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Guide · Wi-Fi and internet

Mac connected to Wi-Fi but no internet? How to fix it

By the AI Repair team · Updated

Your Mac shows the Wi-Fi as connected, but web pages won’t load and email won’t arrive. That usually means your Mac reached the router but not the internet beyond it. The cause can be the router, a setting on your Mac, or an app in between. These nine fixes go from the quickest to the more involved, and each says what it does.

In short

First check whether other devices can get online. If none can, restart the router and modem; if they still can’t, call your internet provider. If only your Mac is stuck, turn its Wi-Fi off and on, finish any hotel or café sign-in page, renew its IP address in System Settings › Wi-Fi › Details › TCP/IP, check its DNS settings, and pause any VPN or filtering app. Forgetting the network and joining it again comes last.

1. Check whether it’s your Mac or the network

Try another device on the same Wi-Fi. Apple’s rule of thumb: if other devices can connect, the router and network are working, and the problem is on your Mac. Testing with an iPhone? Turn off its mobile data first, because an iPhone may quietly switch to mobile data when the Wi-Fi isn’t working, which hides the problem.

If no device can get online, restart the router and modem: unplug them, wait about a minute, and plug them back in. They can take several minutes to start up fully. If the internet still doesn’t come back, the problem is with your internet connection, and your provider can check it.

2. Turn Wi-Fi off and on again

Click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar, or Control Center › Wi-Fi, turn Wi-Fi off, wait a few seconds and turn it on again. Your Mac rejoins your network by itself; if it doesn’t, choose your network from the list.

No Wi-Fi icon? Add it in System Settings › Menu Bar (on macOS Ventura to Sequoia, System Settings › Control Center; on Monterey, System Preferences › Network › Wi-Fi, then Show Wi-Fi status in menu bar). If turning it off and on doesn’t help, restart your Mac, which also renews its connection to the router.

3. Finish the sign-in page on hotel and café Wi-Fi

Public Wi-Fi in hotels, cafés, trains and hospitals often wants you to accept terms or sign in before it lets you online. Your Mac usually opens that page by itself. If it didn’t, or you closed it, open Safari and try to visit a website, for example captive.apple.com, the page Apple devices use to look for sign-in pages. The sign-in page should appear instead. A VPN or custom DNS settings can stop it from showing, so pause those until you’re signed in.

4. Renew your Mac’s IP address

Your router gives your Mac an address on the network, called an IP address. Asking for a fresh one fixes many “connected but nothing loads” problems (Apple’s steps):

  1. Choose Apple menu › System Settings and click Wi-Fi.
  2. Click Details next to the network you’re connected to.
  3. Click TCP/IP, then Renew DHCP Lease. If you’re asked about unsaved changes, click Apply. Then click OK.

On macOS Monterey: System Preferences › Network, select Wi-Fi, click Advanced, then TCP/IP, and click Renew DHCP Lease.

While you’re there, look at the IP address. One that starts with 169.254 is “self-assigned”: the router didn’t give your Mac an address, so it made up its own, and you won’t get online with it. Renewing usually fixes that. If it keeps coming back, restart the router; if it still happens, the router may have run out of addresses or need a firmware update.

5. Check the DNS settings

DNS turns names like apple.com into the numbers computers use. When it fails, you may be connected but every site says it can’t be found, or only some load. In System Settings › Wi-Fi › Details, click DNS.

  • Servers shown in gray come from your router and can’t be removed. If you see others you don’t recognize, perhaps added by an old app, select them, click the remove button (–) and click OK. Your Mac then uses the ones your router provides.
  • If only the router’s servers are listed and sites still fail, adding a well-known public DNS server can help: 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare), 8.8.8.8 (Google) or 9.9.9.9 (Quad9). Click the add button (+), type the address, and click OK.

If you use iCloud Private Relay, macOS manages DNS for you and says so on this screen. A restart also clears your Mac’s stored DNS answers, which fixes problems caused by outdated ones.

6. Check the date, the time and macOS updates

Secure websites won’t load if your Mac’s clock is far off. In System Settings › General › Date & Time (System Preferences › Date & Time on Monterey), make sure the date and time are set automatically. Then install any waiting updates in System Settings › General › Software Update (System Preferences › Software Update on Monterey): Apple fixes Wi-Fi problems in updates, and you can download one over another network or a phone’s hotspot.

7. Pause VPNs, filters and security apps

VPNs, firewalls, antivirus, parental controls and content blockers all sit between your Mac and the internet, and a broken or outdated one can block everything, especially right after a macOS update. Apple suggests checking for these apps once the basics, like the date and time, updates and restarting your Mac and router, haven’t helped (Apple’s advice):

  • Turn off any VPN and see whether pages load.
  • Type “VPN”, “filter” and “profile” into the search field in System Settings to find what’s installed.
  • Update or turn off the app, or uninstall it if you no longer use it, then restart your Mac.
  • In Wi-Fi › Details › Proxies, make sure no proxy is turned on unless your workplace set one up.

8. Check Private Wi-Fi Address and Limit IP Address Tracking

Two privacy settings, both in System Settings › Wi-Fi › Details, can clash with some networks:

  • Private Wi-Fi Address, on macOS Sequoia or later, gives your Mac a different Wi-Fi address for each network instead of its hardware address; you can choose Off, Fixed or Rotating. Earlier versions don’t have it. Routers with parental controls or a list of allowed devices may not recognize your Mac, so it gets connected but blocked. Update macOS first; if it still happens, set it to Off for that network only.
  • Limit IP Address Tracking hides your address from known trackers in Mail and Safari. School and work networks that filter traffic can stop working with it on. Turn it off for that network only. On Monterey, it’s in System Preferences › Network › Wi-Fi.

9. Forget the network and join it again

This removes the network and its saved settings from your Mac, so it starts fresh. In System Settings › Wi-Fi, click Details next to the network, click Forget This Network and confirm. Then choose the network from the list and type its password. On Monterey, it’s Network › Wi-Fi › Advanced: select the network and click the remove button (–).

Have the Wi-Fi password ready before you do this. If you use iCloud Keychain, your iPhone and iPad forget the network too, and will ask for the password again.

If Wi-Fi keeps disconnecting

  • Signal. Move closer to the router, or check the Wi-Fi menu: macOS shows a warning such as Weak Signal, and may offer Wi-Fi Recommendations when it spots a problem.
  • Interference. Apple notes that some USB 3 devices and cables can interfere with Wi-Fi when they’re close to your Mac.
  • The router. Apple recommends one network name for all the router’s bands, so devices can pick the best one, and keeping the router’s firmware up to date.
  • After sleep. If it drops every time your Mac wakes, turn Wi-Fi off and on, update macOS, and try forgetting and rejoining the network.

What “Privacy Warning” under your network means

macOS shows Privacy Warning when a network could expose information about your device: for example, when Private Wi-Fi Address is off for it, the network blocks encrypted DNS, or it is hidden. It’s a privacy warning, not a sign the connection is broken. If Private Wi-Fi Address is off for that network, choosing Fixed or Rotating clears it; otherwise, on your own network, updating the router’s firmware and settings usually does. Labels such as Weak Security or Unsecured Network mean the network’s password protection is old or missing; avoid private tasks like banking on it.

Still stuck? Two more tools

Wireless Diagnostics checks your Wi-Fi without changing any settings. Hold Option, click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar, and choose Open Wireless Diagnostics. It saves a report that may include your Mac’s serial number, your user name and your computer name, so think before sharing it.

A new network location is Apple’s way to start your network settings fresh without losing the current ones. In System Settings › Network, click the More button (⋯), choose Locations › Edit Locations, click the add button (+), give it a name and click Done (Apple’s steps). On Monterey, it’s System Preferences › Network › Location › Edit Locations, then Done and Apply. You can switch back to the old location the same way.

Advice you can skip

  • Deleting files in the system’s network settings folder. Apple doesn’t document it; a new network location is the safe way to start fresh.
  • Resetting the SMC or NVRAM on a Mac with Apple silicon. Apple says those steps aren’t needed there.
  • Factory-resetting the router. Restart it and update its firmware first; a reset erases all its settings, including your Wi-Fi name and password.
  • Turning off the Mac’s firewall. It only handles connections that other devices start, so it doesn’t stop you browsing.
  • Reordering “Preferred Networks”. That list is gone in current macOS, which ranks your saved networks by how you use them.

Common questions

Why does my Mac have no internet when other devices do?

Then the router is fine and the problem is a setting or an app on your Mac. The usual causes are a stale IP address, DNS settings, a VPN or filtering app, or a privacy setting the router doesn’t like. Work through fixes 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8.

What does a self-assigned IP address mean on a Mac?

It means the router didn’t give your Mac an address, so your Mac made one up, starting with 169.254. You can’t get online with it. Renew the IP address (fix 4); if it keeps happening, restart the router.

Will forgetting a Wi-Fi network delete its password?

Yes. You’ll need to type the password to join again, and with iCloud Keychain your other Apple devices forget the network too. Find the password first: it’s often on a sticker on the router.

Which DNS server should I use on my Mac?

The one your router provides, which is the default, is usually fine. If DNS is the problem, well-known public servers such as Cloudflare (1.1.1.1), Google (8.8.8.8) or Quad9 (9.9.9.9) are reliable alternatives. Remove them again if a work or school network needs its own.

Why does my Mac keep disconnecting from Wi-Fi?

Usually a weak signal, interference, or a router that needs a restart or a firmware update. Move closer to the router, keep USB 3 devices away from your Mac, and check the Wi-Fi menu for warnings or recommendations. If it happens after every sleep, forget the network and join it again.