problems and fixes guide, a single place that rounds up every common Tahoe issue. If something else on your Mac is acting up after the update, start there.