Unable to Access Apple News on MacBook Pro

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Level 1

45 points

Unable to Access Apple News on MacBook Pro

I am unable to access Apple News on my MacBook Pro (the machine I used to purchase my Apple One Premier subscription). All I get when I open the app on my MacBook Pro is a big, blank screen that says “Welcome to Apple News.” If I try to “Discover Channels” I get a “Content Unavailable” message. The app works fine on numerous other devices on the account - iPad, iPhones, etc. I’m signed-on to my Apple account (same Apple ID), just like I am on my iPad and iPhone. The app is turned-on under “Apps Using iCloud” in my settings. What am I doing wrong?

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 14.6

Posted on Aug 11, 2024 6:28 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

benzbum Author

Level 1

45 points

Aug 11, 2024 8:28 AM in response to benzbum

Update - Called Apple support. The issue is my VPN. The VPN (same VPN on all devices) coexists perfectly with Apple News+ on my IOS devices (iPad and iPhone), but MacOS not so much. If I disable the VPN on the MacBook Pro, Apple News+ works perfectly. As soon as I install the VPN, I get a “not connected to the Internet” message and Apple News+ stops dead in its tracks.

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Answer 2

benzbum Author

Level 1

45 points

Sep 1, 2024 8:30 AM in response to ADGArrio

No, the issue is NOT resolved. If I disable my VPN, Apple News works just fine on my MacBook Pro. However, as soon as I enable my VPN, all goes to pot. No joy. Note that this problem only exists on my MacBook running Sonoma 14.6.1. My iOS devices running iOS 17.6.1 coexist perfectly with my VPN. I am running ExpressVPN on all of my devices but I don’t believe it to be an issue with my VPN as posts from others on this same issue indicate they are using other VPNs (NordVPN, Mullvad, etc.) and having the same problem. Uninstalling and reinstalling the VPN has had zero (none, nil, nada) effect on resolving the issue. It’s just an endless loop of frustration. There is something in Sonoma that just refuses to work and play well with VPNs.

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Answer 3

CIAVT

Level 1

32 points

Aug 16, 2024 3:01 PM in response to Owl-53

Apple Stocks App on MacOS when under a VPN will load the tickers, but the news feeds will not populate. Similar to how Apple News will not populate now when using a VPN. Seems to have started with the MacOS 14.6 update.

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Answer 4

Mac Jim ID

Level 9

60,638 points

Aug 23, 2024 9:22 PM in response to DLH01

Some users were able to uninstall/reinstall the VPN. There is no information that Apple plans on making any changes or not. For now you will just need to shut it off to use Apple News. If the reason for using a VPN is the belief that it is providing security/privacy, you may want to reevaluate the situation.

https://gist.github.com/joepie91/5a9909939e6ce7d09e29

https://overengineer.dev/blog/2019/04/08/very-precarious-narrative/

All of your information is being sent to the VPN provider, so you must trust them. Some have even been caught selling your information, which defeats the whole purpose of maintaining privacy. If the service is a free one then you can be assured that your information is being sold. Avast has been known to do this.

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Answer 5

Mac Jim ID

Level 9

60,638 points

Sep 1, 2024 8:23 AM in response to ADGArrio

ADGArrio wrote:

I have been facing this exact same issue. Did you ever get a resolution for it? Would I need to delete and re-install the VPN?

Yes you will need to delete the VPN. This will give you access to the News app. You can try reinstalling the VPN and if you are no longer able to access News, you have found the source of the problem. Some users have found success in reinstalling and others had to change the settings of the VPN, but that is more dependent on the service you are using. Some VPN's are just scams selling your private information, so it is difficult to recommend that approach.

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Answer 6

norbrya

Level 1

10 points

Sep 1, 2024 10:34 AM in response to ADGArrio

I've been turning off my VPN and Apple News works just fine. When I'm through using News or Stocks I can turn my VPN back on. I've also uninstalled, deleted and reinstalled my VPN to no avail. So, no, no resolution here.

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Answer 7

ckendig

Level 1

8 points

Sep 6, 2024 10:41 AM in response to benzbum

I have found this to be the case using both my work VPN and my personal VPN with Apple News+. No iOS issues, only 14.6.1 issue. Not an original issue, so I can only assume that Apple wants our sweet, sweet location data. Although I think I would have put the issue in iOS and not MacOs if I really wanted the location data.

Regardless, rather than uninstalling and reinstalling my VPN, I'm uninstalling the software that has all the bugs in it. Why pay for a service I have to troubleshoot. It's a service.

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Answer 8

Owl-53

Level 10

102,571 points

Aug 16, 2024 4:31 AM in response to benzbum

From another question on the same News Plus issue

Apple News not connecting to internet fol… - Apple Community

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Answer 9

benzbum Author

Level 1

45 points

Sep 25, 2024 5:19 PM in response to grady49

Same here. I updated to MacOS Sequoia 15.0 and voila! Now Apple News is functioning like a champ with my VPN installed and active. Thank you!

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Answer 10

grady49

Level 1

42 points

Aug 15, 2024 11:11 PM in response to benzbum

Apple News worked fine with VPN active until I installed MacOS 14.6.1. Now if the VPN is active, News will say it is not connected to the Internet. Nothing else has this issue (eg Safari and Mail both continue to connect without issue).

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Answer 11

grady49

Level 1

42 points

Sep 25, 2024 12:42 PM in response to benzbum

Apple News appears to be working again with my VPN active after installing MacOS 15.0

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Answer 12

DLH01

Level 1

10 points

Aug 23, 2024 9:01 PM in response to benzbum

Unable to access Apple News on MacBook Pro M1, with the latest Apple Update 14.6.1. and my VPN on. It just all of a sudden stopped. If I turn off my VPN, news works???? No one has been able to explain this and /or help me correct this situation.

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Answer 13

CIAVT

Level 1

32 points

Aug 16, 2024 7:38 PM in response to grady49

Yes the news feed in stocks.app is tied to the backend for AppleNews. Stock ticker data is pulled from Yahoo Finance and loads fine when you are using a VPN.

Just the news stuff is having issues with VPNs.

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Answer 14

Mac Jim ID

Level 9

60,638 points

Sep 6, 2024 11:13 AM in response to ckendig

ckendig wrote:

Regardless, rather than uninstalling and reinstalling my VPN, I'm uninstalling the software that has all the bugs in it. Why pay for a service I have to troubleshoot. It's a service.

You don't have to pay for the Apple News service and most don't. Unless you are looking for every magazine/newspaper subscription possible, then you should not be paying for the service. Local news is part of Apple News and also content providers choose what regions they want their stories published, so of course this is going to be a problem if you are pretending to be in another location. Location data gained through your IP Address is never your exact location and may be up to 50 miles away, so you don't need to worry about that.

The VPN service is something you will have to pay for. I would be very concerned about using any VPN service that claims to be free. They are harvesting more than your location data.

https://gist.github.com/joepie91/5a9909939e6ce7d09e29

https://overengineer.dev/blog/2019/04/08/very-precarious-narrative/

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Answer 15

benzbum Author

Level 1

45 points

Sep 6, 2024 2:13 PM in response to Mac Jim ID

I’m sorry but I don’t find your repetitious asides and editorializing about VPNs helpful to this issue in the least. And linking a blog post that cites YouTube videos and Wikipedia is hardly authoritative.

The fact is that previous versions of MacOS and the current version of iOS worked fine with VPNs and Apple News. The purpose of my original and follow-on posts were to request any help that might be available to figure out how to get all of these applications coexisting and behaving nicely together.

For some of us, not using a VPN or disabling it is not an option. I am compelled to use a VPN by my employer, who graciously provides me the flexibility to work remotely but requires me to use a VPN that meets their approval. I don’t have a choice if I want the work flexibility that I quite frankly enjoy. If there is a VPN that works and plays well with MacOS and Apple News, I can ask to have that VPN approved for my use. That would be useful information. I think I get the fact that some people have strong opinions about VPNs but please take that somewhere else and stick to the topic. Sorry for the directness but continually beating that drum in every post is a bit over the top.

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