Mendeley Desktop can’t connect to the internet, what should I do?

When you encounter this error message, it's usually indicative of one of two problems that are preventing Mendeley Desktop from contacting the Mendeley Web servers.

1. A temporary issue either on our servers, or with your ISP routing to our servers, is preventing a connection. Check that you can access http://www.mendeley.com/ within your web browser to verify if this is the case.
2. Local settings are blocking Mendeley Desktop from connecting out. This may be due to firewalls, or anti-virus software on your computer, or further down in your network setup (especially if you're on a public computer/network).

If you have admin rights try either disabling the firewall/anti-virus temporarily, or add an exception that explicitly allows Mendeley Desktop connectivity. You may require proxy settings for Mendeley Desktop to connect. These settings vary from location to location and you'll need to consult whomever maintains your network for this information. Once proxy setting are acquired, you can either set this up (or disable it if not needed) within Mendeley Desktop by going to Tools > Options > Connection. Check with your administrator about your proxy settings, it may be that your problems are caused by security software on your network that is blocking Mendeley Desktop. If you're on a private network, you should be able to configure this yourself.