Unable to sign in to iCloud or access Internet on 2021 MacBook

Question

Level 1

29 points

Unable to sign in to iCloud or access Internet on 2021 MacBook

2021 M1 MacBook Pro

Sonoma 14.5

330 GB free space remaining

My 2021 M1 MacBook Pro won't connect to iCloud after five months of not being used. Previously, I would use it daily at work in conjunction with my work-issued MacBook. In late-February I became the casualty of a reduction in force and stopped using my MacBook and have instead opted to use my iMac since I was spending more time at home now.

A few days ago I decided to charge the MacBook and update the OS and a few apps in preparation for an upcoming trip (I always bring my MacBook with me to edit videos in FCP), but quickly discovered I wasn't able to do anything at all. As I'm typing this, my MacBook thinks it's 8:00pm on Saturday, March 2, 2024. I have scoured the Internet looking for a solution and, while very few users have reported this experience with their MacBooks, there haven't been any solutions.

I tried forgetting and reconnecting to my Wifi which shows as "Connected" and am able to access some Web sites, but not all (probably due to the date/time discrepancy on my MacBook). For example, I can fully access amazon.com, but not google.com (or most other websites); some websites display as text only (like paypal.com).

When checking for updates, I get the following popup (again, probably due to the date/time issue):

I get a similar popup when trying to update my Apple ID settings:

I typically try to diagnose and resolve the issue on my own with help from Google, but I'm really stumped on this one.

Has anyone experienced this before? What could have caused this to occur? Any help, guidance, or suggestions to resolve this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Chris

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 14.1

Posted on Aug 23, 2024 12:16 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Grant Bennet-Alder

Level 10

140,789 points

Aug 23, 2024 6:40 PM in response to OMMBoy

that response should have said, "who the heck do you think you are? you can't just come in here and change the SYSTEM Date&Time!"

if you put sudo in front of it, and enter your password when it demands your password (which will not be echoed, by design) then it KNOWS who you are.

or use the graphical user interface version:

Set the date and time automatically on your Mac - Apple Support

Reply

Answer 2

Aug 23, 2024 6:52 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

...or for macOS 10.14 and later, use this Terminal command:

sudo sntp -sS time.apple.com

Reply

Answer 3

OMMBoy Author

Level 1

29 points

Aug 24, 2024 5:25 PM in response to OMMBoy

UPDATE! UPDATE!

I believe the problem may have been solved. After much time trying to figure out what the issue might be, I came to the realization that incorrect date/time seemed to be the culprit behind many of the issues plaguing my MacBook. This helped me to narrow down my search terms, which then led me to the solution found here: MacBook Pro running Sonoma reverting to w… - Apple Community

So far, after a couple reboots and logins, the date/time are still accurate:

Thanks to Grant Bennet-Alder for taking the time to help troubleshoot my MacBook :)

Reply

Answer 4

OMMBoy Author

Level 1

29 points

Aug 24, 2024 11:18 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Grant Bennet-Alder wrote:

...or for macOS 10.14 and later, use this Terminal command:

sudo sntp -sS time.apple.com

This worked! Until it didn't. After entering the command in Terminal, the clock immediately updated and I was able to do everything as normal. I then rebooted my MacBook, and the correct date and time were still displayed at the login window. HOWEVER, after logging in, everything reverted back to March 3. ARRRGH! 😖😖😖

My next plan of attack is to perform a reinstall of Sonoma. I had never set up Time Machine on the MacBook before, so when I attempted to do so last night, it wouldn't allow me despite trying to start the backup manually. Now that the date/time issue has been temporarily resolved, Time Machine appears to be working as expected. I just hope that the reinstall process will only update the OS and not wipe out existing apps and files 😬

Reply

Answer 5

Aug 24, 2024 5:29 PM in response to OMMBoy

when things get this wonky, we usually start deleting the .plist files that hold these setting, in hopes that the .plist was damaged, and when the system creates a new one, it will be correct:

sudo rm /etc/ntp.conf 
sudo rm /var/db/timed/com.apple.timed.plist

Reply

Answer 6

Aug 23, 2024 6:03 PM in response to OMMBoy

<< my MacBook thinks it's 8:00pm on Saturday, March 2, 2024 >>

to make s secure connection, the time must be correct within five minutes of Internet time. There is a very weird way you could hack encrypted connections if they did not insist on correct time.

if you need help with time, just ask.

Reply

Answer 7

OMMBoy Author

Level 1

29 points

Aug 23, 2024 6:17 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Grant Bennet-Alder wrote:

There is a very weird way you could hack encrypted connections if they did not insist on correct time.

if you need help with time, just ask.

Does it involve resetting the date and time in Terminal? If so, that didn't work for me, either (it shows "Operation not permitted"). If it's something else, I'm definitely curious. Will it fix whatever ails my MacBook, or is it temporary only?

Reply

Answer 8

OMMBoy Author

Level 1

29 points

Aug 24, 2024 11:01 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Grant Bennet-Alder wrote:

that response should have said, "who the heck do you think you are? you can't just come in here and change the SYSTEM Date&Time!"

😂😂😂

if you put sudo in front of it, and enter your password when it demands your password (which will not be echoed, by design) then it KNOWS who you are.

Well, that would explain why it didn't work. The website where I found this bit of information forgot to mention the part about adding "sudo" (and I'm too dumb to know any better).

or use the graphical user interface version

I tried the graphical interface version during my self-help troubleshooting (which I forgot to mention in the original post), and that didn't change anything either.

Reply