I recently got a new MacBook Air, but YouTube refuses to load in both Safari and Google Chrome. Each browser shows "This site can't be reached," saying www.youtube.com refused to connect and displaying ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED. I've already tried a lot of basic troubleshooting, but the problem only affects YouTube. There may have been a block configured on my home network years ago, although nobody remembers how it was set up. What should I check next?
3 Answers
Since the same error appears in multiple browsers and seems specific to YouTube, check your network setup rather than the browsers. A VPN, proxy, firewall rule, custom DNS setting, or router-level website block could all cause this. If you have access to the router, look through its parental controls, access restrictions, DNS settings, and blocked-site lists.
Make sure the Mac’s date, time, and time zone are set automatically and are correct. Incorrect system time can interfere with secure website connections, although the browser-specific error here also makes a network block worth investigating.
If someone previously blocked YouTube for the whole household, the restriction may be configured on the router rather than on the MacBook. Try connecting the Mac to a different network, such as a phone hotspot. If YouTube works there, inspect the home router’s filtering or parental-control settings, and also check whether the Mac has a custom proxy or DNS configuration.
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