iMac connected to wifi but safari won't load pages

Wow, sorry for being - what, 3 years too late - but in case anyone else hits this page as I did. I'm on Maverick (10.9.) - and had this on a separate image I boot (use one for business, the other personal etc. - it's a long story). SO my internal would work WIFI just fine yet the other would connect, but no webpages, mail. I was especially useful to see it on the Activity Monitor which has a network tab, and I could see the flatline (almost) compare to the working ones. Then I remember having done this a few years ago, just go to the network pref's and highlight the WIFI one, and delete the pesky critter. For good measure, I reboot next, but not sure that's necessarily necessary, then add another one, select WIFI and it will suggest the name "WIFI 2", which I kept as is (I am a bit superstitious, there might have been other bits that would have made renaming to the original name a bad choice). And "voila", that was it (why I'm able to write this now!). Cheers (and, ugh, happy tax day 2017).

Please answer as many of the following questions as you can. You may already have answered some of them. In that case, there's no need to repeat the answers.

Have you restarted your router and your broadband device (if they're separate) since you first noticed the problem? If not, do that now and see whether there's any change.

If your browser is Safari, then from the Safari menu bar, select

Safari ▹ Preferences... ▹ Privacy ▹ Remove All Website Data

and confirm. Any change?

Quit and relaunch the browser. Any change?

Log out and log back in. Any change?

Enable Private Browsing in the Safari menu. Any change?

Are any other web browsers installed, and are they the same? What about other Internet applications, such as iTunes and the App Store?

If other browsers and Internet applications are also affected, follow these instructions and test. Any change?

If only Safari is affected, launch the Activity Monitor application and enter "web" (without the quotes) in the search box. If a process named "Safari Web Content" is shown in red or is using more than about 5% of a CPU, select it and force it to quit by clicking the X or Quit Process button in the toolbar of the window. There may be more than one such process. Any improvement?

Again, if only Safari is involved, open the iCloud preference pane and uncheck the box marked Safari, if it's checked. Any change?

Are there any other devices on the same network that can browse the Web, and are they affected?

If you can test Safari on another network, is it the same there?

If you connect to your router with Wi-Fi and you can also connect with Ethernet, do that and turn off Wi-Fi. Any difference?

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

Step 1

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.

Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?

After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

Step 2

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.

Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you boot, and again when you log in.

Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal boot may also be somewhat slow.

The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

Test while in safe mode. Same problem?

After testing, reboot as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of Steps 1 and 2.

Hold down the option key and select the Wi-Fi menu in the menu bar. What values are shown for the following?

• PHY Mode
• Channel
• Security
• Signal/Noise or RSSI
• Transmit Rate

Please do not post the BSSID, as that information is private.

Now hold down the option key again and select

 ▹ System Information... ▹ Network ▹ Wi-Fi

Compare the two-letter Country Code with the ISO code for your country. Does it match? The code X0 means that the country couldn't be determined. The code X3 means South America, not otherwise specified.

Back up all data before making any changes.

Take the applicable steps in this support article. The Wireless Diagnostics program generates a large file of information about your system, which would be used by Apple Engineering in case of a support incident. Don't post the contents here.

Run Software Update and install all available updates for OS X or your computer's firmware.

/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.airport.preferences.plist

Services ▹ Reveal

Go ▹ Go to Folder...

Hello Linc,

I had the EXACT same problem as Joper11 but was able to open Safari, App Store and iTunes in Safe Mode... (Step 2 of your reply sent on Jan 22.) Would you have some information for me as to how I could repair my normal account? I have an iMac (24" mid-2007) running OSX 10.8.5.

All software is up to date as well.

Any advice would be appreciated... This is my first post as well... not sure if I did this the right way or not...

Hey there, I was super frustrated after reading all these comments (from my iPhone) when I was having this issue with my MacBook Air. DNS settings, IP addresses and flushing caches, etc. are a pain and nothing worked for me ...

THIS WORKED THOUGH = Shut your computer down and then restart it. I don't know why, but that worked after an hour of messing with all the technical stuff. When my computer started back up, the landing page was the first thing that opened. (Note: Re-starting my computer did NOT work ... I had to completely shut it down). Good luck!

Yep the old turn it off and on again - Worked like a charm and Boom landing page popped straight up.

I was having this problem AND I had already been on the wifi network I was using when I visited my sister last year. This year I am blocked. It is the settings or more specifically the "certificates" in your Keychain Application. It is a uber technical application that is SOOOO hard for some of us! I saw all kinds of suggestions like:

1. Renewing/turning off&on/inputting manually DHCP.
2. Restarting/resetting the router and the macbook.
3. Turning WiFi on/off.
4. Remove & add services (WiFi & ethernet).
5. Checked and copied all network settings from another macbook pro that's connected and online on my network.
6. Ran network diagnostic and assistant tools
7. Duplicated/removed/added location
8. Removed the /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration folder.
9. Removed network password from keychain.

DON'T DO ANY OF THIS!!!!! TOO MUCH STUFF WITH UNCERTAIN OUTCOMES!!!!!!!!!!

But quite by accident I was trying everything to get my internet to work and found this was occurring: "GoDaddy Certificate has not authorized this site" Something to that effect. I realized the "certificates" that GoDaddy spoke of was in Keychain Access. Unfortunately I could not just eliminate the GoDaddy that was blocking my internet access. I had to delete them all. They rebuild in time----all on their own!! So needing internet access as I did, I deleted them all. Everything has been fine! And I am on the internet.

Thank You!!!!!