My iMac won't connect to Youtube via wifi. Ethernet is ok.

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Level 1

6 points

My iMac won't connect to Youtube via wifi. Ethernet is ok.

For reasons I cannot discover, I cannot open Youtube.com via wifi on my iMac. It will open when ethernet is connected. This is the only site that seems to be affected. It stalls for a second or two, then I get a blank screen and the URL changes to www.youtube.com/?tab=w1. I read through every forum I can find, tinkered with the network settings, deleted cache files for the browsers, etc. Firefox, Safari and Chrome all do the same thing. It was working fine for awhile and I don't believe that we changed anything that caused this, so I am at a loss. Has anyone else had this issue and know how to solve it?

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.1)

Posted on Sep 15, 2012 4:27 PM

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Answer 1

BDAqua

Level 10

238,961 points

Sep 15, 2012 9:27 PM in response to cpliler

Hi, this has worked for a few...

Make a New Location, Using network locations in Mac OS X ...

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2712

10.7…

System Preferences>Network, top of window>Locations>Edit Locations, little plus icon, give it a name.

10.5.x/10.6.x/10.7.x instructions...

System Preferences>Network, click on the little gear at the bottom next to the + & - icons, (unlock lock first if locked), choose Set Service Order.

The interface that connects to the Internet should be dragged to the top of the list.

Instead of joining your Network from the list, click the WiFi icon at the top, and click join other network. Fill in everything as needed.

For 10.5/10.6, System Preferences>Network, unlock the lock if need be, highlight the Interface you use to connect to Internet, click on the advanced button, click on the DNS tab, click on the little plus icon, then add these numbers...

208.67.222.222

208.67.220.220

Click OK.

Also, turn off IPv6:

System Preferences » Network » AirPort » TCP/IP tab » Configure IPv6

Or whatever Interface you use.

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Answer 2

cpliler Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 16, 2012 10:29 AM in response to BDAqua

Thank you for the detailed instructions. I have installed 10.8.1 though and the instructions above had no affect. I was unable to do everything it instructed however because some options were not available like reordering the locations and turning off IPv6.

Mountain Lion appears to be the problem here. I installed it recently (and completed forgot that I did because I also updated my daughters Macbook Pro and spaced that I did this one at the same time). The problem started after the installation. Coincidentally, the camera stopped working correctly on Skype and Facebook video calls on the Macbook Pro after the installation as well. I will find another forum to post these issues and hope Apple offers an update. Thanks for your help.

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Answer 3

BDAqua

Level 10

238,961 points

Sep 16, 2012 12:02 PM in response to cpliler

like reordering the locations and turning off IPv6.

Reorder should be available, did you unlock the lock?

IPv6 in 10.8.x can only be set not to off, but local only, but who knows how long IPv4 will work anymore, yet easy to change.

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Answer 4

cpliler Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 16, 2012 12:25 PM in response to BDAqua

I don't see a way to reorder the locations. Maybe I'm missing something obvious. Drag & drop doesn't work.

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Answer 5

BDAqua

Level 10

238,961 points

Sep 16, 2012 1:16 PM in response to cpliler

Oh, I think I misunderstood, not you, but click on that little gear there, what shows???

No need to really reorder Locations as you just need to choose one, it was the Iterface reordering that's important, & Wifi is on top, so no worry there either. 🙂

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Answer 6

cpliler Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 16, 2012 1:20 PM in response to BDAqua

When I click the small gear I see two options: Duplicate Location or Rename Location

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Answer 7

BDAqua

Level 10

238,961 points

Sep 16, 2012 2:55 PM in response to cpliler

Ah yes, forget that.

Are we still having the same problems? Or only with Flash or Java sites?

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Answer 8

cpliler Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 16, 2012 3:06 PM in response to BDAqua

Problem remains. Youtube is the only site that this happens with. I thought it might be Flash as well so I signed up for the HTML 5 beta site. Same thing, so I cancelled that. The site looks like it is loading, but then I just get a blank screen. Very odd. I'd just connect it to an ethernet cord if I could, but the iMac is in a room making ethernet unaccessible. I don't know what to do next...

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Answer 9

BDAqua

Level 10

238,961 points

Sep 16, 2012 3:42 PM in response to cpliler

Is Flash disabled?

About Safari 5.1.7 and Leopard Security Update 2012-003

Summary

Learn about Safari 5.1.7 and Leopard Security Update 2012-003.

Products Affected

Mac OS X 10.5, Product Security, Safari 5.1 (Mac OS X 10.6), Safari 5.1 (OS X Lion)

Safari 5.1.7 for OS X Lion, Safari 5.1.7 for OS X Snow Leopard, and Leopard Security Update 2012-003 disable out-of-date versions of Adobe Flash Player.

Out-of-date versions of Adobe Flash Player do not include the latest security updates and will be disabled to help keep your Mac secure. If Safari 5.1.7 or Leopard Security Update 2012-003 detects an out-of-date version of Flash Player on your system, you will see a dialog informing you that Flash Player has been disabled. The dialog provides the option to go directly to Adobe's website, where you can download and install an updated version of Flash Player.

Additional Information

If you need to re-enable an out-of-date version of Flash Player, you can do the following:

Navigate to the /Library/Internet Plug-Ins (Disabled) folder.
Drag "Flash Player.plugin" into /Library/Internet Plug-Ins.
If the browser is running, quit and restart it.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5271

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Answer 10

WZZZ

Level 6

13,220 points

Sep 16, 2012 4:03 PM in response to cpliler

When using WI-Fi, if you Option-click on the Airport icon in the menubar, what do you see for Transmit Rate and RSSI?

EDIT: forget it. What I was looking for wouldn't account for the problem you are experiencing, perhaps just jerky or slow loading of YT.

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Answer 11

cpliler Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 16, 2012 4:06 PM in response to BDAqua

I do not have an Internet Plug-Ins (Disabled) folder in the Library. I do show an Internet Plug-Ins folder though. Nothing is in it. I have installed the latest verion of Flash player and other sites with Flash content work fine.

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Answer 12

WZZZ

Level 6

13,220 points

Sep 16, 2012 4:51 PM in response to cpliler

Wrong Library. Look in the HD Library. It must be there. If YT plays when connected by ethernet, then you must have the necessary Flash Plug-In. This is very weird indeed. Have you put the numbers in Airport for OpenDNS (Network>Advanced>DNS) as BDAqua suggested?

208.67.222.222

208.67.220.220

Check to see it's working by going to

http://www.opendns.com/welcome/

What happens with other Flash sites?

Message was edited by: WZZZ

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Answer 13

cpliler Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 16, 2012 7:49 PM in response to cpliler

Sorry to have you working so hard on this, but I sure appreciate it. I'm lost on this one.

Per the image, I do have the Flash plugin in that Library folder, and I have changed the DNS. It works according to the link you provided. Other Flash site function normally. Only Youtube isn't. Ironically, I purchased this iMac to use in a music studio to learn guitar partially by referring to Youtube videos. So the one thing I need the computer for isn't working... Ahh the irony.

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Answer 14

BDAqua

Level 10

238,961 points

Sep 16, 2012 8:58 PM in response to cpliler

See in each Browser which version of Flash it thinks it has...

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/155/tn_15507.html

Then Test Adobe Shockwave & Flash Players...

http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/welcome/

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Answer 15

WZZZ

Level 6

13,220 points

Sep 16, 2012 9:11 PM in response to cpliler

Thinking it might be a clue that would break this thing open, I looked around to try to understand why or what www.youtubedotcom/?tab=w1 is, but no luck. There do seem to be other YT's with tab=xxxx also. And if I put that URL in I still get exactly the same YT.

This is a very strange one. Makes no sense at all to me. Sorry, I'm stumped.

Maybe BD is on to something in his last post.

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