How do I fix persistent internet freezing on my Mac with Starlink and VPN?

Remove the VPN entirely, as those don’t always disconnect and disentangle otherwise. And they add overhead. And they may or may not contend well with an inherently-lossy link such as Starlink.

Use WiFi Explorer app or another tool to scan for Wi-Fi interference, and for signal strength, and local Wi-Fi dropouts.

I’d probably run a continuous ping test script in a Terminal window tab, performing a ping every second or five, checking trends. For a GUI tool akin to the old Network Utility, there’s Neo Network Utility. This to test the ISP link.

Moving from 2.4 GHz into 5 GHz can be helpful with interference. As can moving into 6 GHz, but your lacks that.

Starlink inherently (and frequently) swaps connection paths, so dropped packets and retries are to be expected. Some apps and services respond better than others.

The Starlink portion of this is probably also best discussed over in https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink/ or in another Starlink forum, too.

Its a non starter to contact Starlink for help.

I have been in communication with my previous VPN provider for several weeks and they tried to find a solution but nothing worked. Their service also suddenly prevented iMessage from working too.

I have switched to another VPN provider and I don't have the iMessage problem now or the frequent long standing disconnections which my previous provider suffered from.

I will read the links IdrisSeabright posted.

What John said about VPN… With adequate premise security configuration, you won't need VPN. I certainly don't use it.

You are at the mercy of the load on that particular Starlink satellite and any atmospheric interferences (solar flares, storms, etc.) effecting that downlink. You are also at the mercy of how that Starlink hardware was configured and your location, which may have increased Starlink usage and congestion.

That Intel iMac can do 802.11ac wireless at best and that is not going to be a consistent performance experience either. The current Starlink Router 3 can do 802.11ac and the faster 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6). The just announced Starlink Router 4 will support 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7), but again, unsupported by your older Intel iMac.

Starlink and VPN use has a long history of failures. The word from Starlink is that VPN's are supported, but......., so take that for what it is worth. The truth is that there are a vast number of users of Starlink complaining that they cannot use a VPN, and once removed there is no problem with their connection.

You will need to follow up with Starlink and your VPN provider for a solution.

As for the use of a VPN thinking that it is providing you security, that is a completely different topic and I would suggest reading the links provided by IdrisSeabright. They actually open a huge hole in your security and many are harvesting your data, even when they claim that you are using a "no-log" service. Data breaches are more common on VPN providers and have affected far more users than any breach in an internet provider.

Magsolo wrote:

I have no idea what "adequate premise security configuration" is.

Please explain and if possible, provide links/info/steps to follow.

Remove the VPN. VPNs inherently mess with routing, and this case can be caused by routing issues.

Further, the “pinky promise” VPNs badly solve a problem that hasn’t existed for a decade or so, but badly solve it in a way perfect for personally-identified metadata collection. Use the existing end-to-end TLS that the VON only partially wraps a second time, and use iCloud+ Private Relay and ODoH to obfuscate and protect IP and DNS metadata.

Magsolo wrote:

I am also active with torrenting so I need to download files which don't use browsers.

That adds opportunities for other metadata leaks beyond what the VPNs are quite possibly already leaking.

As for the pauses involving Starlink, get rid of the VPNs, and test.

I don't use WiFi.

Your comments about Starlink would perhaps explain why web downloads frequency fail.

Due to my location and the unavailability of a land line, prior to having Starlink, I was forced to have mobile wireless internet service for about 3 years (I changed providers once and there are only 2 providers in the country where I live).

This led to 3 years of suffering absolute abysmal internet "connection", which for about 4 months in the summer (I am in a holiday/tourist location) was like not having any internet at all. A bit like what internet was in 1995.

I had to wake up, each day, at about 3am, work for about 4 hours and then stop and go back to sleep. The rest of the day was effectively wasted.

Compared to this horrible and infuriating situation, Starlink is a wonderful experience, even with the issues I am having.

I will not stop using a VPN, unless there is a solid "regular person" alternative, which I do not know of any.

I am not a technical person so any suggestions to "try this/do this" needs to be accompanied by step by step instructions (unless its very simple), otherwise I am likely to get lost/mess it up.

Magsolo wrote:

I will not stop using a VPN, unless there is a solid "regular person" alternative, which I do not know of any.

Consider these articles:

VPN: What you need to know - Apple Community

Don't use VPN services.

I read through those links.

Does Private Relay only work with Safari?

I really don't use Safari because of how limited it is and that many sites don't seem to be configured for it.

I mainly use Vivaldi and Firefox. I used to like and use Opera but it has become 100% unusable now (spinning beach ball appears right from launching the app and continues with every key stroke or mouse click).

There are also no download extensions for Safari (at least I have never found one), specifically for video downloads.

Magsolo wrote:

I read through those links.

Does Private Relay only work with Safari?

I really don't use Safari because of how limited it is and that many sites don't seem to be configured for it.

I mainly use Vivaldi and Firefox. I used to like and use Opera but it has become 100% unusable now (spinning beach ball appears right from launching the app and continues with every key stroke or mouse click).

I don't use Private Relay or VPNs so I'm perhaps not the best person to answer that. Correction: I have used a VPN when my work required it to connect to their secure server.

Does Private Relay only work with Safari?

Yes.

It is also worth pointing out installing "coffee shop" VPNs can also change network settings that do not revert upon "turning them off" or even uninstalling them, depending on the particular product you installed. That fact complicates troubleshooting. Apple Support's recommendation (backup / erase / reinstall) is certain to work, and is the likely reason they recommended it. Solutions short of that become difficult to explain and time-consuming to accomplish.

I will not stop using a VPN, unless there is a solid "regular person" alternative, which I do not know of any.

The alternative is not to use them. Those things are categorically worthless for reasons explained in the links provided.

Macs are specifically designed to be used by "regular people" but if you are bound and determined to installing junk, then you must accept the problems they cause.

"Further, the “pinky promise” VPNs badly solve a problem that hasn’t existed for a decade or so, but badly solve it in a way perfect for personally-identified metadata collection. Use the existing end-to-end

TLS that the VON only partially wraps a second time, and use iCloud+ Private Relay and ODoH to obfuscate and protect IP and DNS metadata."

I have no idea what all that is.

"The alternative is not to use them. Those things are categorically worthless for reasons explained in the links provided."

I have never heard that before, so you should not presume I knew it. This "news" about VPNs is 100% new to me today.

Macs are specifically designed to be used by "regular people" but if you are bound and determined to installing junk, then you must accept the problems they cause.

Stop being critical of someone who doesn't know something that you claim to know. You would be a terrible, abrasive teacher.

I will ignore anything else you write.

So what's the answer to using the internet anonymously?

I am not just going to go out there, naked.

What does everyone else do who knows about the problems and issues with VPNs?

Again, if you reply to these questions, assume you are talking to a someone who is new to earth, and who has not graduated from Geekoid college.

I have never heard that before, so you should not presume I knew it. This "news" about VPNs is 100% new to me today.

That is the reason for calling it to your attention. Those links and references are written for your benefit, and are devoid of technological jargon.

No one profits from telling someone not to use something. Conversely, those commercial / "coffee shop" VPNs exist for the sole purpose of capitalizing on unsophisticated users. Consider the reason they are so aggressively marketed.

Magsolo wrote:

Again, if you reply to these questions, assume you are talking to a someone who is new to earth, and who has not graduated from Geekoid college.

You don't need a specific type of degree to learn this stuff (my degree, by the way, is in Russian Literature. It's hard to get less technical than that). You only have to be willing to learn. Sometimes that means challenging yourself a little rather than expecting things to be spoon-fed to you. It also means being willing to consider that when a whole room full of people tells you that something is a bad idea, maybe it really is.

Magsolo wrote: So what's the answer to using the internet anonymously? I am not just going to go out there, naked. What does everyone else do who knows about the problems and issues with VPNs?

The fallacy is that you go out there even more naked with a VPN than without, because the VPN provider knows everything about your browsing, and a number of them are happy to sell that information.

Please read my explanation: VPN: What you need to know - Apple Community

But also consider that whenever you visit a website what you do on that site is tracked by the site, and if you log in to it you are totally naked.

IdrisSeabright wrote:

It also means being willing to consider that when a whole room full of people tells you that something is a bad idea, maybe it really is.

Not to mention a room full of people with absolutely nothing to gain by helping others.

... I use a VPN.

Don't.

I have no idea what "adequate premise security configuration" is.

Please explain and if possible, provide links/info/steps to follow.

I am also active with torrenting so I need to download files which don't use browsers.