What to Do When There's No Internet Connection

The first step in troubleshooting most tech problems, and especially networking hardware issues, is to restart.

Rebooting the router and modem flushes the memory contents and helps reset any background or lingering problems.

Note: Rebooting is different than resetting. Rebooting just shuts down and then starts back up the router/modem.

Make sure your Wi-Fi device isn't trying to reach a network next door or a Wi-Fi repeater that isn't fully set up, either of which could be having their own troubles that are blocking your access. In these instances, even if Wi-Fi is on and connected, you might still not have working internet.

To verify this, open the Wi-Fi settings and check the network name you're trying to connect to. If you don't recognize it, then it's probably not your network.

Sometimes, however, Wi-Fi extenders will use the same network name as your own router. If you think this is happening, reset the Wi-Fi extender or temporarily unplug it to see if you get Wi-Fi apart from that device. If you do get internet, then the issue rests with the extender, and you can troubleshoot from there.

Along the same lines, if your device is connected to a VPN service, you might see a full Wi-Fi connection but limited or no internet connectivity. Try a different VPN server, like one in a different country, or disconnect from the VPN completely to see if that fixes the problem.

Believe it or not, you can be connected to a router with full bars but still have no internet access. This is because the problem isn't with your connection to the router but with your router's connection to your ISP.

When this happens, your router will work on your network but since it can't reach the internet, it won't have a valid public IP address. Here's how to check:

1. Log in to your router as admin.
   1. Most routers let you do this with the http://192.168.1.1 or https://192.168.2.1 address.
2. Find an area of the settings called Status or Network Status .
   1. Your router might call it something completely different, but the goal is to find the page that describes the core network settings like the public IP address.
3. See if the IP address is valid.
   1. If there aren't any numbers for the IP address or the status says Disabled or Off, or something else along those lines, then the router isn't getting an IP address from the ISP. 
4. Use a Renew or similar button on that page to request a new IP address from your ISP.
   1. This could take several minutes to complete, so wait until the page you found in Step 2 refreshes to show a new IP address.
5. If the address doesn't renew or you can't find that button, call your ISP for further assistance since the problem might lie with them instead of with your network hardware.
   1. For example, they may have an issue of their own or they might have terminated your connection for a violation or some other reason.

If you're using a Wi-Fi hotspot, like at a hotel or airport, you might think you can check your email or browse the internet once you have a solid wireless signal, but that's usually not how most hotspots work.

1. Open your internet browser.
   1. A hotspot page should show up automatically with basic information on what company is providing the hotspot and what to do next.
2. Agree to the terms or enter the password you were given by the business.​
   1. For example, some hotels make you enter a password into the hotspot page to get access, and airlines often charge for internet.
3. Wait for the hotspot page to finish setting up your connection or redirect you to another page where you can access the web normally.

If your device is connected to a DNS server that has corrupted data or is offline, then even the strongest Wi-Fi signal is useless for giving you internet access.

Locate a different DNS server and then change the DNS server settings on your device to see if the web pages finally load.

Some operating systems won't warn you if you put in the wrong wireless password. Your laptop (or tablet, phone, etc.)  might show that you have a strong Wi-Fi signal but if the password is incorrect, the router will refuse to properly communicate with your device.

If you're using a public Wi-Fi hotspot, make sure the password is correct. You might be using an old password that used to work but has since changed.