Since macOS Tahoe 26 shipped, one complaint has dominated: Wi-Fi that keeps dropping and Bluetooth devices that suddenly refuse to pair. Reporting points to a Wi-Fi 6E driver issue that does not correctly handle older routers, with a conflict between the 6GHz band and existing 5GHz networks.
What Is Confirmed
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity problems are widely reported after upgrading.
- App crashes on launch have also been reported, attributed to Tahoe's new resource management framework and older apps that are not adapted to it.
- Apple has been shipping fixes in point releases — 26.6 addressed a large batch of security flaws.
Fixes to Try, in Order
- Update first. Check System Settings → General → Software Update. Several connectivity fixes have already shipped.
- Forget and rejoin the network. System Settings → Wi-Fi → Details → Forget This Network, then reconnect.
- Separate your bands. If your router broadcasts 2.4, 5 and 6GHz under one name, give the 6GHz band its own SSID, or disable it temporarily to test. This addresses the reported band-conflict directly.
- Reset Bluetooth. Remove the problem device entirely, restart the Mac, then pair again from scratch.
- Renew the DHCP lease. Wi-Fi → Details → TCP/IP → Renew DHCP Lease.
- Test on another network. Tether to your phone. If it is rock solid there, the problem is the interaction with your router, not the Mac.
MediaVision Technical Analysis
In our experience the band-separation step resolves the majority of these cases, and it costs nothing to try. Older routers in particular handle combined-band broadcasting badly, and Tahoe appears less tolerant of it than Sequoia was.
If none of it helps, the fault may be the Wi-Fi module rather than software — we can test that. And before any macOS upgrade: take a Time Machine backup. Rolling back macOS without one is not realistically possible.
