The AirPort icon in your menu bar will show you the strength of the signal – if this is only one or two bars, the problem could be that it's too weak where you are. Have you got loads of browser extensions running? In Safari, go to Preferences > Extensions and uninstall the lot and reinstall the vital ones one at a time.
Or could someone be hogging bandwidth? If it is only your Mac, is Software Update downloading in the background? Could something else be running?Īlso, go to Safari > Reset Safari... and tick every box. Is it slow on every computer in your house? If so, it could be to do with the network or internet connection as opposed to your Mac. Type this into a web browser to open the settings screen. With Apple routers, open AirPort Utility and look in the Airport > Wireless tab, or if you have a third-party model, find the router IP address in System Preferences > Network > Ethernet.
If not, plug an Ethernet lead between your Mac and the router to check the network name. If you know the exact network name and security type, choose Join Other Network… from the AirPort menu and type in the name. If you've got an Apple router, this is called a Closed Network. If it doesn't, the network name, or SSID, may have been hidden. The router's on and the relevant lights are lit – the signal doesn't go on forever, so move closer to the box and see if it shows up in your network list. Many routers have a setup wizard (Apple's is in AirPort Utility third-party ones will be in the setup screens in Safari) work through this. If your Mac's talking to the router and you've still got no connection, the problem's between the router and the internet. If you're trying to connect by AirPort and this doesn't work, try plugging an Ethernet lead directly between your Mac and the router? Any luck? If so, it looks like the problem's with the AirPort network (is MAC address filtering enabled, for example?). If you need to connect to another type of VPN network, you’ll need a different third-party VPN client with support for that type of network.If your Mac can talk to the router, it'll appear in AirPort Utility (Apple routers), in Safari by typing its IP address into the Address bar to open the setup screen (for third-party models, find the IP address in System Preferences > Network > AirPort/ Ethernet), or in the setup software that some routers have. It can automatically keep you connected to the VPN network, so you won’t need a tool like VPN AutoConnect. Select “VPN Details” and you’ll see Tunnelblick’s connection window, where you can configure how it works.įor example, you can have Tunnelblick automatically connect to OpenVPN networks when this application launches. Tunnelblick provides its own menu bar icon for managing your OpenVPN connections. Your OpenVPN server provider should provide them to you. ovpn file extension and are required for connecting from any OpenVPN client. Install Tunnelblick, launch it, and it will ask for the configuration files provided by your OpenVPN server. The official OpenVPN website recommends the open-source Tunnelblick application for this. You’ll need a third-party application for connecting to OpenVPN VPNs.
What’s a VPN? | How to Choose a VPN | Using a VPN With Netflix | Best VPN Protocol | The 6 VPN Features That Matter Most | What Is a VPN Killswitch? | 5 Signs a VPN Isn’t Trustworthy | Should You Use a VPN? | VPN Myths Debunked It’s available for $1 on the Mac App Store.īest VPN for You | ExpressVPN vs. To save yourself some time and hassle, use the VPN AutoConnect application. It will handle re-establishing a connection if your VPN goes offline.īy default, your Mac won’t automatically reconnect to the VPN if the connection dies. We strongly recommend using the official client for your VPN of choice as outlined above. Use this menu to connect to your VPN and disconnect from it as necessary.Īutomatically Reconnect to a VPN When the Connection Drops Update, 9/14/21: The third-party application we recommend for automatically connecting to a VPN is no longer guaranteed to work with modern versions of macOS. Before you do, you can enable the “Show VPN status in menu bar” option to get a menu bar icon for managing your VPN connection. You could uncheck these boxes to prevent the Mac from automatically disconnecting.Ĭlick “Apply” to save your settings. For example, the default settings automatically disconnect from the VPN when you log out or switch users. The “Advanced” button allows you to configure the VPN connection in other ways.
The “Authentication Settings” button allows you to provide the authentication you’ll need to connect-anything from a password or certificate file to RSA SecurID, Kerberos, or CryptoCard authentication. Scroll down for instructions for connecting to OpenVPN networks.Įnter the VPN server’s address, your username, and other settings. Like other operating systems, macOS doesn’t include built-in support for OpenVPN networks.