Apple News not connected to Internet but all else is

FIXED. after 5 hours online with apple it turns out to be a DNS issue. i changed the DNS in my router to google (8.8.8.8) and all issues with apple apps have resolved and i am now able to update OS

I sometimes get the "No Internet connection" error when using a VPN (NordVPN, in my case). Disconnecting from a VPN server solves the issue.

I've also been experiencing this issue with Apple News on all my devices (iMac, iPad, and iPhone) for the past several months; random lack of pictures, shortened article feeds, and a small message at the bottom of the screen stating that I'm not connected to the Internet. As with others, I knew that not to be true, as all other apps and pages responded and were active on the Internet.

What I did discover after some experimentation was that the culprit was being up on my VPN connection!! In every instance where the Apple News was broken, I simply de-coupled from the VPN and went back to my stock local ISP connection, the problem resolved. In EVERY instance, on EVERY device!!! Evidently Apple's developers have an accidental (or not) glitch in it's update to the News App that refuses to play nice with us trying to be secure in our daily operations.

I'm going to take a few hours of my time to contact Apple Support about this directly to ensure they get this in their bug list, but just thought y'all might want to check your settings to see if this is the cause of the problem on your systems. ArDitDit!

If the problem persists after performing the restart, it may be necessary to reset your iPad settings. While this reset will not cause any loss of data, as a precaution, it is always wise to ensure that you have a current iCloud or iTunes backup before performing the reset:

How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

When you are happy to proceed, you can perform the reset from iPad settings:

Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPad > Reset > Reset All Settings

If the problem still doesn’t clear, the next step is to reset the iPad to factory settings:

Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support

Otherwise, you would be best advised to seek assistance directly from Apple Support. You can contact the Support Team using the Support link at top-right or bottom-left of this page. Alternatively and perhaps easier, you can initiate and manage your support cases using the excellent Apple Support App. If not already installed on your iPad, the App can be downloaded from the App Store:

https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-support/id1130498044

Barr0lo wrote:

Apple News app thinks it cannot connect to the Internet even when there is a valid wifi connection with an ip address for my phone All other apps work and an okla speed test is giving me 4.7 mbps in both directions . This is a problem for a lot of people it seems . Please fix it Apple

If you have a VPN App or profiles installed, or a security/AV/firewall App such as Norton, these may be interfering with the iPad's active network connection. The resolution is usually simple; if installed, you may only need to temporarily disable or remove the Security App and/or VPN.

If this resolves your issue, the VPN and/or security App can be reinstated after the connectivity problem has been resolved.

If some Apps are working as expected, while others are not - or other devices can connect to your WiFi network - you may find that a restart of your WiFi Router, followed by a restart of your iPad will clear the problem….

To restart your router, disconnect power from the router for at least 30 seconds - then reconnect power to restart. After your router reboots (which may take several minutes), force restart your iPad:

Force restart iPad (models with Face ID or with Touch ID in the top button)

If your iPad doesn’t have the Home button, do the following:

1. Press and quickly release the volume button nearest to the top button.
2. Press and quickly release the volume button farthest from the top button.
3. Press and hold the top button.
4. When the Apple logo appears, release the top button.

Force restart iPad (models with the Home button)

Press and hold the top button and the Home button at the same time. When the Apple logo appears, release both buttons.

If you continue to have difficulties, check to see if your iPad is using the WiFi Private Address feature. This feature is intended to provide additional privacy and security when using “public” (untrusted) WiFi networks.

Settings > WiFi > [Your WiFi Network / SSID] - tap the “i” icon - Private Address

The Private Address feature is largely unnecessary for your home WiFi network; if enabled, Private Addressing can cause issues if specific MAC addresses are expected by your WiFi Router. You may need to disable this feature - and can be enabled or disabled for each individual network.

Use private Wi-Fi addresses in iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and watchOS 7 - Apple Support

Mine usually does it when my VPN is turned on, as soon as I turn VPN off it starts working.

Chadbuckeye wrote:

After further reading answers here...IT IS MY VPN, when it's on the News feed doesn't work...as soon as I turn my VPN off it stops working. Thanks Apple, I can't protect my device from threats so you can play games with my ability to use News...

If you have a VPN App or profiles installed, or a security/AV/firewall App such as Norton, these may be interfering with the iPad's active network connection. The resolution is usually simple; if installed, you may need to temporarily disable or completely remove the Security App and/or VPN - and perform a forced restart of your iPad.

After restarting your iPad, the VPN and/or security App can be reinstated if needed.

If some Apps are working as expected, while others are not - or other devices can connect to your WiFi network - you may find that a restart of your WiFi Router, followed by a restart of your iPad will clear the problem….

To restart your router, disconnect power from the router for at least 30 seconds - then reconnect power to restart. After your router reboots (which may take several minutes), force restart your iPad:

Force restart iPad (models with Face ID or with Touch ID in the top button)

If your iPad doesn’t have the Home button, do the following:

1. Press and quickly release the volume button nearest to the top button.
2. Press and quickly release the volume button farthest from the top button.
3. Press and hold the top button.
4. When the Apple logo appears, release the top button.

Force restart iPad (models with the Home button)

Press and hold the top button and the Home button at the same time. When the Apple logo appears, release both buttons.

remotegoat7 wrote:

The news issue mentioned in this thread is NOT resolved by changing to using google’s DNS service (as this posting suggests).

Have you confirmed if you are using a VPN or not? For those that were using a VPN, removing it solved the problem.

I was having the same problem on my Mac and contacted Apple support, and the issue was my VPN, which I usually have on. I turned it off and it solved the problem. I never had that issue before even with the VPN on, but I recently updated to the latest OS, and that's what's causing the problem. The Apple support guy told me that it seems the two "are not getting along". He wasn't sure though. But I think that's what it is.

Smurfie-uk wrote:

Using a VPN isn’t the widespread root cause, I know of several people now that have the same problem and, like myself, don’t use VPN’s.

Go to Settings>General>Language & Region>Region and, regardless of what it says, re-select your correct region.

After further reading answers here...IT IS MY VPN, when it's on the News feed doesn't work...as soon as I turn my VPN off it stops working. Thanks Apple, I can't protect my device from threats so you can play games with my ability to use News...

I turned off "Private IP address" in the WiFi settings and it fixed it. I don't want to leave it that way so I turned it back on, but if you really need to get the news, this may be a way for you.

This thread is mainly people having issues with iOS based devices like iPads and iPhones.

Sonoma is a MacOS version so if you have no issue then all that tells us is that it works for some people who use News on a Mac without a VPN.

What it doesn’t explain is the root of the issue for people who use iOS without a VPN.

From my point of view it looks as though there is a bug in the iOS 17.5.1 update that intermittently, but frequently, prevents the News App from connecting to the Apple News servers for some people (myself included).

The people we need to hear from are the ones who read this thread who:

1. Use an iPhone or iPad.
2. Have iOS 17.5.1
3. Have the issue without being connected via a VPN
4. Have the issue using Cellular and WiFi

If all of those statements apply, then the root cause of the issue is likely to be the same, and please contact Apple support so that they can log the issue and the developers can see the scale of the problem and hopefully rectify it with an iOS update.