MP 1,1-5,1 4,1 cMP fresh ML install cannot connect to internet

[Rico Muerte]

Ive 09 4,1 which Ive just installed Mountain Lion for a buyer, & I cannot get it connected to the internet.
It does not have a wifi card, so I connected my phone (S23 Ultra) to an ethernet adapter, & connected that to the ethernet ports on the back of the 4,1 - didnt work (this is how I connect my 5,1 to the internet daily).
Ive also tried bluetooth tethering & that didnt work...
The thing I cant work out is that it seems to think its connected to the internet, but when I open Safari or the App Store it says no connection...
Ideas? Suggestions?

 

[mattspace]

your computer knows it's connected to the phone, not the wider internet. Whether the phone is passing through access is another question.

Standard troubleshooting - eliminate all variables, and proceed methodically and structurally.

• delete all locations so you have a single network (no location).
• set ethernet as your highest priority network.
• connect the machine via ethernet to a fixed line ethernet network that you know works.
• use commandline tools like ping and traceroute to see if you can get traffic to known servers, google's dns servers, for example.
• connecting to Apple's services is always going to be tricky on old machines and old OS' because the security certificates tend to expire, hence why you need to first check your connectivity, above.

 

[Rico Muerte]

connecting to Apple's services is always going to be tricky on old machines and old OS' because the security certificates tend to expire, hence why you need to first check your connectivity, above.

I asked elsewhere & basically got this response about the expired certificates - the buyer wanted ML to run legacy software & wasnt planning on connecting to the internet, so I guess it all just "worked out"...still, good to learn something new