thechaosfactory

Q: Safari on iMac can't connect to internet

I have a 2.5 year-old iMac with the latest OS. I'm suddenly not able to connect to the internet with safari (or firefox for that matter) but when I check the network connection, it's all green. Adding to the confusion, I can upload and download torrents. All my other devices (macbook air, iphone) are connecting to the internet without any problem. It's just the iMac.

 

The error message in safari says to go into preferences and make sure that I've enabled http connections, but it already is. Yesterday, everything was working fine.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks for the help.

iMac (27-inch Mid 2011), OS X Mavericks (10.9.2)

Posted on Apr 12, 2014 8:35 PM

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Q: Safari on iMac can't connect to internet

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  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Apr 13, 2014 9:19 AM in response to thechaosfactory
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Apr 13, 2014 9:19 AM in response to thechaosfactory

    Please read this whole message before doing anything.

    This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

    The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads 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 turn on the computer, and again when you log in.

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

    Safe mode is much slower to start up 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 startup may also be somewhat slow.

    The login screen appears even if you usually login 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, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

  • by thechaosfactory,

    thechaosfactory thechaosfactory Apr 13, 2014 10:26 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 13, 2014 10:26 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Thank you very much for the response. I did everything you said, and when I started up in safe mode, I was still unable to connect to the internet. I've now restarted as usual, and same thing.

     

    What should I do next?

     

    Thanks

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Apr 14, 2014 5:33 AM in response to thechaosfactory
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Apr 14, 2014 5:33 AM in response to thechaosfactory

    Restart your router and your broadband device, if they're separate. Any change?

  • by Kolgrath,

    Kolgrath Kolgrath Apr 14, 2014 11:01 AM in response to thechaosfactory
    Level 1 (30 points)
    Apr 14, 2014 11:01 AM in response to thechaosfactory

    That's frustrating when other Internet applications are working fine, but the main one, the BIG one, web browsing... isn't.

     

    Here is another discussion where someone was able to use other parts of the Internet, but could not browse pages in Safari. Repairing permissions fixed their issue.

     

    The thread:

    https://discussions.apple.com/message/13332554#13332554

     

    Carolyn Samitsays, "Launch Disk Utility. (Applications/Utilities) Select MacintoshHD in the panel on the left, select the FirstAid tab. Click: Repair Disk Permissions. When it's finished from the Menu Bar, Quit Disk Utility and restart your Mac. If you see a long list of "messages" in the permissions window, it's ok. That can be ignored. As long as you see, "Permissions Repair Complete" when it's finished... you're done. Quit Disk Utility and *restart your Mac.*"

     

    Good luck to you on getting this fixed!

  • by thechaosfactory,

    thechaosfactory thechaosfactory Apr 15, 2014 7:48 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 15, 2014 7:48 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Thanks for the suggestion.

     

    Unfortunately, I tried restarting it, and i even tried resetting the router all together, but same issues.

  • by thechaosfactory,

    thechaosfactory thechaosfactory Apr 15, 2014 7:54 PM in response to Kolgrath
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 15, 2014 7:54 PM in response to Kolgrath

    Thanks for the idea. I followed your directions and repaired permissions, but I'm still having the same problem.

     

    It might be of interest to note that as it is now, safari is giving me the can't connect to the proxy server error notice, but as soon as I turned off my router, the error message switched to not connected to internet. Once the restart was over, the can't connect to proxy server notice returned. So it seems that Safari knows I'm connected to the Internet, but for whatever reason isn't able to connect to the internet.

     

    and at this very moment, i'm downloading a torrent (a legal one). But I'm not able to connect to the iTunes store in iTunes. And all my other devices (mac air, iphone) are working fine.

     

    Any more suggestions?

  • by Linc Davis,Solvedanswer

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Apr 15, 2014 9:35 PM in response to thechaosfactory
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Apr 15, 2014 9:35 PM in response to thechaosfactory

    Back up all data.

     

    From the menu bar, select

      

    System Preferences... Network

      

    If the preference pane is locked, click the lock icon in the lower left corner and enter your password to unlock it. Then click the Advanced button and select the Proxies tab. If any proxy options are selected, make a note of them and then deselect them. You don’t need to change the bypass or FTP settings. Click OK and then Apply. Test. The result may be that you can't connect to any web server. Restore the previous settings if that happens.

  • by thechaosfactory,

    thechaosfactory thechaosfactory Apr 15, 2014 10:16 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 15, 2014 10:16 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Thanks for the continued help.

     

    Alas, that hasn't seemed to change anything.

     

    When I go to the proxies tab, both HTTP and HTTPS were selected. I unselected them, clicked ok and then apply, and there was no difference. I still couldn't connect to the internet through safari, and the torrent i'm downloading is continueing to download.

     

    I'm not sure what you mean by the result may be that you can't connect to any web server. I'm already unable to connect to any web server. In any case, after nothing changed I went back in and reselected HTTP and HTTPS.

     

    Is there something else I can try?

     

    Thanks

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Apr 15, 2014 10:56 PM in response to thechaosfactory
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Apr 15, 2014 10:56 PM in response to thechaosfactory

    Start up in Recovery mode. In the OS X Utilities screen, select Get Help Online. A clean copy of Safari will launch. No plugins, such as Flash, will be available. While in Recovery, you'll have no access to your saved bookmarks or passwords, so make a note of those before you begin, if they're needed for the test.

     

    Test. After testing, restart as usual and post the results.

  • by thechaosfactory,

    thechaosfactory thechaosfactory Apr 17, 2014 7:17 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 17, 2014 7:17 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Thanks for the continued help. I think we're getting somewhere.

     

    I started up in recovery mode, and i was able to surf the internet normally. When I restarted my computer, it was back to the same problem as before, with the cannot connect to proxy server warning.

     

    Hopefully this means we've narrowed down the possible problems. What's the next step?

     

    Thanks again for taking the time to help.

  • by EmskiBC,

    EmskiBC EmskiBC Apr 17, 2014 11:11 PM in response to thechaosfactory
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 17, 2014 11:11 PM in response to thechaosfactory

    I upgraded my 27" 2013 iMac yesterday.  It went smoothly and wireless network was fine throughout the day.  The machine went to sleep overnight and in the morning, although wireless showed connected, I actually had no network connection to internet or other machines on my local network.

     

    After much messing around, I finally did the following:

     

    1.  Open Systems Preferences/Network

    2.  Select your wireless network--mine said connected, but didn't work.

    3.  Use the Assist me button and follow directions.

     

    Whatever this did, my network is now working again.  It will be interesting to see if this happens always when the machine sleeps.

  • by Linc Davis,Helpful

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Apr 19, 2014 8:52 AM in response to thechaosfactory
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Apr 19, 2014 8:52 AM in response to thechaosfactory

    I don't like to suggest this step, but you seem to have ruled out everything else.

    If you don't already have a current backup, back up all data, then reinstall the OS.* You don't need to erase the startup volume, and you won't need the backup unless something goes wrong. If the system was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you may need the Apple ID and password you used.

    If you use FileVault 2, then before running the Installer you must launch Disk Utility and select the icon of the FileVault startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) It will be nested below another icon with the same name. Click the Unlock button in the toolbar and enter your login password when prompted. Then quit Disk Utility to be returned to the main screen.

    There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance.

    If you installed the Java runtime distributed by Apple and still need it, you'll have to reinstall it. The same goes for Xcode.

    *The linked support article refers to OS X 10.9 ("Mavericks"), but the procedure is the same for OS X 10.7 ("Lion") and later.

  • by thechaosfactory,

    thechaosfactory thechaosfactory Apr 22, 2014 6:31 PM in response to EmskiBC
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 22, 2014 6:31 PM in response to EmskiBC

    this kind of connection problem happens to me a lot, with all my apple computers. that's not the problem in this case though.

  • by thechaosfactory,

    thechaosfactory thechaosfactory Apr 22, 2014 6:33 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 22, 2014 6:33 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Thanks for the further suggestion. I decided it was my only option. Unfortunately, even after reinstalling I'm still having the same problem. Now I'm really stumped. I assumed this solution would have fixed it.

     

    Any other ideas what might be happening?

     

    Thanks

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