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User profile for user: Megabite47
Megabite47 Author
User level: Level 1
23 points

Wifi and personal hotspot not working properly since upgrade to Catalina

I have a mac book pro mid 2014 and hotspot and wifi connections were fine until latest update to Catalina (running 10.15.2) I have searched the issue and tried a few things. Removing and readding wifi didnt fix it. Starting in safemode worked proving not a hardware issue. Macbook can see my iphone X but fails to connect also fails to connect to numerous wifi options at work yet does work on my home wifi that I installed update through. Can also connect via USB. Please help.

MacBook Pro 15", macOS 10.15

Posted on Jan 15, 2020 7:32 AM

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User profile for user: Megabite47
Megabite47 Author
User level: Level 1
23 points

Posted on Jan 23, 2020 7:33 AM

Thanks very much for the reply.

I have found the problem! The IT department at work(in their wisdom without informing me) were 'transitioning' the wifi and had left the 'defunct' wifi in place which meant that you could connect but basically get no throughput. This meant the wifi on the laptop was unhappy, which is why I chose to use the personal hotspot from my iphone, but that was also connecting to the defunct wifi which was causing 'timeouts' and failing to connect when disconnecting to enable the personal hotspot connection.

I contemplated deleting this question but in case anyone else has a similar problem it is worth 'forgetting' the wifi networks in the area to see if this is the problem (on both devices). So glad to be back on the net, this took over a month to figure out. I am guessing in safe mode you have to enter the wifi passwords to create the connection and thats why it worked as I didnt connect to the defunct wifi network.

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User profile for user: Megabite47
Megabite47 Author
User level: Level 1
23 points

Jan 23, 2020 7:33 AM in response to Leanne_68

Thanks very much for the reply.

I have found the problem! The IT department at work(in their wisdom without informing me) were 'transitioning' the wifi and had left the 'defunct' wifi in place which meant that you could connect but basically get no throughput. This meant the wifi on the laptop was unhappy, which is why I chose to use the personal hotspot from my iphone, but that was also connecting to the defunct wifi which was causing 'timeouts' and failing to connect when disconnecting to enable the personal hotspot connection.

I contemplated deleting this question but in case anyone else has a similar problem it is worth 'forgetting' the wifi networks in the area to see if this is the problem (on both devices). So glad to be back on the net, this took over a month to figure out. I am guessing in safe mode you have to enter the wifi passwords to create the connection and thats why it worked as I didnt connect to the defunct wifi network.

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User profile for user: Leanne_68
Leanne_68
User level: Community Specialist

Jan 18, 2020 6:15 AM in response to Megabite47

Hey there, and welcome to Apple Support Communities, Megabite47!


It seems that you’re unable to connect to your personal hotspot and other Wi-Fi networks, such as those at work.  I definitely want you to be able to work with ease from your MacBook Pro, so I’d be happy to help.


First, you mentioned that you already started in safe mode, but it works without issue there.  In that case, were you able to check for incompatible login items?  The steps to do so are located under ‘If an issue doesn't happen in safe mode’ at: Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support


Also, I’d recommend testing to see if the same thing occurs when creating a test user: How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac - Apple Support


Let me know the results, and thanks for using Apple Support Communities. Take care!

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Wifi and personal hotspot not working properly since upgrade to Catalina

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