Unable to access Google, gmail or youtube Mac OS X 10.8.5

Question

Unable to access Google, gmail or youtube Mac OS X 10.8.5

Hoping someone can help me,

I've been searching for an explanation for the last few hours to no avail.

I have a Mac OS X 10.8.5 laptop, purchased in 2013; never had any problems until suddenly, when I go to access

Google, youtube or Gmail… I get a response saying "Safari can't establish a secure connection to the server".

I then tried Firefox and Google Chrome but still couldn't access these 3 sites. All software updates are current on laptop.

I've reset the modem, cleared history/cookies, reset the machine, disk repaired the HD etc but I'm really not sure what else to do.

I'm not extremely technically savvy, but if anyone can talk me through how to fix this asap, I'd be extremely grateful. It seems to be a somewhat common problem that people have experienced over the years but unable to find a solution. Please Help!

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5)

Posted on Sep 25, 2015 8:51 AM

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Answer 1

gzh245

Level 1

4 points

Nov 8, 2017 5:59 PM in response to Baby-Boomer-USofA

Baby Boomer (USofA),

Thank you very much! I was trying to regain access to Google products for over two hours until I stumbled upon your post, now everything works fine. If you have time, can you please elaborate as to what was the problem and how did your solution fix it?

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Answer 2

Sep 25, 2015 3:14 PM in response to Frommybedroom

Mapping for the following OS’s 10.5/10.6/10.7/10.8/10.9 /10.10.x

System Preferences>Network>Advanced>DNS.

Click the plus sign ➕ & enter these numbers:

208.67.222.222

208.67.220.220

The above authored by BDAqua

After doing the above restart your comp & post back the results.

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Thank you for reporting the troubleshooting efforts you have previously tried. Very helpful to users trying to help.

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Answer 3

Sep 25, 2015 6:02 PM in response to Baby-Boomer-USofA

Firstly, thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me, it is greatly appreciated.🙂

I added these numbers in the DNS section as requested and received this message;

404. That’s an error.

The requested URL / was not found on this server.That’s all we know.

I tried Safari said it "couldn't establish a secure connection with the server".

I then attempted it once again using both firefox and google chrome with "this website is not available"

My roommates computers are all accessing google, youtube and gmail as usual on our home wifi.

Kind regards,

Lexi

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Answer 4

Sep 25, 2015 7:35 PM in response to Frommybedroom

A few more suggestions. Some you may have already tried.

Try the basics first:

Change your router channel number. Most times this works & is all you have to do.

Disconnect & reconnect your modem. unplug it for about 10 seconds. Plug it back in. Do the same for Apple’s routers. Wait for everything to reboot.

System Preferences>Network

Click the Assist Me button.

In the next window that pops up, click the Diagnostic button & do the necessary. Report back the results.

Research Knowledge Base for network problems that pertain to the OS that is currently installed on your computer. See these basic networking KB Articles: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1401 AirPort troubleshooting guide

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4628
Wi-Fi: How to troubleshoot Wi-Fi connectivity

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2712 Using network locations in Mac OS X

Manually provided DNS server addresses are higher priority than DHCP's

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1714 Solutions for connecting to the Internet, setting up a small network, and troubleshooting

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What to do when you can't connect to the Internet

Also, run the Airport Utility app which is located inside the Utilities folder.

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If using a Linksys router, contact LinkSys Customer Support and/or post in their forums.

All other 3rd party routers, contact its manufacturer and/or post in their forums.

If using Apple's Airport, please re-post over in one of the AirPort Forums.

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Answer 5

Sep 25, 2015 11:58 PM in response to Baby-Boomer-USofA

I don't what it was in particular, but it is now all back and running. But I restarted my computer and router and added those numbers in you original posted and its now working. You are definitely a saving grace and thank you so much for all of your help. 🙂

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