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MacOS Limited Internet Access

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exper1mental
Hi, I just received and set up my Firewalla Orange and had it start a WiFi network. My iPhone on iOS 18 connects and can use it without issue. My Mac using MacOS 15.7.7 connects but only certain websites will load (e.g. Google and YouTube). Others get stuck waiting to load (e.g. Reddit, Twitch, and DuckDuckGo). I even tried giving the Mac emergency access but no improvement was observed. Please advise. Thanks! Best regards, Exper1mental
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    FirewallaSupportDesk

    Try to reboot your MacBook see if it makes any differences. 

    Do you see any non-working sites' flow in Firewalla? Do you use any proxy service/VPN on your Mac? Please turn them off if you have. 

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    exper1mental
    • Edited

    Hi,

    I have tried rebooting the Mac multiple times as well as forgetting network, rebooting, and reconnecting, with no improvement.

    I do not see any of the non-working sites flow in Firewalla for the Mac.

    I also noticed now that I cannot connect to Twitch through the Twitch app on my phone (doesn’t show up in flow either) but opening it in my phones browser works (and shows up in flow).

    Trying to access the menus on the Apple account page in the Settings app also doesn’t work when connected to the WiFi.

    Disabling iOS Privacy Relay doesn’t appear to improve this behavior. In fact, I can no longer access Twitch through Safari on iOS with Privaxy Relay off. Reddit and DuckDuckGo are also no longer accessible with Privacy Relay off. However, I can see the phone is accessing assets.twitch.tv when I try to connect to Twitch (still fails to open webpage or load app). Reddit and DuckDuckGo do not show up when trying to navigate to them.

    I will need to check later this weekend about proxies on the Mac (nothing should be running besides perhaps Privacy Relay…)

    None of these were issues when using my ISP provided router. As expected, turning on my phone’s VPN fixes the issue but kinda defeats the purpose of having this system.

    Thanks,
    Exper1mental

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    Firewalla CM
    • Edited

    Hi there, are these issues only occurring with Apple devices? Do you have other devices you can try?

    Since Emergency Access didn't work, you could also try checking your DNS Server settings and temporarily changing them to 1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8, or 9.9.9.9, in case your DNS provider is filtering results. (In the app, go to Network > tap on your WAN Connection > Edit > DNS Server.)

    Here are a few other tips you could try: https://help.firewalla.com/hc/en-us/articles/360050255274-What-to-do-when-you-can-t-access-certain-websites#h_01JZK4DNNC5PMS6AWX4A99NHA0 

    And if this still doesn't resolve your issue, please email us at help@firewalla.com. Our support team will be able to take a closer look at what's going on. 

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    exper1mental

    Hi,

    I think I figured out what went wrong; looks like this was completely user error haha. In the ‘My Spectrum’ I noticed I had somehow misses the ‘Security Shield’ toggle was still set to ‘On’.

    Based on a very quick check, it looks like disabling this fixed the issue. I’ll do more extensive testing when time allows.

    Best regards,
    Exper1mental

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    Firewalla CM

    Happy to hear the issue is resolved! Please let us know if you encounter any other issues. 

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    exper1mental
    • Edited

    Hi,

    After more thoroughly testing the network I realized I was still having issues both on Mac and iPhone. Using AI I was able to troubleshoot and identify the issue.

    1. I went to the Firewalla app > Network > NAT Settings > Source Networks.
    2. Local networks was: x.x.x.y/x. However, I tried Add Source Network: x.x.x.z/x, which fixed my internet access issues, even though AI told me it should represent the same CIDR network.

    Removing this other network caused the same webpages as before to start breaking again. Adding it back immediately fixed the issue.

    I hope this helps anyone else who encounters the same issue. Perhaps there is a bug?

    For reference: App version 1.69.2 (30).

    Best regards,

    Exper1mental

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    FirewallaSupportDesk

    It sounds like your iPhone/Mac are using another network x.x.x.z/x besides Firewalla's own LAN x.x.x.y/x. How did you find out you need to add x.x.x.z/x not a, b, or c? 

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