MacBook won’t connect to internet - other devices do

[Ek- needs- help]

I do not see a lock on the network pane. I am working with Mojave, not Monterey. I can't download Monterey without internet.

 

[MacInWin]

This is the lock I mean. It's been a while since I used Mojave, but I think it was there, then.

Click there, enter an admin password, then click on Advanced and change the DNS settings. I seem to remember that working for quite a while, but don't know if it was as far back as Mojave or not.

 

[Ek- needs- help]

This is the lock I mean. It's been a while since I used Mojave, but I think it was there, then. View attachment 35615

Click there, enter an admin password, then click on Advanced and change the DNS settings. I seem to remember that working for quite a while, but don't know if it was as far back as Mojave or not.

This is what mine looks like. No lock.

 

[MacInWin]

So what do you see when you click on "Advanced" and then select "DNS"?

 

[chscag]

I'm running the latest version of Monterey and there is no unlock for Network preferences/DNS. As far back as I can remember, DNS settings or any network settings were ever locked.

Perhaps on the setup you're running something is different?

 

[chscag]

So what do you see when you click on "Advanced" and then select "DNS"?

No change, no lock. And as I said above, there never has been a lock.

I do not disbelieve you but there is something about your setup that is different and shows DNS as locked. Perhaps it's because you have a M1 machine and mine is Intel?

 

[chscag]

Ah... I see you're running a VPN (Nord). Don't know if that matters? But there is definitely something about your network setup that's different from mine.

 

[MacInWin]

Charlie, it's not Nord, I'm not running it at the time. The Padlock is on the Network pane, but unlocks the Advanced pane as well. Here is Apple's User guide page: Change Wi-Fi options in Network preferences on Mac

It does say "If there's a lock..." so maybe it has something to do with security. Mine has a lock. See post #22. No lock on the DNS page, but it's greyed out unless I unlock it. I don't remember changing anything to make that happen, it's been that way for well before Monterey.

 

[chscag]

I think this is why the lock is showing up on your Network pane and not mine:

From Apple:

"Use Wi-Fi preferences to specify preferred Wi-Fi networks and arrange them in order of preference. You can also specify whether an administrator password is required to control certain Wi-Fi capabilities, such as turning Wi-Fi on or off."

That would probably determine whether or not the lock appears.

 

[MacInWin]

Could be, but I didn't specify any such thing. Don't know what to say. Where did you see that at Apple?

 

[chscag]

Could be, but I didn't specify any such thing. Don't know what to say. Where did you see that at Apple?

From the link you attached in #28.

 

[MacInWin]

From the link you attached in #28.

OK, found it, but it doesn't say HOW to do that. Looked around, didn't see how to set that up. Oh, well. It keeps me from mucking things up on my own!

 

[Rod]

Accessing the DNS pane On my Intel MBP running Monterey via WiFi icon on Menu bar > Network Preferences > Advanced > DNS Tab this is what I see.

From experience I know that if I were to edit this list I would be asked to confirm (save) my change before exiting the preference pane but at no point do I need to unlock. This is typically how I access the Network Preferences pane.
I tried accessing the Network Preferences pane from System Preferences and exactly the same thing happens at no point did I have to "Unlock" anything.

 

[MacInWin]

Wonder what I did to cause the lock to appear? I did a quick search, didn't see anything obvious. It's been that way for a long time, so whatever it was, the brain cells that registered it have been recycled.

 

[ferrarr]

This always gets forgotten.



Require an administrator password to access system-wide preferences.

 

[charliko]

Hi
Wonder if anyone has any suggestions as I’m tearing out what little hair I have left

I have a mid 2012 MacBook Pro running Mojave 10.14.6. There is 50gb storage remaining on a 500gb ssd and 8gb RAM

It connects fine to my wireless network, and airport utility shows a green light for internet - but it won’t connect to the internet - I get “could not connect to the server” or “could not open page” no matter what site I try

I have emptied cache and history and tried Safari and Chrome. I’ve turned off VPN, rebooted the machine and tried setting up another user - all with no effect.

I have a MacBook Air, an iPad and an iPhone, all of which are accessing the internet via the same Wi-Fi with no problem

I’ve checked the Network section in system preferences and can see no obvious problem in the ‘advanced’ settings and the settings mirror those on the MacBook Air that works fine (also running Mojave)

The only thing I can’t do is change the DNS - it seems to be nailed down by the router: the figure is greyed out and it won’t let me add extra by the + button. But that’s the same on the MacBook Air too (and same dns)

I should add the MacBook Pro has worked fine on another network

Any suggestions would be much appreciated

I had to call my provider and when he disabled my vpn everything worked as it should!

 

[Rod]

Its all very well for your provider to disable your VPN, I'm sure they are not overly concerned with your internet security but I assume you have a subscription with Nord and your intention would be to use it.
I’ve never really had an issue with network settings despite living in two countries for months at a time and all the temporary locations between. I use Express VPN on all my devices and have never had any issues that weren’t quickly fixed by their 24/7 chat line support.
As you can see the "Lock" icon no longer appears in Network Prefs on Monterey 12.3.1 however if I make a change the Revert and Apply buttons (bottom right) are activated and my Admin Password is required to Apply the change.

This applies to DNS changes as well. I suggest you contact Nord support and ask for assistance. In my experience simply uninstalling and reinstalling the VPN package usually fixes everything especially if there have been updates.