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Find out what to do if Google Chrome on Mac is unable to use your local wireless or wired network connection (Wi-Fi/Ethernet), thus preventing you from sharing files between devices, accessing local servers, using shared devices like printers, streaming to local network devices, and more.

I often transfer files from my Mac to the VLC app on my iPhone or iPad over Wi-Fi, and this is one of the things that requires Chrome to work well on the local network.

Similarly, if you have a shared printer, scanner, NAS, or other such device that fails to work from Chrome, you might want to check the browser’s local network permission.

If Google Chrome on your Mac running macOS Tahoe or earlier fails to access the local network, the following solutions will help fix the problem.

Important: Before you read further, save your ongoing work in Chrome and close all useful tabs. I’m asking you to do this because you’ll have to quit and reopen Chrome more than once for new settings and changes to take effect.

Allow Chrome to access your Mac’s local network

Recent versions of Google Chrome are notorious for showing the local network permission pop-up on Mac every few days, even after you have declined it. Secondly, this permission pop-up appears when you visit a website or web address that requires a local connection. If you get such an alert, click Allow. In case you had declined the permission, follow these steps to allow it again:

1. Open System Settings on your Mac.
2. Click Privacy & Security.
3. Scroll down and click Local Network.
4. Turn on the switch for Google Chrome.
5. Quit Google Chrome if it’s open.
6. Reopen Chrome, and it should connect to the local network.

In case you don’t see Google Chrome as an option in the macOS Local Network settings page (step 4 above) or if the problem is unsolved, follow the remaining steps below.

Turn local network access off and back on in Chrome settings

I was having the said issue with Google Chrome on my Mac mini, and turning on local network access in System Settings didn’t work. But this simple trick fixed the problem in no time:

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Go to chrome://settings/content/localNetworkAccess or manually navigate to Settings > Privacy and settings > Site settings > Additional permissions > Local network access.
3. Select “Don’t allow sites to connect to any device on your local network” and wait for about 10 seconds.
4. Then, select “Sites can ask to connect to any device on your local network.” You may now see a pop-up asking “Allow Google Chrome to find devices on local networks?” Click Allow, and everything will work now.
5. While you’re here, also make sure a website isn’t excluded from accessing your network.

If you don’t see the local network permission pop-up

In this case, return to Mac’s Local Network page in System Settings and turn off the switch for Google Chrome. Then, return to chrome://settings/content/localNetworkAccess and follow the above tip again. You should now see the permission pop-up; click Allow here.

If you still don’t see the pop-up, select “Don’t allow sites to connect to any device on your local network” and force quit Chrome. Then, reopen it and select “Sites can ask to connect to any device on your local network.”

Refreshing any web page that’s designed to access the local network, such as the one for transferring files to VLC on iPhone, should also prompt the browser to display the local network permission pop-up.

And finally, if nothing helps, go to chrome://flags/#local-network-access-check in Google Chrome and make sure Local Network Access Checks is set to Default or Enabled.

Make sure the other device is connected to the same network

Imagine you’re trying to use a shared printer or move files from a Mac to VLC media player on your iPhone. For these to happen, the other device (i.e., the printer or your iPhone) must also be connected to the same network.

Try turning off Firewall

If Chrome still can’t access your Mac’s local network, go to System Settings > Network > Firewall and consider turning it off. Then, restart Chrome and check if the problem is solved.

Restart your Mac

If it has been a while since you last restarted your Mac, do so now and see if this simple step fixes the issue.

Update Chrome

Manually check for a new Chrome update and install it immediately if available.

Reinstall Chrome and allow it to access the local network

It should not come to this, but if all the above solutions have failed, you can consider cleanly uninstalling Chrome on your Mac and reinstalling it. After installation, when you see a pop-up from Chrome requesting local network permission, click Allow.

Use Safari or Brave

Lastly, if nothing helps or you rarely use features that require granting local network permission to Chrome, simply don’t bother with it and use Safari instead.

Unlike third-party browser apps, Safari doesn’t require local network permissions (as it’s a built-in browser) and works flawlessly in this regard for the most part. If you must use a Chromium-based browser, try Brave and allow it to access your local network.

Which solution worked for you in resolving this problem?

Also, check out: How to transition from Chrome to Safari the right way on Mac

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2026/01/15/fix-chrome-local-network-issue-mac/