Google Workspace SSO enrollment on macOS shows “network connection lost”Solved

Yes @maevee. Incorrect date and time settings on macOS can cause Google Workspace SSO enrollment to fail with errors such as “network connection lost.”

During SSO enrollment, the device must establish secure HTTPS connections and validate SSL/TLS certificates. If the system date or time is significantly incorrect, certificate validation can fail because certificates may appear expired or not yet valid. This can make the enrollment flow look like a network issue even when the internet connection itself is working.

Recommended steps:

1. Correct the date, time, and time zone on the Mac.
2. Make sure the device has a working internet connection.
3. Retry the Google Workspace SSO enrollment.

If the device is at a setup stage where date and time cannot be changed, booting into macOS Recovery and restoring or reinstalling macOS may be required. After reinstalling, ensure the date and time are correct before retrying Hexnode enrollment.

Best Regards,
Isabel Lora
Hexnode UEM

I’ve seen a similar SSL-related enrollment issue on a Mac before. Once the date/time was fixed, the SSO page loaded normally. It didn’t look like a typical certificate error at first, just a generic network message.

Hi @maatthew,

That is expected behavior in some cases. The enrollment error may not explicitly mention SSL or certificate validation, but an incorrect system clock can still interrupt the SSO authentication flow.

After reinstalling or restoring macOS, confirm the Mac shows the correct date, time, and time zone before opening the Hexnode enrollment URL or continuing through Automated Device Enrollment. If the system clock is still incorrect, the same “network connection lost” message may reappear.

Best Regards,
Isabel Lora
Hexnode UEM