Seeing the annoying “connected but no internet” error on your Mac? Follow these steps when you have no internet access.
Seeing the dreaded internet connection icon proclaiming that you have No Internet Access? You’re probably wondering how to fix this frustrating Mac error.
We’ll show you the steps to follow when you have no internet access but are still connected to Wi-Fi in Mac.
What Does It Mean When Mac is Connected to Wi-Fi But No Internet?
Before we proceed, we should explain what exactly happens on your network when Mac is connected to Wi-Fi but has no internet access. To do so, it’s necessary to explain some basics of home networking.
Wireless devices, like a laptop, connect to your router. The router is a device that handles the network connections for the devices in your home. Your router plugs into a modem, a device that bridges the traffic on your home network to the wider internet.
When you see error messages like Connected, no internet access or Connected but no internet on your Mac, it means that your computer is connected to the router correctly, but can’t reach the internet. Conversely, if you see Not connected, no internet or No internet connection messages, it means that your computer is not connected to a router at all.
This gives you some clues about what the issue is, as we’ll see below.
How to Fix “No Internet Access” Errors in Mac
Here are the steps to resolve “connected but no internet access” on Mac error.
1. Confirm Other Devices Can’t Connect Either
Before you start troubleshooting, it’s important to determine whether your Mac is the only device with no internet connection. Grab your phone or another computer that’s connected to your Wi-Fi network and see if it’s online properly—try streaming a YouTube video or similar to check.
On many Android versions, you’ll see an X icon over the Wi-Fi symbol in your status bar and notice you’re connected to your mobile network for data. iPhone and iPad users can visit Settings > Wi-Fi and check for a No Internet Connection message under your network name.
If your Mac won’t connect but others will, this is likely due to a misconfigured setting on just your computer. But if you have no internet on every device, the problem lies with your network equipment and you can thus skip some of the Mac-only steps below, as noted.
Before you proceed, if the problem affects all your devices, you should perform a quick test. Disconnect the Ethernet cable that connects your modem to your router, and use it to connect your Mac to the modem directly instead.
If you can get online with this setup, the problem lies with your router. In case you proceed through the following troubleshooting and don’t find the fix for your issue, your router is likely faulty.
2. Reboot Your Mac
This step isn’t necessary if your connection issue is affecting multiple devices.
As with many issues, rebooting your computer is the first troubleshooting step you should try. If you’re lucky, you might clear up some temporary glitch by restarting, which will fix your network connection issue.
Most of this advice assumes you’re using a Wi-Fi connection, since they run into problems more often. However, if you connect to your router with an Ethernet cable, you should also try another cable at this time to confirm that yours isn’t faulty.
To restart your Mac: Go to the Apple menu > Restart and then try to turn on your Wi-Fi.
3. Reboot Your Modem and Router
Since most network issues involve your modem and/or router, rebooting them next makes sense. While some routers offer the option to reboot through an interface, you don’t necessarily need to do this. Simply pull the power plug from both devices and leave them unplugged for a few minutes—or use the physical power button if there is one.
Plug the modem in first, let it boot up, then plug in your router again. Wait a few minutes for them to start back up fully. While you’re doing this, confirm that your router and modem are working properly. If you don’t see any lights on one of the devices, or the lights appear red or flash in an irregular pattern, you may have a bad piece of network hardware.
If your Mac says “no internet” even after this, continue on—your issue is more complex than a basic reboot.
Note that you’re simply rebooting, not resetting, your equipment. Resetting means putting the device back to its factory default settings; you don’t need to do that yet!
4. Disable Any VPN Connections
Using a VPN can provide several benefits, but they also add a layer to your internet connection setup. As a result, what you think is an issue with your home network connection could actually be a problem with your VPN. Sometimes a VPN will time out if you’re connected for too long while your Mac is idle, or you could be using an overloaded server that can’t handle your connection.
If you’re running a VPN, whether it’s through an app or a manual connection in Mac, disable it and try to get online again. If that doesn’t fix it, keep the VPN turned off for the duration of your troubleshooting to reduce the number of variables.
5. Use Wireless Diagnostics
This step isn’t necessary if your connection issue is affecting multiple devices.
If you’re only having an issue with your Mac, something is likely wrong with your computer’s network settings. You can use Wireless Diagnostics to solve problems with a network you’ve already set up.
6. Check Your ISP’s Status
At this point, if you can’t get any devices online, it’s worth checking if your internet service provider (ISP) is having an issue. Though this is rare, it could explain why your Mac is connected to Wi-Fi but no internet access at all.
Use your phone’s data connection to see if Comcast, Verizon, or whoever provides service in your area has reported outages. DownDetector is a great site for this. A quick Google or Twitter search can reveal whether others are having a problem, too.
7. Disable Security Software
This step isn’t necessary if your connection issue is affecting multiple devices.
Another uncommon, but plausible, scenario is that you have some security software on your Mac preventing access to the internet. Many security software have had problems in the past where glitched updates block some websites, or even the entire internet, for no good reason.
Disable any third-party antivirus apps you may have installed and see if your connection comes back. If it does, you may need to change the settings in your antivirus app or consider using an alternative solution.
8. Reset PRAM
You may want to reset PRAM (if you have an Intel based Mac.). Here is how:
- Turn off your Mac.
- Locate these four keys: Option, Command, P, and R. Do not press them yet.
- Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the four keys: Option, Command, P, and R.
- Keep holding them for about 20 seconds. Release them when your Mac starts up for a second time.
- Then release the keys. Test your problem again.
9. Safe Mode
Turn onSafe Mode. Test your Wi-Fi problem in Safe Mode. Then turn off Safe Mode (by simply restarting your Mac), then try to enable Wi-Fi again:
Follow these steps to Safe Boot your Intel Mac:
- Turn off your Mac.
- Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the Shift key.
- Keep holding the Shift key until the login screen appears.
- Then login, you may have to log in twice.
Follow these steps to Safe Boot your Apple silicon Mac:
- Turn off your Mac.
- Press and hold the power button until the startup options window appears.
- Choose your startup disk.
- Press and hold the Shift key and click Continue in Safe Mode.
- Then login.
If you are not sure if your Mac is an intel based or Apple silicon model, go to the Apple menu > About This Mac.
10. Restart macOS networking(AirPort) using Terminal
Try turning off and on Wi-Fi via Terminal. Here is how:
a. Open Terminal (Applications > Utilities). In Terminal, enter the following command and hit enter:
networksetup -setairportpower en0 off
Please note that your device name could be en1 etc. But this Terminal code will turn it off anyway.
Then enter the following command to turn on again:
networksetup -setairportpower en0 on
Does this command work?
11. Reset Your Network Settings
At this point, if you’ve proceeded through all these steps and still your Mac is connected to Wi-Fi but no internet access, there’s not much you can do other than reset your network settings.
If your Mac is the only device you can’t connect with, you can reset its network configuration.
Following the prompts in these menus will completely remove all network adapters and set all your network settings back to the defaults. You’ll have to set everything up again, including VPN software, but it might be the fix you need.
When you can’t get online with any devices in your home, your best bet is resetting your router (and modem, if needed). Look for a small pinhole on the back or bottom of your router and hold it in (using a paper clip or similar object) for several seconds to reset it to factory defaults. If there’s no physical reset button, you’ll need to log in to your router and run a factory reset from there.
Your Mac could be connected to Wi-Fi but no internet access because your settings and preference files may be corrupted. Deleting them may fix it. When they are deleted, your Mac will automatically create them but you will lose your settings. This will rebuild your Mac’s network configuration. Here is how:
a. Go to the System Library folder:
Open Finder and then click Go and Go to Folder, or alternatively press the Command, Shift, G keys together.
Enter the following location and click Go:
/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/
System Configuration
b. This will open a folder. Locate the following files (you may not have all of them):
c. Move these files to your Desktop (create a folder and place them there). This will be your backup if this does not work.
d. Restart your Mac.
e. Then open the Network settings on your Mac (System Preferences > Network) setup Wi-Fi again.
With everything reset, you can run through the initial setup and use the factory defaults to see if you can get online again. If your Mac still has no internet connection after this, you likely have faulty equipment and will need to get a replacement. If anything you own is still under warranty, contact the manufacturer.
Solved Mac “Connected but No Internet” issue
Hopefully, you don’t have to factory reset anything to fix your connection issue. One of the earlier steps should take care of it, but there’s no perfect formula for network issues. If you follow all the steps, you’ve confirmed that your devices are set up correctly and you don’t have anything blocking the connection.
It’s possible to jump into more comprehensive troubleshooting if you desire. However, it might be worth contacting a network-savvy friend for further help instead.