Q: Can't connect to internet but connected to WiFi. All other devices connect fine. Help!
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Sep 14, 2015 6:33 AMby BobHarris,You are NOT making this easy. You have tried all the GOOD stuff
I am not hopeful that I'll be any help, but I'll throw a few things out.
Ping success most likely eliminates this,b ut I'll ask anyway. Did you get a 192.168.1.* IP address, or did you get a 169.254.x.x IP address? The 169.254.x.x would say you did not get a DHCP assigned IP address. I'm assuming Verizon FiOS or typical 3rd party router would give out 192.168.1.x IP address, but it could be 10.0.1.x (Apple router), or even 172.16.x.x. Anything except 169.254.x.x
If getting 168.254.x.x, try giving your Mac a DHCP Client ID. System Preferences -> Network -> Advanced -> TCP/IP -> DHCP Client ID. Make it a simple short name (no spaces, no special characters, just to insure the router is happy with it).
Can you connect to any of the other devices in your home (local network access).
Have you tried making a direct Ethernet connection between the Mac and the router connected to the Verizon equipment (if FiOS the ActionTec router)?
Are you sure your Mac is connecting to your home network and not to a neighbor's (unlikely based on a few of your tests, but I wanted to ask).
Do you have more than 1 router or WiFi access point in your home? If so, can you turn off all but the main router connected to the Verizon equipment (again if FiOS the ActionTec router would be the one to keep on).
Do you have anti-virus software installed?
Do you have LittleSnitch software installed?
I've seen both of these block network connections. Then again, booting into Safe Mode should have bypassed them, but it is better to ask, then assume.
Have you installed any 3rd party firewall software (past of present)? My thinking is that some of these packages just put a GUI interface on the Unix style firewall components already inside OS X, and if configuration files were set, they may be in play even during Safe mode.
And while it should not be an issue, do you have the System Preferences -> Security -> Firewall enabled?
How do you have System Preferences -> Network -> Advanced -> TCP/IP -> IPv6 configured? (I use Link-Local Only, and is something to experiment with)
Do you have Proxies enabled? System Preferences -> Network -> Advanced -> Proxies (less likely since you created a new network location, but better to ask then assume).
Can you post the Terminal session -> ifconfig output? Not sure it will help anyone, but it might be interesting. Feel free to mask out the 'ether xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx lines as we do not need to know your unique MAC addresses
NOTE: I am NOT going to suggest you to re-install OS X on your boot disk, but...
Do you have an external disk you can play with? Preform a clean install on an external disk and boot from that disk. Does the network function?
Feel free to try a different OS X version on the external disk (Yosemite or El Capitan when available in a few weeks).
Those are all the ideas I have.
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Sep 14, 2015 10:52 AMby SierraEcho,Thanks BobHarris, for all the suggestions! Very late last night I finally was able to get back online. Although I don't know if it's a permanent "fix" but I was desperate to get online and I wasn't going to question it at the time!
Here's what I did:
• I went in to my TCP/IP and manually configured the IPv4. My original IPv4 Address was 192.168.1.65. So I decided to try an alternate address that was not already utilized by any other device on my network. I went with 192.168.66. I kept the Subnet Mask and Router the same.
• Also, I added add'l Open DNS Servers (208.67.222.222, 208.67.220.220, 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4). Figured I'd cover all my bases.
It worked and I was able to get online again.
But since changing the IP address "did the trick" do you think the problem ultimately with my computer or with the router/ISP?
But to answer some of your questions:
• I only have the one wireless router/access point.
• I confirmed that I was connecting to my home network, not a neighbors.
• All of my Firewalls were disabled - both on my network and laptop. Don't have any other 3rd party firewalls.
• I have Norton AntiVirus and think it was disabled but will try that if it happens again.
• I was able to connect to other devices on my network, i.e. Apple TV.
• I wasn't able to try connecting directly to router with Ethernet b/c my macbook no longer has an ethernet port
• No proxies enabled.
• Re. the Ping test, I'm not 100% but I'm pretty sure it gave me the 192.168.1 IP address
• Re. IPv6, it's currently configured "Automatically." I will try Link Local only.
• Re. Terminal session -> ifconfig output, I will post the results if/when it happens again.
If you think it would be helpful, I can go back to my old configuration and run the Terminal session in case that tells us anything. What do you think?
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Sep 14, 2015 5:53 PMby BobHarris,I'm glad you have something working, no matter what, you have moved off center, and from here you can maybe figure out what is happening.
• I went in to my TCP/IP and manually configured the IPv4. My original IPv4 Address was 192.168.1.65. So I decided to try an alternate address that was not already utilized by any other device on my network. I went with 192.168.66. I kept the Subnet Mask and Router the same.
But since changing the IP address "did the trick" do you think the problem ultimately with my computer or with the router/ISP?
That makes me think it was the router. I don't know why the router would not like 192.168.1.65, but does like the 192.168.1.66 address. Then again, maybe it is not.
I'm less likely to think Verizon, as they never see the 192.168.1.65 address. That stays in your home and the NAT server (Network Address Translation) in your router makes the outside world think your request is coming from the router's internet facing IP address (as in <http://whatismyip.com>).
Now if you never take your Mac out of the house, this is perfectly acceptable. If you do travel with your Macbook Pro, then you are going to want to have an "Automatic" location _AND_ a "Fixed_IP" location. That would make it easier to switch via the Apple menu -> Location menu entry. Or you could setup a "ControlPlane" rule to automatically switch network locations depending on whether you are home or away.
<http://www.controlplaneapp.com>
But of course the best solution would be to figure out what was going wrong.
• I only have the one wireless router/access point.
You have mentions Verizon, so do you have FiOS and an ActionTec WiFi router provided with your FiOS service?
Or do you have a Verizon DSL modem, and your own WiFi router?
If you go back to DHCP assigned IP address, first try power cycling the Router.
Next see about providing a DHCP Client ID (system preferences -> Network -> Advanced -> TCP/IP -> DHCP Client ID).
If this is your own WiFi router, then consider if you want to upgrade it (or see if you can borrow one from a friend to experiment with).
If it is the Verizon FiOS ActionTec, you cannot replace it, as you need it to integrate the FiOS data and TV services. However, it is possible to turn off the WiFi radio(s), put it into Bridge mode and then use your own WiFi router if you want. I did this a few years ago when I was a FiOS customer. I used my own Airport Extreme router.
NOTE: I'm not saying there is anything wrong with your current router, just that there are options you can take if you want to change things up.
If you think it would be helpful, I can go back to my old configuration and run the Terminal session in case that tells us anything. What do you think?
I do not know what the ifconfig information would tell us. I was fishing and trying to think of anything that might uncover something. The fact that you got it working with a Fixed IP address tells us more.
I would only go back to the original configuration to continue experimenting to see if you can isolate the problem and eliminate it.
