Assuming that you have already created and tried a new Profile . . .
In a new Brave Browser window, go to:
brave://extensions/
Disable and Remove all extensions.
On your Mac, open the Terminal.app
In the window, type:
cd /etc/ ; open
In the “etc” window, locate the “hosts” file.
Open that “hosts” file with a text editor. The contents are hopefully:
##
# Host Database
#
# localhost is used to configure the loopback interface
# when the system is booting. Do not change this entry.
##
127.0.0.1 localhost
255.255.255.255 broadcasthost
::1 localhost
#
You might find more content, and if you do, report that, here.
Clear browsing data on your Mac
In a new Brave Browser window, go to:
brave://settings/clearBrowserData
Select the Advanced tab
Set Time range to “All time”
ENABLE everything except:
- Passwords and other sign-in data
(Myself, I would NOT make that exception)
(because I would have a backup prepared)
Click on the “Clear data” button
On your Mac, locate the Caches folder:
/Users/your_shortname/Library/Caches/
and move the “com.brave.Browser” folder to the Trash
In a new Brave Browser window, go to:
`brave://net-internals/#dns
Click on Clear host cache
Next, same window, select “Sockets” on the left.
Click Close idle sockets
Click Flush socket pools
Quit everything and Restart your Mac
Open a Terminal.app window, and enter:
open -a "Brave Browser.app" -n --args --disable-gpu --enable-leak-detection --crash-on-failure --incognito
That command will start Brave Browser with Hardware Acceleration DISABLED, and using a New Private Window.
In the Brave Browser New Private Window, go to a very, very plain, simple website:
https://test.nextdns.io/
. . . and wait at least 30 seconds, in order to see if the browser encounters a redirect.
Hopefully, the browser will remain at that webpage.
IF NOT, then . . .
record the URL address of where the browser ended up at.
Close that browser window.
In a new Brave Browser window, go to:
brave://prefs-internals/
You are looking at all of the Brave Browser preferences.
Use keyboard combination Command key + F in order to find
the domain name of the URL address that you recorded.
Hopefully, that domain name is NOT in your browser preferences.
Probably not, but check that, anyway; and close all browser windows.
Flush the MacOS DNS cache:
You will need to open the Console.app.
There, enter in the search field:
any:mdnsresponder
In a new Terminal.app window, enter:
sudo killall -INFO mDNSResponder
Now look at the Console window, in order to see the DNS cache.
Examine for any of the strange, redirect domain names.
Next, in a Terminal.app window, enter:
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
Quit all applications and Restart your Mac.
Start up Brave Browser and go again, to the simple site:
https://test.nextdns.io/
Hopefully, that connection is stable.
Is all I have to offer as a path that may reveal something.