diff --git a/tests/testthat/helper.R b/tests/testthat/helper.R
index 65635eb24..231a4c73a 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/helper.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/helper.R
@@ -1043,3 +1043,10 @@ testsetup <- function() {
   }
 
 }
+
+# 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()
+}
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-read_sources.R b/tests/testthat/test-read_sources.R
index 609036ae6..6417d827e 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-read_sources.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-read_sources.R
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 test_that("read_xlsx from different sources", {
 
-  skip_if_offline()
+  skip_online_checks()
 
   ## URL
   xlsxFile <- "https://github.com/JanMarvin/openxlsx2/raw/main/inst/extdata/oxlsx2_sheet.xlsx"
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ test_that("read_xlsx from different sources", {
 
 test_that("wb_load from different sources", {
 
-  skip_if_offline()
+  skip_online_checks()
 
   ## URL
   xlsxFile <- "https://github.com/JanMarvin/openxlsx2/raw/main/inst/extdata/oxlsx2_sheet.xlsx"
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ test_that("reading charts", {
 
 test_that("load file with xml namespace", {
 
-  skip_if_offline()
+  skip_online_checks()
 
   fl <- "https://github.com/ycphs/openxlsx/files/8480120/2022-04-12-11-42-36-DP_Melanges1.xlsx"
 
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@ test_that("reading of formControl works", {
 
 test_that("reading xml escapes works", {
 
-  skip_if_offline()
+  skip_online_checks()
 
   fl <- "https://github.com/ycphs/openxlsx/files/10032200/sample_data.xlsx"
   wb <- wb_load(fl)
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-read_xlsb.R b/tests/testthat/test-read_xlsb.R
index 67d48bd41..9cd68a738 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-read_xlsb.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-read_xlsb.R
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 test_that("reading xlsb works", {
 
-  skip_if_offline()
+  skip_online_checks()
 
   xlsxFile <- testfile_path("openxlsx2_example.xlsb")
 
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ test_that("reading xlsb works", {
 
 test_that("reading complex xlsb works", {
 
-  skip_if_offline()
+  skip_online_checks()
 
   xlsxFile <- testfile_path("hyperlink.xlsb")
 
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ test_that("reading complex xlsb works", {
 
 test_that("worksheets with real world formulas", {
 
-  skip_if_offline()
+  skip_online_checks()
 
   xlsxFile <- testfile_path("nhs-core-standards-for-eprr-v6.1.xlsb")