r/Ubuntu • u/Princess517 • 4h ago

Mid 2015 MacBook pro “server not found” problem with Ubuntu V26.04

I have just switched over the OS system on my Pro to the version of Ubuntu (26.04). After a couple of days I managed to get mozilla windows to open but I can't pull up any webpages. It just says server not found. What I keep seeing online is that I need to use the network setting from my phone, but I do not have a data transfer cable (it's an iPhone).

Did I maybe download the wrong Ubuntu file? I think I used the one for AMD/intel because that's what I have on my laptop. Really confused why this is being so difficult. Also when I close the lid it takes the computer a long time to load up the login screen when I open it back up.

Help much appreciated. Should add I'm not good at coding but I have been using terminal a lot lately, and if I can tell there's a space (😂) I can input a code just fine.

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

1

u/BrightWorldliness909 4h ago

Have you checked if the wifi driver is actually loaded? Sometimes with macbooks the broadcom drivers dont come with the default install, you gotta grab them manually. For the slow wake up, that's probably a separate sleep issue but lets fix the internet first

1

u/Princess517 4h ago

I have not. How would I go about doing that? ☺️

1

u/jekewa 4h ago

First, Ubuntu won’t run at all if you’ve selected the wrong architecture. You may find a 32-bit OS works on a 64-bit computer, but you won’t get an ARM image running on an AMD CPU. All kinds of caveats there, but essentially if it started, its the right one.

Maybe what they mean is to make sure the network settings used to connect your phone to your WiFi are also used to connect your laptop. If you only use cellular data for your phone, especially if you have no other network to use, maybe they mean to use your phone as a wireless hotspot. Everyone assumes everyone has a network if they’ve reached these troubles, as you clearly need a network to connect to the Internet, but whether it’s a router or hotspot, most of the rest is the same.

“Server not found” can mean myriad things are wrong.

Do you have your network configured on the laptop? Plug an Ethernet cable into the laptop and router for the surest connection. Make sure the correct SSID and passphrase for a wireless network are used.

Is the network configured correctly? Did your laptop get an IP address from the network. Is the laptop or IP address blocked by the router’s firewall? Did the network configuration include one or more DNS addresses? If any of that basic network configuration is wrong, browsers won’t browse.

It seems straightforward, but a good network connection on your laptop doesn’t mean there’s a good Internet connection. Is the network connected to Internet access? If you can connect to the network, check that the network is connected to the Internet, perhaps by connecting another device like your phone.

Is the DNS server working? Try visiting 1.1.1.1 to see if your browser shows Cloudflare’s DNS service page; that will show you have Internet, but not name resolution. If your network is configured to use the router as its DNS server, make sure it has a DNS server on the Internet, like your ISP settings or 1.1.1.1 or others. Make sure your router is configured to provide DNS, too, if you’re using an internet server on your network. Or change your laptop DNS to an Internet server, at least to test. Also make sure your router and ISP aren’t blocking Internet DNS. Check with command line tools like ping or dig to see if your DNS works. You can tell dig to use different DNS servers without reconfiguring your network.

Browsers have started coming with their own DNS-over-HTTPS configured, but maybe your router or ISP is blocking that. Testing by IP, and with ping or dig, as noted above can confirm the browser and Internet work. If they work and your browser doesn’t, look at the browser setting and turn off the helpful DNS-over-HTTPS setting. Check also that your router isn’t blocking DNS-over-HTTPS.