How To Monitor Network Usage on Mac
Our world has become almost inseparable from the Internet and we rely on the Web for an ever-increasing number of daily tasks. As such, having access to a stable and fast Internet connection has turned from a limited privilege to a necessity. However, sometimes the network is slow and unresponsive. In these cases, users might be wondering how to keep an eye on their network usage and determine the cause of the problem.
Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of built-in macOS tools that can help in this situation. One possible solution is to open Terminal and use the netstat command. Inexperienced users may find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer amount of data that will be presented to them. A far more approachable alternative is Activity Monitor. This tool is available on all macOS systems and provides a wide range of system details without getting bogged down into minute specifics.
- Go to the 'Applications' folder, then the 'Utilities' subfolder, and start Activity Monitor.
- To check the system information related to your Internet connection, select the 'Network' tab.
- Here, users will be presented with all apps and processes that are affecting the network bandwidth.
- To determine which entries exert the most stress on the network, click on 'Sent Bytes' and look at the top results on the list.
- You can also see which apps and processes are receiving the most data by looking at the other displayed columns.
- You can now take the appropriate actions to maintain your network bandwidth according to your particular needs.