IMac can't open website

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Level 1

48 points

IMac can't open website

There is one website - www.ufile.ca - that will not open on my iMac desktop (21.5", mid-2011, with High Sierra). The only reason given is that the ufile.ca server can not be found. I have 3 browsers on the iMac and I get the same error message with all of them. BUT, I am able to open this website from my iPad through the same router/modem, and regardless of which browser I use. ufile.ca tech support tells me there is nothing on their server that would block my iMac from accessing their website. So, I'm thinking the problem lies with my iMac?! This is the only website on my iMac that can't open. I'm hoping someone will know why this might be happening.

iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Feb 19, 2021 9:03 PM

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Answer 1

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Ronasara

Level 6

14,625 points

Feb 20, 2021 4:16 PM in response to MurPhil

You do seem to have an unusual problem, but I am betting it is due to the issue I will describe. This is not an unusual complaint for some browsers. Web site engineers write their software to work with specific browsers and specific versions of them. For some reason, they often choose to not be compliant with Safari. In this case, with your other browsers as well. Keep in mind that your Mac has a completely different operating system than your iPad has. Therefore it does not have the same version of Safari. This is not an Apple problem as Apple has no control over the millions of web sites on the internet. You can hope that your web site's developers eventually update their site to work with other browsers, or you can search for another browser that does work. Also, you could contact them on your iPad and ask them which browsers their web site is configured to work with on a Mac computer.

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Answer 2

MurPhil Author

Level 1

48 points

Feb 23, 2021 8:26 PM in response to Ronasara

Thanks Ronasara

It's been suggested to me that my mid-2011 iMac may be "too old". Apparently Apple has stopped supporting it - I'm not able to upgrade any higher than High Sierra. Hence, Safari may also be "too old". I now wonder if this being "too old" might be at the root of my ufile.ca problem. Would you have any thoughts on this?

I'm unable to obtain anything factual about this - neither Apple nor ufile.ca tech support seem to know anything specific about it. I'm bouncing back and forth between the two of them!

I'm currently waiting for ufile.ca tech support to get back to me on the oldest version of Google Chrome that ufile.ca still supports. But should this matter as I've always had Google Chrome set as the default search engine in High Sierra Safari, and Chrome seems to work quite well, otherwise? No word yet from ufile.ca - they don't seem to respond to questions like this (but COVID-19 might be why). In any case, ufile.ca is an on-line tax preparation app, and they seem better prepared for tax related questions rather than technical h/w & s/w questions.

Thanks again for your timely response.

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Answer 3

Ronasara

Level 6

14,625 points

Feb 23, 2021 10:09 PM in response to MurPhil

In a way you are right with your assessment. However, it isn't always a case of "too old". You could be running the latest OS with the latest version of Sierra and still have the same problem. It all gets down to whether that web site's software is compatible with the particular browser and version you are running. Still, it could be exactly as you suggest. One way to test it is to go to a friend who has a newer Mac running Catalina or Big Sur and use their computer to try access. Then you might know.

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IMac can't open website

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