I have a newer MacBook Air running the latest OS. My problem is that recently the favorites links and links on websites stop working after about 5 minutes or when I have changed sites a couple of times. Back arrow is a guaranteed killer. Recent changes I have made include using my laptop to back up my phone. I have cleared history and cookies to rectify this to no avail. Re starting fixes things for a very short while. I have restarted my modem. can't think of any setting that I might have changed. Ran the included Apple software diagnostic and got bupkis. Any ideas? Thanks
Links not working
- Thread starter dmurph3
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Safari does not work that way for me. Do you have any third-party utilities installed (antivirus, malware, cleaners, helpers, speed ups, download managers, etc)?
Me either. My last MBP went 8 years without a hiccup. No 3rd party software. I will mention that my GMail app is affected by this( it won’t load) when links stop working and I try to launch gmail to see what happens. Thanks for helping.
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You might try booting in Safe Mode to see if the problem persists there. If not, then reboot and see if it's fixed. Might be something in cache???
Me either. My last MBP went 8 years without a hiccup. No 3rd party software. I will mention that my GMail app is affected by this( it won’t load) when links stop working and I try to launch gmail to see what happens. Thanks for helping.
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Safe Mode is an excellent idea because (a) it disables all third party and non-essential apps and (b) it carries out internal maintenance including the clearing of hidden, as well as open, caches.
If you need assistance in booting into Safe Mode, just ask. Always happy to help.
Ian
If you need assistance in booting into Safe Mode, just ask. Always happy to help.
Ian
Re started in safe mode. Everything worked great. Deleted the only two log in items I had and re started.good for a bit but then same issue with links not working. What I mean by that to be clear is that I will click a link in top sites and the progress bar will start and then just stall. never moves after that. Clicking any other button gets the same response. Progress bar starts and then stops as if its trying to connect but can't. Currently working in safe mode to keep from getting frustrated. Any ideas? thanks again.
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The general advice is that if all is well in Safe Mode, but fails in normal mode, then a third party app is, in some way, interfering with the proper working of the OS.
It's tiresome in the extreme, but it means you have to isolate the "app or agency" that is influencing the proper behaviour of your OS.
You can use Activity Monitor to disable any applications that could conceivably be the culprit. And there could be many. When things are back to normal, then you gradually reintroduce the apps to find the baddy. It really is a thankless task.
Good luck.
Ian
It's tiresome in the extreme, but it means you have to isolate the "app or agency" that is influencing the proper behaviour of your OS.
You can use Activity Monitor to disable any applications that could conceivably be the culprit. And there could be many. When things are back to normal, then you gradually reintroduce the apps to find the baddy. It really is a thankless task.
Good luck.
Ian
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Have you installed a VPN, or any other network/internet app? It sounds like some network/internet issue.
Can you do anything online? Email? Check the macOS App Store? Other?
Can you do anything online? Email? Check the macOS App Store? Other?
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That is different that what I thought you were saying. That's a stall, usually caused by some DNS issue. Check your DNS provider in System Preferences/Network/Advanced. You can use either or both of Google's DNS servers at 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. Also, make sure you use the DNS servers your ISP recommends, which can usually be reached at the IP address of the router. If your IP on the Mac is 192.168.1.x, then the router is usually at 192.169.1.1, for example
I can e-mail, check app store, etc for a short while before things hang up. When that happens the first time it doesn't ever correct itself. No other links or arrows or buttons work. In safe mode there are no issues. I have only installed the gmail app on this computer and that precedes this issue by several months. I wouldn't know how to install a vpn so probably not that. Only thing I have loaded on my computer is a recent transfer of photos from my phone to the laptop and did a backup of my phone on the laptop. Deleted the backups when I thought that might be the problem but no change. Thank you for helping.
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You can certainly try another browser, and that may well fix the issue. I would add 8.8.4.4 and 8.8.8.8 to the DNS list. You do that by clicking on the "+" button then typing in the number. You have to click "+" for each one. (And I presume by 192.168.1.x you really meant 192.168.1.1 as that is the default to get to your router, and from there to the DNS server of your ISP's choice.)
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No, those are two different things. The 192.168.1.1,2,3,4, etc are for your home network.
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@dmurph3, your router issues IP numbers (the four-position numbers) to all devices in the network. Your Mac got the number 192.168.1.3, while the router itself has 192.168.1.1. Every device, as I said, has to have a unique number so that data to and from that device can be managed properly. When you entered 8.8.4.4 and 8.8.8.8 into the DNS list, you are telling your computer that in addition to looking at 192.168.1.1 to resolve names, it should also use those two addresses, which happen to be the Google DNS Server worldwide.
More detail: Every device in the entire world has to have a unique identifier in the network. EVERY. DEVICE. In the early days when the system was originally being designed, it was thought that a string of four numbers would do, in the form of w.x.y.z, where w, x, y and z were in the range of 0-255. That arrangement provides for 4,294,967,296 unique devices in a 32-bit address stream. But it was realized pretty quickly that the number of devices was likely to grow far beyond that. Today there are an estimated 20 billion or more devices in the internet. So how do we identify 20+ billion devices with only 4 billion addresses? The solution was called "sub-net." Certain ranges of numbers were reserved for local area networks, small nets attached to the larger internet through various service providers. 192.168.1.x was one of those subnets. It was reserved for networks with up to 256 devices. The way it works is that the modem/router that actually attaches to the Internet Service Provider (where you subscribe to access), or ISP, establishes an internal network in your home that uses that subnet for locally attached devices. For most of us 256 is plenty for now. I have currently 23 devices, for example, in my network. With smart connected TV, phones, computers, smart speakers, Alexa-type devices, etc., all expanding, 256 may be getting tight later on, but for now, it seems to work. But how do you connect to a place like this forum, for example? Well, you enter the text address as
That name, however, means nothing to the software that is trying to connect. It needs the NUMBER of that location. To find that number a Domain Name Server (DNS) is consulted. DNS is a protocol used world wide where text names are converted to the actual numeric IP number for the location. When you have 192.168.1.1 as a DNS entry, that means that when you type in any address, or click on any text link like that one, that name is passed to the router at 192.168.1.1 for resolution to a number. The router then passes that request to whatever host your ISP is using for DNS. Eventually a DNS resolver will have the answer and will ship the address back down the line until it ends up at your router, who will send it out to your computer at 192.168.1.3. Your connection can then be made between you and that remote device. It's a bit like looking up the telephone number of someone you want to call but you don't have the number, but on a huge scale and at very high speed.
So, your system is set up by your router with an IP number in the range of 192.168.1.x, connects to 192.168.1.1 for name resolution and is connected to the internet through a different number that the modem/router has within the ISP network.
I know that's more than you asked, but sometimes it helps to have at least some understanding of how it all works.
FOR THE NETWORK ENGINEERS: Yes, I know that 192.168.x.x can have more addresses, but for this discussion his router is using 192.168.1.x. And yes, I know I greatly simplified the DNS process. And yes, I know about IPv6. And NAT. But this is long enough already!
More detail: Every device in the entire world has to have a unique identifier in the network. EVERY. DEVICE. In the early days when the system was originally being designed, it was thought that a string of four numbers would do, in the form of w.x.y.z, where w, x, y and z were in the range of 0-255. That arrangement provides for 4,294,967,296 unique devices in a 32-bit address stream. But it was realized pretty quickly that the number of devices was likely to grow far beyond that. Today there are an estimated 20 billion or more devices in the internet. So how do we identify 20+ billion devices with only 4 billion addresses? The solution was called "sub-net." Certain ranges of numbers were reserved for local area networks, small nets attached to the larger internet through various service providers. 192.168.1.x was one of those subnets. It was reserved for networks with up to 256 devices. The way it works is that the modem/router that actually attaches to the Internet Service Provider (where you subscribe to access), or ISP, establishes an internal network in your home that uses that subnet for locally attached devices. For most of us 256 is plenty for now. I have currently 23 devices, for example, in my network. With smart connected TV, phones, computers, smart speakers, Alexa-type devices, etc., all expanding, 256 may be getting tight later on, but for now, it seems to work. But how do you connect to a place like this forum, for example? Well, you enter the text address as
NOTE: I had to add the space in "htt ps" to prevent the site from converting it to a URL and then not linking.
That name, however, means nothing to the software that is trying to connect. It needs the NUMBER of that location. To find that number a Domain Name Server (DNS) is consulted. DNS is a protocol used world wide where text names are converted to the actual numeric IP number for the location. When you have 192.168.1.1 as a DNS entry, that means that when you type in any address, or click on any text link like that one, that name is passed to the router at 192.168.1.1 for resolution to a number. The router then passes that request to whatever host your ISP is using for DNS. Eventually a DNS resolver will have the answer and will ship the address back down the line until it ends up at your router, who will send it out to your computer at 192.168.1.3. Your connection can then be made between you and that remote device. It's a bit like looking up the telephone number of someone you want to call but you don't have the number, but on a huge scale and at very high speed.
So, your system is set up by your router with an IP number in the range of 192.168.1.x, connects to 192.168.1.1 for name resolution and is connected to the internet through a different number that the modem/router has within the ISP network.
I know that's more than you asked, but sometimes it helps to have at least some understanding of how it all works.
FOR THE NETWORK ENGINEERS: Yes, I know that 192.168.x.x can have more addresses, but for this discussion his router is using 192.168.1.x. And yes, I know I greatly simplified the DNS process. And yes, I know about IPv6. And NAT. But this is long enough already!
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