No internet after a macOS update? Turn the filter off first

Step by step

1. Check the network itself. Confirm that another device can use the same Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection. If it cannot, investigate the router or service before blaming a Mac filter.
2. Temporarily turn off the filter. Open System Settings → Network → Filters, or VPN & Filters where that name is used. Disable the third-party filter you are investigating. Record what you changed. Ask IT if the control is managed.
3. Try the connection again. Retry the same site or service. A recovered connection suggests the filter path is involved; it does not identify a particular bug by itself.
4. Read the vendor’s release notes. Check the firewall and VPN vendors for the exact macOS build. Install an appropriate update only from the vendor’s official download.
5. Re-enable one component at a time. Turn the filter back on and repeat the same test. Restore required security settings before continuing normal work. Contact the vendor if the failure returns.

Do not change several things together

Disabling a VPN, DNS proxy and content filter at once loses the evidence about which change mattered. If possible, test one component at a time and write down the result. Keep essential security policy under your administrator’s control.

Outbound’s current status

Outbound v1 uses a content filter and installs no DNS proxy. Its Help › Network Not Working? window shows Outbound’s state with Pause for 15 Minutes and Turn Off, the blocks of the last 30 minutes with one-click Allow, the other network filters and VPNs macOS reports, and a note about iCloud Private Relay. No release-build compatibility results have been published. The compatibility page separates minimum requirements from test evidence.

What to send support

Record your macOS version and build, firewall version, VPN version and whether disabling the filter changed the result. Send systemextensionsctl list output with private identifiers removed. Use Outbound support for Outbound issues, or Help › Report a Problem in the app. Its optional diagnostics hold versions, Mac model, macOS, Outbound’s mode and status, rule counts and open problem codes, with no sites, addresses or app names; the last 30 minutes of Outbound’s own log, which can name sites, is added only if you tick it. You see exactly what will be sent first, or you can save it to a file instead.

For extension management, see Apple’s system-extension MDM documentation. Managed policies can restrict what a user may disable.