Additional information regarding network intermittently became unresponsive in dense Wi-Fi environments

We have identified this root cause of issue network intermittently became unresponsive in dense Wi-Fi environments as AWDL, issues can manifest in various ways: transmission rate drops, high latency, Wi-Fi connection periodically getting reset, randomly getting disconnected, and unable to rejoin the network.

Apple has addressed the issues with a fix which is available in the latest macOS release (Resolves an issue in which the network intermittently became unresponsive in dense Wi-Fi environments.), fix is also available on iOS / iPadOS, we strongly recommend all users to update their devices to the latest version listed below to avoid connectivity issues, or apply the workaround provided if unable to update system:

• macOS Ventura 13.1

• macOS Monterey 12.6.2

• macOS Big Sur 11.7.2

• iOS 16.2

• iOS 15.7.2

• iPadOS 16.2

• iPadOS 15.7.2

• tvOS 16.2

Note: Due to the peer-to-peer nature of the root cause, in dense Wi-Fi environments will require updating all devices in the network for the issue to be resolve. If not all devices are able to update to latest release, please check the workaround below.

Workaround

The following workaround is suggested for affected devices in order to connect and update their system:

Updating these settings greatly improves wireless connectivity on affected devices.

If you aren't able to update your system for any reason, Klickklack provides an alternative command to disable AWDL:

Note: macOS will periodically ask you to turn AWDL back on. To suppress the notification, you can run a background script by following the instruction.

1. Open “Terminal”, copy-paste and run the following command

2. bash <(curl -sL https://www.kkco.com.tw/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/awdl.sh)

3. Command prompt will come up, type y and press enter

4. Command prompt will be asking for your admin password, enter password and press enter

5. Script is now running in the background

Disable AWDL using a Launch Daemon

The script above will stop running if your macOS reboots or goes to sleep.  Using the Launch Daemon the script will run automatically after a reboot or sleep.

1. Open “Terminal”, copy-paste and run the following command

2. curl -sL https://www.kkco.com.tw/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/awdl-daemon.sh | bash

3. Command prompt will be asking for your admin password, enter password and press enter

4. Script is now running in the background

Remove the scripts and renable awdl0 interface after system update

1. Open “Terminal”, copy-paste and run the following command

3. Command prompt will be asking for your admin password, enter password and press enter

4. Script is now removed and AWDL re-enabled

What is AWDL?

AWDL (Apple Wireless Direct Link) is a low latency, high speed Wi-Fi peer-to peer-connection Apple uses for AirDrop, AirPlay, and perhaps elsewhere. It works using its own dedicated network interface, typically “awdl0".

AWDL will continuously try to discover nearby devices, when active it will lock the Wi-Fi radio for small intervals, quickly hopping between the channels of the active WLAN and AWDL networks.