Network problems with a MacMini 2018

ethernetNetworkwifi

I am experiencing weird network problems with a MacMini 2018.

At my home, I am connected through Wifi: No Problem.

In a different house, I try to connect via Wifi, "impossible to connect". And it's OK with a laptop for the same Wifi endpoint. I verified the password several times. Same result with the Wifi created by my iPhone SE.

I try with an Ethernet cable which was used by a desktop computer. The MacMini get an IP but when I try to connect on a website I've got timeouts, no online service works (this ethernet cable is connected via CPL).

The only thing that works is when I connect an Ethernet cable directly on the internet box.
This time, I've got an IP and everything works as expected.

Any hint to point me on what could be wrong?

To sum-up:

  • Can't connect on a new wifi network, this wifi is OK on a laptop
  • Can't connect with ethernet with the same cable used by a desktop where everything works
  • OK only when connecting directly on the internet box via ethernet.

A ping when I am connected with the non working ethernet:

PING yahoo.fr (124.108.115.101): 56 data bytes
ping: sendto: No route to host
Request timeout for icmp_seq 2

One thing I noticed: on my laptop I see a lot of Wifi (of the building, more than 20 but on the MacMini I only see a few.

Thanks.

Edit: I don't know why but everything works now. I have deleted the "Wifi" entry in the parameter > network setting. Then I have recreated it, it may have helped, but I can't be sure.

Best Answer

I finally found the culprit. It was due to the Anker USB hub I connect to the Mac Mini. As soon as I connect it, the Wifi stops working. Check out the issue on the Apple forum.

Connecting the hub to the back of the Mac mini killed all wifi connection immediately. Reading online I found what I thought would be a good solution. Turns out a USB extension cord might help. Create some distance between the Mac and the hub.

That's crazy!