Quick Summary
The "Software caused connection abort" error on macOS indicates that a program on your computer intentionally terminated an established network connection. This often happens due to firewalls, security software, or issues within the application itself that necessitate closing the connection.
Common Causes
- Firewall Interference: The macOS firewall or a third-party firewall application might be blocking or prematurely terminating the connection, mistaking it for a security threat.
- Antivirus/Security Software: Antivirus or internet security suites can sometimes aggressively block connections, leading to connection aborts.
- Application Bugs: The application establishing the connection might have internal bugs or errors causing it to unexpectedly close the connection.
- Network Configuration Issues: Incorrect network settings, such as improper MTU size or DNS server configuration, can lead to unstable connections that are subsequently aborted.
- Resource Starvation: If your system is under heavy load with limited resources (CPU, memory), background processes or user applications might be terminated or fail causing the abort.
Step-by-Step Fixes
Method 1: Disable Firewall Temporarily (for testing)
Warning: Disabling your firewall can expose your system to security risks. Only disable it temporarily for testing purposes.
Step 1: Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy.
Step 2: Click the Firewall tab.
Step 3: Click the lock icon in the bottom left corner and authenticate with your administrator password.
Step 4: Click 'Turn Off Firewall'.
Step 5: Retry the action that was causing the error. If it works with the firewall off, you need to configure your firewall to allow the connection.
Step 6: Remember to re-enable your firewall afterward.
Method 2: Check Antivirus/Security Software Settings
Step 1: Open your antivirus or security software.
Step 2: Look for settings related to firewalls, web shields, or network monitoring.
Step 3: Add the application experiencing the connection abort to the list of allowed apps/exceptions.
Step 4: Temporarily disable features like web shields or network monitoring to see if they are causing the issue.
Method 3: Clear Application Caches and Data
Step 1: Quit the application that is experiencing the error.
Step 2: Locate the application's cache and data folders. These are often found in ~/Library/Caches/ and ~/Library/Application Support/. You can access the ~Library folder by opening Finder, clicking 'Go' in the menu bar, and holding the Option key to reveal the 'Library' option.
Step 3: Delete the contents of the application's cache folder and any relevant data in the Application Support folder. Warning: Deleting data might reset application settings.
Step 4: Restart the application and try again.
Method 4: Check and Reset Network Configuration
Step 1: Go to System Preferences > Network.
Step 2: Select the active network connection (e.g., Wi-Fi or Ethernet).
Step 3: Click 'Advanced...'
Step 4: Go to the 'TCP/IP' tab and ensure 'Configure IPv4' is set to 'Using DHCP'. Release and Renew the DHCP Lease.
Step 5: Go to the 'DNS' tab and ensure that your DNS servers are correctly configured. Consider using public DNS servers like Google DNS (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) or Cloudflare DNS (1.1.1.1).
Step 6: Go to the 'Hardware' tab and check that the MTU is set to 'Standard (1500)'.
Method 5: Check System Resources
Step 1: Open Activity Monitor (located in /Applications/Utilities/).
Step 2: Monitor the CPU, Memory, Disk, and Network tabs.
Step 3: Identify any processes that are consuming excessive resources.
Step 4: If a process is consistently using a large amount of resources, try quitting it (if it's not essential) or investigate further to determine the cause of the high resource usage.