Internet, Networking, & Security Home Networking Can't Connect to the Internet? Try These Tips Finding and fixing internet connection problems by Bradley Mitchell Writer An MIT graduate who brings years of technical experience to articles on SEO, computers, and wireless networking. our editorial process LinkedIn Bradley Mitchell Updated on September 29, 2020 reviewed by Jon Fisher Lifewire Tech Review Board Member Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA certified technologist with more than 6 years' experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek. our review board Article reviewed on Feb 08, 2020 Jon Fisher Tweet Share Email The Wireless Connection The Wireless Connection Introduction All About Wireless What Does Wireless Really Mean? 802.11 Standards Explained The Range Of A Wireless Network Dual-Band Wireless Networking Explained How Bluetooth Works With Wireless Measure It: Wi-Fi Signal Strength What Is A Wi-Fi Hotspot? The Best Wi-Fi Channels For Your Network Access Your Router As An Administrator 5 Tips for Securing A Wireless Network How Many Devices Can Connect To One Wireless Router? How To Connect At Home How to Name Your Wireless Network How to Change Your Wireless Router's Admin Password Change the Wi-Fi Channel Number to Avoid Interference Build a Wireless Home Network Use Wireless Speakers In Home Theater Connect Your Echo & Alexa To Wi-Fi Connect Google Home to Wi-Fi Wirelessly Connect An iPad To Your TV Use a Free Firewall Program How To Connect On The Go How to Find Free Wi-Fi Locations Get 4G or 3G on Your Laptop Connect To Wi-Fi in Your Car Get Wireless Internet Access in a Hotel Use Your Android As A Wi-Fi Hotspot Set Up Personal Hotspot On Your iPhone Connect Nintendo Switch To Bluetooth Headphones Connect To A Wireless Network With Windows Access Your Computer Remotely How to Troubleshoot Wireless Issues 7 Reasons Wi-Fi Connections Drop Disable Automatic Wireless Connections on Windows How to Hack-proof Your Wireless Router How to Fix OS X Bluetooth Wireless Problems What to Do When Google Home Won't Connect To Wi-Fi How to Hide Your Wireless Network Can't Connect To The Internet? Try This What to Do When There's No Internet Connection The Future of Wireless 5G Changes Everything How 4G And 5G Are Different Why 5G Really Is Faster All About 5G Cell Towers 5G Challenges: Why It Isn't Rolling Out Faster Is 5G The High-Speed Replacement for Cable? When 5G Is Coming to the US The 12 Best 5G Phones Coming in 2019 When you suddenly can't connect to the internet, any of several things could be wrong. Use the suggestions in this list to find and solve common Internet connection problems. Lifewire / Theresa Chiechi Are You Overlooking the Obvious? Unplugged or loose network cables, routers, and modems, are easy to miss, yet one of the most common reasons you might suddenly find yourself unable to connect to the internet. If you're on a wireless network, another reason is simply that the device's Wi-Fi radio has been shut off. Try This Potential Solution Ensure your wired or wireless network hardware is switched on and plugged in. Rule Out False Alarms. What may seem to be a network problem connecting to the Internet is sometimes simply a website (or whatever server is on the other end of the connection) being temporarily offline. Try This Potential Solution Before assuming your internet connection is faulty, try visiting several popular Web sites rather than just one. Avoid IP Address Conflicts. If your computer and another on the network both have the same IP address, the conflict between them will prevent either from working properly online. Try This Potential Solution To resolve an IP conflict, follow these instructions to release and renew your IP address. If your network uses static IP addresses, manually change your IP to a different number. Check for Computer Firewall Malfunctions. Firewall software running on most computers is intended to prevent unwanted network traffic from disrupting its operation. Unfortunately, these software firewalls can malfunction and start blocking valid Internet traffic. When two software firewalls, such as Windows Firewall plus a third-party product, are installed on the same computer, contention between the two can also incorrectly block traffic. Try This Potential Solution If you've recently installed or upgraded software firewalls on your computer, temporarily disable them to determine whether it may be the cause of Internet connection problems. Are You Outside of Wireless Signal Range? The performance of Wi-Fi network connections depends on distance between the device and the wireless access point. The further away a Wi-Fi device, the slower the local connection generally runs, until it breaks altogether. Wireless signal interference in the area can also limit the effective range of a Wi-Fi connection. Whenever you're unable to reach the access point, you also can't connect to the Internet, obviously. Try This Potential Solution Use one of these options to measure the strength of your wireless signal and try these ideas to expand the range of your Wi-Fi. Has Your Wireless Network Configuration Changed? Wi-Fi networks with encryption options like WPA or WEP turned on require computers to use matching security keys when connecting. If someone changes the encryption keys or passphrase on the access point, devices that worked before will suddenly be unable to establish sessions and Internet connections. Likewise (though less likely), if the access point settings are changed to require using a specific Wi-Fi channel number, some computers may be unable to discover it. Try This Potential Solution Confirm the Wi-Fi channel number and encryption keys on your router have not recently changed (check with the network administrator if necessary).If you're sure that the password has been changed but you can't remember the new one, you can change the password again, and then update all your devices so that they're using the same password. You can do this by logging into the router.When using a hotspot, carefully follow the provider's instructions. Check for Broadband Router or Access Point Malfunctions. Home networks that use broadband routers are easier to manage than those without one, but technical glitches with the router can also prevent computers from connecting to the Internet. Router failures are caused by overheating, excessive traffic, or simply an older unit going bad. Typical symptoms of a flaky router include computers on the network not being able to obtain IP addresses, or the router console not responding to requests. Try This Potential Solution Check the router's lights and console if possible to ensure it is running and responding properly.Check if you need to update the router's firmware; outdated firmware can cause problems for new devices trying to connect. Keeping the firmware up to date removes glitches and software hiccups.If that's not the problem, you might have to reset the router. Are You Being Blocked By Your Service Provider? Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can choose to block access from your account if you fail to make payment or otherwise violate the provider's Terms of Service. Especially when using paid hotspots that charge by the hour or day, sometimes people forget to keep their subscription updated. Other common reasons an ISP might block your account include exceeding bandwidth caps, sending spam email, and downloading illegal or inappropriate content. Try This Potential Solution Contact your ISP if you suspect your account has been blocked. Cope with Computer Glitches. Computers, too, suffer from technical glitches. Although relatively uncommon nowadays, a computer's network adapter hardware might suddenly fail due to overheating or age. Failures in the operating system software that control the adapter, on the other hand, can occur frequently especially with computers that are heavily used. Viruses and worms also may disable or block a computer's network interfaces from functioning properly. Finally, if using a laptop or other mobile device, transporting it from one location to another can corrupt the state of its network. Try This Potential Solution Check the computer for malware and remove any found.On Windows computers, try resetting the network connection.Reboot the computer if necessary. Contact Your Internet Service Provider. Those using satellite Internet service may notice they can't connect to the Internet during periods of very bad weather. Providers in dense urban areas (including cellular Internet carriers) sometimes are unable to support peaks in network traffic that causes sporadic outages for some customers. Finally, those who subscribe to newer or more complex forms of Internet services (such as fixed wireless broadband) may experience more downtime than others as providers encounter more issues with relatively less mature equipment. Try This Potential Solution If all else fails, contact your Internet provider to verify whether they are experiencing an outage. Some providers also give advice on troubleshooting problems connecting to their network (sometimes for a fee). The 9 Best Cable Modem/Router Combos of 2021 Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up. Tell us why! 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