Refreshing the network settings can be a great solution if you experience slow Internet on your Mac computer. If you suspect that only one particular device seems to have connectivity issues, it’s worth trying to reset the network settings to resolve the problem. Don’t worry if it doesn’t seem obvious what kind of Internet issue you’re dealing with. The following guide will show you how to do a reset to the network settings on your macOS system.
There are two main methods to reset network settings. The first is the easiest one but may not work in some cases. The second is more complicated but could be necessary to reset system files used in configuring the network.
Method 1 – Simple network reset
1. Navigate to System Preferences on the Mac computer
2. Select the Network section
3. Find the Wi-Fi connection on the left
4. Click on the minus icon below to reset the connection
Now you will need to configure the wireless connection for your Mac again, just as you had to do the first time it was connected to the network. This means you have to enter the Wi-Fi password again so make sure you didn’t forget it. Once the connection is recreated, your Internet problems should be fixed. If this didn’t help, consider the more advanced resetting solution down below.
Method 2 – Advanced network reset
1. Make sure the Mac’s Wi-Fi is switched off
2. Open Finder > Go > Go to Folder
3. Enter this address: /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/
4. Create a backup of the found files which should be:
com.apple.airport.preferences.plist
com.apple.network.identification.plist or
com.apple.network.eapolclient.configuration.plist
com.apple.wifi.message-tracer.plist
NetworkInterfaces.plist
preferences.plist
5. These files can now be safely removed with Command + Delete to reset the network settings
6. Restart the Mac
The system will regenerate the deleted files. Hopefully, this process will optimize your Internet connection by relying on fresh settings. The backup can be deleted if you feel that everything works as expected after the restart.