How to Fix macOS Sequoia Wi-Fi Keeps Disconnecting (2026 Guide)

Why Does macOS Sequoia Wi-Fi Keep Disconnecting?

Thousands of Mac users started reporting random Wi-Fi drops, sluggish connections, and complete network failures after updating to macOS Sequoia 15.x. If your MacBook suddenly loses Wi-Fi every few minutes or shows "Connected" but with no actual internet, you are not alone — and it is fixable.

Apple introduced several under-the-hood changes to the Wi-Fi stack in Sequoia, including tighter integration with iCloud Private Relay, revised handling of the 6 GHz band on Wi-Fi 6E hardware, and a new background scanning behaviour. These changes conflict with certain routers and network configurations, causing repeated disconnects.

This guide walks through every proven fix in order of simplicity. Work through them one by one until the problem is resolved.

Fix 1: Toggle Wi-Fi Off and Back On

The simplest fix is sometimes the most effective. Click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar, toggle Wi-Fi off, wait 15 seconds, then turn it on again. This forces macOS to rediscover nearby networks and assign a fresh IP address.

If the drops continue after reconnecting, move to the next fix.

Fix 2: Renew Your DHCP Lease

A stale DHCP lease — the record your router holds about your Mac's IP address — can cause silent drops when the lease expires and macOS fails to renegotiate cleanly.

1. Go to Apple menu > System Settings > Network.
2. Select Wi-Fi from the sidebar and click Details next to your active network.
3. Click the TCP/IP tab.
4. Click Renew DHCP Lease and then OK.

Your Mac will request a fresh IP address from the router. This resolves disconnects caused by IP conflicts or lease timeout issues.

Fix 3: Flush the DNS Cache

A corrupted DNS cache causes macOS to resolve domains to the wrong server, making websites time out or appear "disconnected" even when the Wi-Fi link itself is healthy.

Open Terminal (Applications > Utilities > Terminal) and run:

sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

Enter your admin password when prompted. The command runs silently — no output means it worked. Test your connection immediately after.

Fix 4: Disable Private Wi-Fi Address or Set It to Fixed

macOS Sequoia rotates your MAC address by default (Private Wi-Fi Address). Some routers — particularly older enterprise models and certain mesh systems — reject or disconnect clients that change their MAC address unexpectedly.

1. Go to System Settings > Wi-Fi.
2. Click Details next to your network name.
3. Find Private Wi-Fi Address and change it from Rotating to Fixed (or Off if Fixed still causes drops).
4. Click OK and reconnect.

This single fix resolves a large proportion of Sequoia Wi-Fi disconnections, especially on home routers with device-based access controls.

Fix 5: Change DNS Servers to Cloudflare or Google

Your ISP's default DNS servers can be slow or unreliable, causing connections to appear broken when pages take too long to resolve. Switching to a faster public DNS server improves reliability:

1. Go to System Settings > Network > Wi-Fi > Details.
2. Click the DNS tab.
3. Click the + button and add 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 (Cloudflare) or 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 (Google).
4. Click OK and then Apply.

Cloudflare DNS is generally the fastest globally. Google DNS is a reliable fallback.

Fix 6: Forget the Network and Reconnect

Corrupt Wi-Fi profile data stored for a network can cause persistent connection failures even when the password and settings are correct.

1. Go to System Settings > Wi-Fi.
2. Click Details next to the problematic network.
3. Click Forget This Network and confirm.
4. Wait 30 seconds, then click the network name again and re-enter the password.

macOS creates a completely fresh profile for the network, discarding any corrupted configuration data.

Fix 7: Delete Network Preference Files

macOS stores Wi-Fi configuration in a set of plist files inside the System Configuration folder. If these become corrupted — which can happen after a major OS update — the only fix is to delete them and let macOS rebuild them.

1. Open Finder, press Cmd + Shift + G, and type: /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/
2. Move these files to Trash (do not empty Trash yet):
   • com.apple.airport.preferences.plist
   • com.apple.network.identification.plist
   • com.apple.wifi.message-tracer.plist
   • NetworkInterfaces.plist
   • preferences.plist
3. Restart your Mac.
4. macOS regenerates all files automatically. Reconnect to your Wi-Fi and test.

If this breaks something, you can restore the original files from Trash before emptying it.

Fix 8: Update macOS to the Latest Version

Apple actively releases Sequoia point updates that specifically address Wi-Fi reliability regressions. Staying on an older version means you are running with known bugs that Apple has already fixed.

1. Go to Apple menu > System Settings > General > Software Update.
2. If an update is available, click Update Now.
3. After the update installs and your Mac restarts, test the Wi-Fi connection.

Check the release notes for phrases like "Wi-Fi reliability" or "network stack" — these confirm the update addresses your issue.

Fix 9: Reset the SMC (Intel Macs) or Restart the Wi-Fi Service (Apple Silicon)

For Intel Macs: Shut down your Mac. Hold Shift + Control + Option + Power for 10 seconds, then release and power on normally. The System Management Controller reset clears low-level Wi-Fi hardware state.

For Apple Silicon Macs (M1/M2/M3/M4): Open Terminal and run:

sudo ifconfig en0 down
sudo ifconfig en0 up

This cycles the Wi-Fi interface without a full restart. It is particularly effective for "connected but no internet" states where the link layer is up but routing has stalled.

When None of These Fixes Work

If you have tried all nine fixes and Wi-Fi still drops, the issue may be router-side rather than macOS-side. Check whether other devices (phones, tablets, Windows PCs) also lose the connection at the same time. If they do, the router firmware or 6 GHz band configuration is the root cause.

Log into your router's admin panel (typically at 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1), check for firmware updates, and try disabling the 6 GHz band temporarily to force your Mac onto 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz.

For persistent issues with a work or enterprise network, it is worth raising a support ticket rather than spending hours chasing configuration files. CloudHouse Technologies offers per-ticket support — you get a fix without a monthly commitment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my Mac Wi-Fi keep dropping after updating to macOS Sequoia?

Apple changed the Wi-Fi stack in Sequoia, including how Private Wi-Fi Address rotation works and how the 6 GHz band is handled. These changes conflict with some routers, causing random disconnections. Disabling Private Wi-Fi Address rotation and updating macOS to the latest point release resolves most cases.

How do I stop my Mac from disconnecting from Wi-Fi randomly?

The most effective steps are: renew your DHCP lease, flush the DNS cache with sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder, set Private Wi-Fi Address to Fixed, and delete the SystemConfiguration plist files so macOS rebuilds them clean.

Does macOS Sequoia have a Wi-Fi bug?

Yes — multiple Sequoia point releases (15.0 through 15.5) included Wi-Fi reliability fixes. Apple acknowledged network issues in the Sequoia 15.1 and 15.3.2 release notes. Keeping macOS updated is the most reliable long-term solution.

How do I flush DNS on a Mac in 2026?

Open Terminal and run: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder. Enter your admin password. No output means success. This command works on macOS Sequoia and Tahoe.

Will resetting network preferences delete my saved Wi-Fi passwords?

Deleting the SystemConfiguration plist files removes saved network preferences but does not delete Wi-Fi passwords — those are stored in Keychain. You will need to re-enter the Wi-Fi password when you reconnect after the reset, but your password will still be saved in Keychain if you saved it previously.