Nowadays it is essential to be connected to the internet and in fact it could be said that a computer is almost useless if it does not have access to the network. The most common way to connect is through a WiFi network, so in this post we tell you what to do if your Mac has problems connecting to these WiFi.
Basic checks
- Check that the router is working properly, also observing its indicator LEDs.
- Activate WiFi on your Mac, either from the icon in the menu bar or by going to System Preferences> Network.
- Make sure you are connecting to the correct network.
- Is the password entered for your WiFi correct?
- Restart both the router and Mac before making any changes.
Try connecting it by cable
Yes, we already know that this is not the best solution since if you want to connect to WiFi it is because it may not be really useful to do it by cable. However, trying to connect your Mac in this way can help rule out other problems. In case you have a MacBook without such a connector you will need an adapter.
If your internet connection does not work this way either, it is possible that the router is having problems. In that case we also recommend trying to access through another device, either wired or with a WiFi network. In case you cannot access them either, contact your telephone company. If you were able to connect, read this article to find other options.
Follow the Mac’s recommendations
When there are problems establishing an internet connection via WiFi, the Mac itself tells you to. Information is generally given from System Preferences> Network or with a different icon in the menu bar. On other occasions, in these same places, a link appears in “More information” . If you click on this link you will be able to access more data to help you solve the problem.
Unsecured WiFi network on Mac
This message usually appears when connecting to public WiFi networks or where many people are connected. In airports, restaurants and other public places this is where this problem usually appears. If the problem occurs with a home network, there may be a verification problem. We recommend accessing the router settings and changing the password, for which you can check with your telephone company.
In any case, this is not an impediment to browsing , but rather a warning from the computer so that you know that someone could access the data related to your browsing. It is not recommended to use these networks to consult sensitive data such as bank accounts or make purchases and in fact we could not even recommend them for other tasks and if they are to be used it should always be in exceptional circumstances and always taking into account the aforementioned regarding your data.
Run an environment diagnostic
If you can connect to another wireless network, even if it is shared by your mobile, follow these steps:
- Close all the programs and applications that you have open.
- Hold down the Option / Alt key and tap on the WiFi icon in the menu bar.
- While pressing Alt / Option, click on “Open Wireless Diagnostics” .
- You can now stop pressing the Alt / Option key and follow the prompts to run the diagnosis.
This will give you very useful information about the possible problems that appear in your environment and that make a correct WiFi connection impossible. The same happens if in this section you decide to click on “Monitor my WiFi connection” , since this option will analyze the WiFi network you want in particular.
Other diagnostic options
Within Wireless Diagnostics you can get access to another series of utilities that help solve the problem.
- Information has details about the network connections you have at the moment.
- Logs allows you to obtain a .log file with all the data related to your connections.
- Explore searches for other WiFi routers in your environment and gets key data about them.
- Performance shows a series of graphs in real time with information about your connection, such as speed, quality or signal.
- Detector helps to explore the traffic of the WiFi connection and can be useful when a problem that cannot be reproduced is diagnosed.
If internet problems persist on Mac
If you think that the problem to connect to the Internet with your Mac could be due to a hardware failure or you think that the previous diagnostic methods are insufficient, it is recommended to contact Apple . All this regardless of whether or not you maintain the warranty of the computer. You can even get in touch by phone, as they may be able to run a diagnosis remotely.
In any case, going to an Apple Store or authorized technical service with the Mac is usually the most recommended. This way you can ensure that professionals can find the problem in the first person and offer you the best solution. All this will come with a previous budget, which then you can accept or not depending on your needs at the time.