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Why Is Your Mac Not Connecting To WiFi? 6 Ways To Fix It

One of the most common problems any computer, including Macs, can encounter is trouble connecting to the internet. So just, what causes these problems, and how can you fix them?

If your Mac fails to connect to the internet, ensure it’s connecting to the right WiFi. Next check that your internet isn’t down, and consider restarting both your Mac and router. Also, try “forgetting” the WiFi network from the Mac’s remembered networks and adding it again from scratch.

Although you likely know what each of these solutions means, many readers may not know how to accomplish these solutions. For that purpose, let’s get into the topic of the Mac’s WiFi connectivity in more detail to help you get back to surfing the web.

Why Won’t Your Mac Connect to WiFi?

Man using mac laptop

When a Mac doesn’t connect to the internet, the cause is typically one of three things. Either your Mac is connecting to the wrong WiFi connection, your internet is currently down, or your Mac’s WiFi connection has become corrupted.

Let’s go through each of these potential causes in a little more detail.

Your Mac is Connecting to the Wrong Internet

This is one of the simplest problems to identify and fix. For example, if your Mac detects an open internet connection nearby, sometimes it will attempt to connect to that nearby connection rather than the one you want it to connect to.

To fix this issue, all you have to do is check your Mac’s network settings. If you do not recognize your Mac’s internet connection, your Mac is likely attempting to connect to the wrong WiFi.

Your Internet is Down

This is another prevalent issue that can cause your Mac to be unable to connect to the WiFi. If your WiFi is currently down, your Mac won’t be able to connect to it.

Your internet could be down due to a couple of different reasons. For example, maybe one of the lines in your area has been knocked down, or a storm has temporarily knocked out service.

If it isn’t a problem with your internet service provider, there may be an issue with your router. Sometimes routers need to be rebooted before they can start working again.

Your Mac’s WiFi is Corrupted

Finally, we reach the most confusing cause. Sometimes certain features on your Mac will stop working for seemingly no reason at all. This usually happens due to a bug that causes the feature to become corrupted.

In most cases, you can fix instances of corruption by resetting your device. It can also be fixed by searching for and forcing your computer to update. Doing this will cause the corrupted program to be reinstalled, hopefully removing any corruption.

How Do You Fix a Mac That Won’t Connect to WiFi?

Now that we’ve gone through some of the most common issues that can cause your Mac to be unable to connect to your WiFi, it’s time to learn how to fix those issues. Here are six ways to potentially connect your Mac to the internet again.

Check Your Mac’s Internet Connection

As we mentioned before, sometimes Macs will attempt to connect to the strongest WiFi connection nearby rather than the one you want it to connect to. If your Mac is trying to connect to a WiFi connection near you that has no internet, this can cause your Mac to lose internet connection.

You will need to open your Mac’s network settings to solve this problem. Once they’re open, make sure the network your Mac is trying to connect to is your network. If it isn’t, select your network and see if it connects.

Check the Status of Your Internet

Another pervasive issue that can lead to your Mac being unable to connect to your internet is if your internet is down. Thankfully, it is easy to check the status of your internet.

To do this, we’re going to use the website downdetector.com. Down Detector is a great website for checking whether the internet is down in your area. All you have to do is open the website, enter the name of the company that provides your internet, and enter your location.

After this, you will see whether or not the internet is down in your area. If it is, all you have to do is wait until the service is restored.

Reset Your Router

As we mentioned before, a crashed router could cause your internet to go down. Since the router is the device that spreads the internet signal through your home, a non-functional router will make your internet also non-functional.

All you have to do to fix this issue is to reset your router. This will cause the software inside your router to activate again, hopefully getting the router to work correctly.

How to reset your router will depend on what kind of router you have. Most routers have a reset button somewhere that you can press. However, if your router does not have a reset button, you have to unplug it for about 30 seconds and then plug it back in.

Restart Your Mac

Working on a laptop outdoors

Just like the software inside your router can crash and stop working, the software inside your computer can also crash and stop working. Usually, this is due to some corruption that has occurred. Even though this sounds like a severe problem, it’s pretty easy to fix.

All you have to do to fix this issue is restart your Mac. First, shut down the Mac entirely and then turn it back on. This will restart all the processes running on your Mac, potentially fixing any issues.

Forget Your WiFi Network

Another good thing to do if your Mac’s internet isn’t working is to log out of the internet and log back in again. This will ensure all the login information your Mac has stored for that WiFi connection is correct.

To do this:

  1. Open the Apple menu and then click System Settings.
  1. In the sidebar, you should see and select WiFi and then select details next to your network.
  1. Next, select Forget This Network and then Confirm.
  1. Then, all you have to do is reconnect to your WiFi.

Hopefully, this fixes any problems in the login process and gets your Mac connected to the internet again.

Use Wireless Diagnostics

Finally, if none of the other options have worked, you can try using Wireless Diagnostics to troubleshoot your Mac’s WiFi connectivity. This will get your Mac to attempt to identify and fix any problems in the process itself.

To do this:

  1. Hold down the Option key on your keyboard and click the WiFi icon at the top of the screen.
  1. This will open a dropdown menu, where you should select Open Wireless Diagnostics.
  1. Finally, hit Continue, and your Mac will attempt to solve the problem itself.