Network error when downloading: causes and fixes

What “network error” means

A download is one long conversation with one server. If the connection breaks for even a few seconds (the Wi-Fi drops, the Mac sleeps, a VPN reconnects, the server closes the connection), the browser can’t tell when the rest is coming, so it stops and calls it a network error.

That’s why web pages load fine while a download fails: a page is many short requests, and a missed one is simply asked for again. The bigger the file, the longer the connection has to hold, and the more likely a short drop ends it.

What each browser says, and where Resume is

Each browser keeps the part it already has next to the finished file’s name, in your download folder. Leave that file alone: if it’s moved, renamed or deleted, there’s nothing to continue from. Chrome-specific errors (Forbidden, Needs authorization, Disk full) are explained in Chrome download failed? How to resume it, and Safari’s quirks in Safari can’t resume this download.

Why the same download keeps failing

• Weak or busy Wi-Fi. Short drops are normal on Wi-Fi; a long download only needs one.
• The Mac goes to sleep. Closing the lid or the display sleeping on battery can cut the connection.
• A VPN that reconnects, or routes through a slow server, breaks long connections.
• The link expires. Many download links are made for you and stop working after minutes or hours. Resume then fails with “Forbidden” instead of a network error.
• The server drops long connections, or is busy. Nothing on your side fixes that, but resuming in smaller pieces does.
• Security software that inspects downloads can stall or cut them. That usually shows as a blocked or virus-scan error rather than a network one.

Fixes, in order

1. Resume from the downloads list, as in the table above.
2. Steady the connection: use a cable, or move near the router. Pause iCloud syncing and other downloads.
3. Keep the Mac awake: plug it in and leave the lid open, or run caffeinate -i in Terminal while the download runs.
4. Try without the VPN, if you’re allowed to.
5. Check the space on the drive you’re saving to. A full disk can show up as a failed download.
6. Get a fresh link from the page if Resume says Forbidden or the link has a time limit.
7. Use a tool that retries automatically, such as curl or a download manager (below).

Finish it with curl

curl is built into every Mac. Control-click the download link in your browser, choose Copy Link (Safari) or Copy Link Address (Chrome, Edge), then in Terminal:

cd ~/Downloads
curl -L -O -C - --retry 10 "paste-the-link-here"

-C - continues from what’s already on disk; --retry 10 tries again after a temporary failure. If it stops anyway, run the same line again.

What we measured (macOS 27, 3 October 2026): we stopped a 100 MB test download after 3 seconds, at 3.1 MB. The same curl -C - line picked it up from there and finished at exactly 104,857,600 bytes, the full file. It only works when the server supports sending part of a file, and a link that needs you signed in to the browser won’t work in Terminal.

When a download manager is the fix

If network errors happen often, a download manager does this without Terminal. It keeps its own unfinished copy, retries after a drop and splits the file across several connections, so a short drop costs one piece instead of the whole download.

Lynx, our download manager for Mac, splits files across up to 32 connections (16 by default) and picks up where it stopped after a dropped connection, sleep or a restart. With its extension, downloads in Chrome, Edge, Brave and Arc open in Lynx.

For space, drive formats and checksums, read how to download large files on a Mac. If downloads finish but crawl, see how to make downloads faster.