Mac Internet Not Working? 10 Fixes

Unplug both the modem and router from power (if separate devices). Wait a full 60 seconds — not 10. Plug the modem in first, wait 30 seconds for it to connect to your ISP, then plug the router in. Wait another 2 minutes before testing on the Mac. The majority of "connected but no internet" issues are router state problems that a power cycle resolves — and it costs nothing to try first.

System Settings → WiFi → toggle off → wait 10 seconds → toggle back on. Use the Settings toggle, not the menu bar — the Settings toggle fully reinitializes the WiFi stack. After reconnecting, check the IP address assigned: System Settings → WiFi → Details (next to your network name) → TCP/IP. If the IP starts with 169.254, the Mac failed to get a valid IP (APIPA) — click "Renew DHCP Lease" to fix.

System Settings → WiFi → Details → DNS → click + and add 8.8.8.8 (Google) or 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare). Delete the old DNS server entries. DNS translates domain names to IP addresses — if your ISP's DNS is slow or broken, websites won't load even though the internet connection itself works fine. Switching to a public DNS server bypasses your router's DNS entirely and immediately resolves most "some sites work, others don't" issues.

Open Terminal and run:

Enter your Mac password when prompted. The DNS cache stores resolved IP addresses for domains you've visited. If a site moved to a new IP address or your cache has corrupted entries, flushing forces the Mac to look up fresh addresses. Fixes "this site used to work but suddenly doesn't" without affecting other connections.

If Safari shows "Cannot connect to the server" but Chrome works (or vice versa), the issue is browser-specific. For Safari: Safari → History → Clear History → All Time. Also: Develop menu → Empty Caches (enable Develop menu in Safari Settings → Advanced → Show features for web developers). For Chrome: address bar → chrome://net-internals/#dns → Clear host cache. Browser-level DNS and certificate caches cause single-browser internet failures.

System Settings → VPN — disconnect any active VPN. System Settings → WiFi → Details → Proxies — ensure all proxy options are set to "Off." A misconfigured VPN or proxy routes all traffic through a broken endpoint, making the internet appear broken even though WiFi is fine. Third-party VPN apps can also leave proxy settings enabled after they're uninstalled — check the Proxies tab even if you don't use a VPN.

Open Finder → Go → Go to Folder → type:

Delete these files (drag to Desktop as backup first): com.apple.airport.preferences.plist, com.apple.network.identification.plist, NetworkInterfaces.plist, preferences.plist. Restart the Mac. macOS regenerates these files. This removes all saved WiFi networks and resets interface configuration — re-enter your WiFi password after restarting. Resolves persistent network issues caused by corrupted network configuration that survives normal resets.

Open Terminal and run:

Replace en0 with your interface name (en1 for some Macs — check System Settings → WiFi to confirm). This brings the WiFi interface down and back up, resetting the TCP/IP stack without a full restart. Also try:

This forces a DHCP renewal and can fix "169.254" self-assigned IP addresses without a restart.

Hold Option → click the WiFi menu bar icon → Open Wireless Diagnostics. Follow the prompts — it analyzes your connection, checks signal strength, interference, and channel congestion. Under Window → Scan, it shows all nearby networks and suggests the least congested WiFi channel for your router. If your router is using an overcrowded channel (2.4 GHz channel 6 is nearly always congested in apartments), switching to a less-used channel dramatically improves reliability.

System Settings → Network → click the three-dot menu → Locations → Edit Locations → + (add new) → name it "Home2" → Done → Apply. Switch to the new location and reconnect to WiFi. This creates a completely fresh network configuration separate from your existing one. If the internet works on the new location but not the old one, your original network location has corrupted settings — you can delete the old one and use the new one going forward.