diff --git a/R/utils.R b/R/utils.R
index b1b6b74c5..65b95786e 100644
--- a/R/utils.R
+++ b/R/utils.R
@@ -716,14 +716,10 @@ wb_dims <- function(..., select = NULL) {
   }
 
   if (!is.null(cols_arg)) {
-    # cols_arg could be name(s) in x or must indicate a positive integer
     is_lwr_one <- FALSE
-    if (!is.null(args$x)) {
-      if (!all(cols_arg %in% names(args$x)))
-        is_lwr_one <- min(col2int(cols_arg)) < 1L
-    } else {
+    # cols_arg could be name(s) in x or must indicate a positive integer
+    if (is.null(args$x) || (!is.null(args$x) && !all(cols_arg %in% names(args$x))))
       is_lwr_one <- min(col2int(cols_arg)) < 1L
-    }
 
     if (is_lwr_one)
       stop("You must supply positive values to `cols`")
diff --git a/tests/testthat/helper.R b/tests/testthat/helper.R
index 231a4c73a..dec2404db 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/helper.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/helper.R
@@ -1044,9 +1044,20 @@ testsetup <- function() {
 
 }
 
+dns_lookup <- function(host = "captive.apple.com") {
+  con <- try(
+    socketConnection(host, port = 80, open = "r+", timeout = 2),
+    silent = TRUE
+  )
+  on.exit(close(con))
+
+  if (inherits(con, "try-error")) return(FALSE)
+
+  TRUE
+}
+
 # testthat::skip_if_offline requires curl, but fails if curl is not available
 skip_online_checks <- function() {
   testthat::skip_on_cran()
-  testthat::skip_if_not_installed("curl")
-  testthat::skip_if_offline()
+  testthat::skip_if_not(dns_lookup())
 }