Not connected to the internet

[circatee]

Right, this is a rather weird one. Am new to macOS. But, on a few occasions now, I will restart (Apple icon \ Restart) my MBP 2019. Upon doing so, when I log into the MBP (2019, 32GB / 512GB storage - Monterey with all the updates), the WIFI or LAN if am docked, is not connected to the internet.

Sometimes, after about a minute or so, the unit will randomly restart on its own. If I then restart the unit a second time, the internet (WIFI or LAN if connected to the CalDigit dock) will then work.

And, to confirm, the unit is connected to WIFI/LAN (if docked). However, if I open Outlook, or Google Chrome it would show an error, "Not connected to the internet".

Thoughts...?

 

[0128672]

I'm not sure those two issues are connected. Random restarts would be more of a concern than getting the not connected to the internet message. I get that one occasionally too even though I can see in the Finder menu bar that wifi is active. (To see that in the toolbar, go to Settings > Network > turn on Show Wi-Fi status in menu bar). I think the router has simply dropped the connection for a few seconds and I'm not too concerned about that in my setup. You can try testing with different cables too.

After your MBP reboots, do you see a message "Your computer was restarted because of a problem"? I'm including a support link for that issue, which includes troubleshooting steps you might consider. If you have Applecare, you may want to get it diagnosed.

If your Mac restarted because of a problem - Apple Support

Learn what to do if your computer restarts or shuts down unexpectedly, or you get a message that your computer restarted or shut down because of a problem.

support.apple.com

 

[circatee]

After your MBP reboots, do you see a message "Your computer was restarted because of a problem"?

Yes, it certainly does. The issue with the restarts, is that it ONLY happens if I've restarted the Mac, and then the internet connection isn't working. Then, within a minute, it will restart on it's own.

Really weird...

 

[BanditoB]

How is your MacBook connected to the network? Does it connect through a wired connection on the dock or are you strictly using the built-in WiFi? You may want to go into Network in System Preferences and check that the adapters are listed in the correct order in the left column. The top adapter will be the one that it will try to use as the primary connection. If that fails, it will fall back to the next connection in the list. You should be able to drag the adapters into the order that you would like. Normally, a wired connection will be first in the list followed by the WiFi adapter. That way if you have a wired connection, it will be utilized first. Then, if there's no wired connection, it will connect over WiFi.

Also, one thing that I've noticed over the years with Macs is that restarts don't always resolve issues with the computer. It is often better to do a shutdown, wait a few seconds after the Mac has powered off and then power it back up again.

 

[circatee]

How is your MacBook connected to the network? Does it connect through a wired connection on the dock or are you strictly using the built-in WiFi? You may want to go into Network in System Preferences and check that the adapters are listed in the correct order in the left column. The top adapter will be the one that it will try to use as the primary connection. If that fails, it will fall back to the next connection in the list. You should be able to drag the adapters into the order that you would like. Normally, a wired connection will be first in the list followed by the WiFi adapter. That way if you have a wired connection, it will be utilized first. Then, if there's no wired connection, it will connect over WiFi.

Also, one thing that I've noticed over the years with Macs is that restarts don't always resolve issues with the computer. It is often better to do a shutdown, wait a few seconds after the Mac has powered off and then power it back up again.

Currently it is connected to a CalDigit with a LAN. Rather odd that after a restart ‘sometimes’ the network (WIFI or LAN) won’t work initially.

Ps: next time I’ll try the shutdown method. Thanks

 

[Slartibart]

The problem should dissapear when you assign manually the IP address your Mac is using.

Take note of the IP address your MBP uses when the connection works. The open the network settings, disable DHCP and assign the IP address manually - probably something like 192.168.x.x or 10.0.x.x (»x« being some number)

 

[circatee]

The problem should dissapear when you assign manually the IP address your Mac is using.

Take note of the IP address your MBP uses when the connection works. The open the network settings, disable DHCP and assign the IP address manually - probably something like 192.168.x.x or 10.0.x.x (»x« being some number)

Hmm, considering I take this unit back and forth to work, setting a static IP may not be the best option.

But, thanks…

 

[Ruggy]

Not being connected to the net isn't necessarily the fault of the computer, it can be a self assigned ip address.
You need to go into the network settings and see what your ip address is when it's working correctly then check that it's the same when it isn't.
The ip address will be assigned by the router and sometimes it can fail to pick up your device. This may be for a number of reasons but typically if it's in bridge mode then it can give you a local ip address rather than one connecting to the net. Often it can just be fixed by rebooting the router however, but if you have some sort of complex system a mesh for instance- then you might need to look into settings for that. In any case, if the ip address turns out to be wrong when it doesn't work then you are on the right track and can start to investigate why by looking at the router- or whatever a calldigit is.
Restarting is perhaps connected but perhaps not. Saying it was restarted because of a problem with a ? means they are asking the question not that it was. If you restart by holding down the power button and not allowing the computer to unload correctly, you will always get that message for instance and it isn't important.
But when it restarts by itself that is worrying and it might be that you have a hardware problem which needs looking into- the wifi module for instance. There are hardware diagnostic tools in a partition on the disk and you can access them at start up with a key combination- but it varies depending on OS so you'd need to look it up. It might give you a clue but they don't always find anything

Additionally: your network settings are accessed through the wifi symbol top right > network preferences>advanced
When it's connected to the net correctly the ip address will most likely begin 192.168.
When it is self assigned it will be something very different.
There is also a connection doctor in 'mail' in the 'window' menu which might tell you something.

 

[Slartibart]

Hmm, considering I take this unit back and forth to work, setting a static IP may not be the best option.

But, thanks…

create two locations in network settings and switch via Apple menu > Location from the menu bar depending where you are. Heck, you can even automate this with Automator or ShortCuts.

 

[BanditoB]

When you get the message not connected to the Internet, it would be a good idea to verify the IP address of the MacBook. It will likely be a 169.254.x.x which is a self-assigned IP address. This means that the DHCP process failed, so the interface fell back to a self-assigned address and that would explain why you have no Internet connectivity.

If this is what is occurring, then you may want to look at your router to see why DHCP is failing. Under this circumstance, switching to a static IP address would likely correct the problem. You would have to set your DHCP range to allow for at least one unused IP address and then set the MacBook to use that IP address, otherwise you could run into additional headaches if you wound up using an address that was already assigned to another device via DHCP. This would only be a band-aid to cover up the DHCP failure, however.

 

[circatee]

...thanks for all the tips. To add, this is happening when at work, thus, I have no control over DHCP, and such.
Alas, adding a static IP may be problematic.

But, the next time it happens, I will document exactly what happened and what was done to resolve it.