It’s often a confusing and
frustrating moment when you’re connected to LAN or WiFi but not to the Internet. Over the past few years, we have all
encountered the “LAN or WiFi connected but no Internet” error, but
unfortunately, there is no single solution to fix this. In many cases, it is
due to changes in the settings of your operating system or the router, but the
cause may not always be so apparent. This means you’ll have to try different fixes
to identify the right one. Here are some tested options that’ll fix the LAN or WiFi connected but no Internet error.
LAN or Wi-Fi
connected but no Internet: Start with the router
To identify router problems, connect
other devices like your mobile phone to the WiFi and see if it works. If the
Internet works fine on other devices, the problem lies with your device and its
LAN or WiFi adapter. On the other hand, if the Internet doesn’t work on other
devices too, then the problem is most likely with the router or the Internet
connection itself.
One good way to fix the router is to
restart it. Though it may sound silly, the restart flushes the caches and fixes
many of the associated network and software problems.
If your router and modem are separate,
restart both.
·
Turn
off both of them
·
Wait
for 30 seconds
·
Turn
on the modem and one minute later turn on the router.
·
Wait
for a few minutes and check.
This simple solution will fix many
small issues in your router.
Problem with the
Internet connection
Sometimes, the LAN or Wi-Fi connected
but no Internet error may be with the Internet connection and not with any
device. It could be due to broken cables, service disruptions, or just about
anything else that’s not within your control.
That said, it’s important to know if
the problem lies with your Internet provider. For this, check if the “Internet”
light on the modem is working. Ideally, the power and DSL lights should be
turned on. Also, ensure there’s nothing unusual, such as the constant
flickering of lights.
If the lights are not on or if you see
flickering lights, contact your Internet service provider right away.
Problem with your
device
When other devices are able to access
the Internet through your LAN or WiFi, the problem lies with your device and
its LAN or WiFi adapter.
As a first step, restart your device
and see if that fixes the problem. As with the router, network and software
problems often get fixed automatically with a simple restart.
If that doesn’t fix your problem,
here’s what you can do.
·
Right-click
on the network icon in your task tray at the bottom right-hand corner. Click on
“troubleshoot problems”
·
Windows
will attempt to automatically diagnose the problem and will try to fix it for
you.
·
If
Windows is unable to fix your problem, it will in some cases tell you what the
problem is.
·
You
can search for a solution to this problem online or you can ask experts.
DNS
cache conflict
A DNS cache stores all recent
visits to websites, so it can quickly load the web pages for you.
Typically, when you enter a URL on your
browser, the operating system intercepts this URL and looks up in the DNS
cache. If your request matches the pages available in the cache, then the
operating system takes these pages from the cache instead of downloading from
the Internet.
Sometimes, this DNS cache becomes
corrupted due to technical glitches or when unauthorized domain names are
inserted by third-party software like viruses. Advertisements and banners on
some sites also send malicious code to corrupt your DNS cache.
This corrupted DNS cache prevents you
from connecting to the Internet because there is a mismatch in the IP address.
To fix, you have to flush the DNS cache.
To do that,
·
Press
Windows + R and type “cmd.” This will open the command prompt.
·
Type
the following command and press enter:
ipconfig/flushdns
This will flush your DNS cache. Now
restart your computer and see if you can connect to the Internet.
Outdated
wireless modes
The wireless mode and standard used by
your router has a bearing on Internet speeds and coverage. Commonly, you can
see standards such as 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11b, and
802.11ac. These
standards are defined by an organization called IEEE, and it is done to ensure
uniformity across all router models.
Out of these, 802.11b is the oldest and the slowest while
802.11ac is the latest and the fastest. So, now let’s say you have an old
device that can connect only to 802.11b
or 802.11g
while your router is based on the latest 802.11ac. This creates a conflict as
the device cannot connect to the new standard.
The first step to fix this problem is to identify
your router details. Open command prompt and type “ipconfig.” This is the
information you should see.
The
default gateway is your router’s IP address.
You can also get these details through
your GUI.
·
Go
to Network and Sharing center
·
Choose
your router and double-click on it.
·
Click
on a button called “Details”
The IPv4 address is your router’s IP.
Next, enter this IP address in your
browser’s URL box. This will prompt for your credentials to log into
the router. In most cases, the username and password is admin by default.
Once you login, look for the “wireless
mode” option. You’ll find it under “wireless settings,” though the GUI will be
different for each router.
Change the wireless mode to 802.11b and save the changes. Now, restart your
WiFi and see if it solves the problem.
IP
address conflict
IP address conflict happens when two or
more devices are assigned the same IP address. When this happens, both the
devices cannot connect to the network.
Though it is rare, IP address conflict
happens in the following situations.
·
When
two devices are assigned the same static IP address, there’s a conflict.
·
One
device is assigned a static IP address that’s in the DHCP range and the same IP
address is assigned by the DHCP server to another device on the network.
·
When
a laptop is in sleep mode, it’s IP address is assigned to another device on the
network. So, when you turn on the laptop, there’s a conflict.
·
A
conflict is common when you have multiple wireless routers connected to the
same network.
To resolve this conflict, go to your
command prompt and type the following command and press enter:
ipconfig/release
The DHCP server will assign a new IP
address for your computer.
If that doesn’t work:
·
Press
Windows + R and type “ncpa.cpl” in the dialog box. This opens all your network
connections.
·
Choose
your network, right-click on it, and select “properties”
·
Select
Internet protocol 4 (IPv4) and click on the “properties” button below it.
·
In
the next dialog box, select “obtain an IP address automatically” and “obtain
DNS server address automatically”
This should resolve the LAN or WiFi connected
but no Internet error. If it doesn’t, restart your router and see if that
works.
If none of this works, it could mean
your router has a faulty DHCP server. Contact your router manufacturer and
upgrade the firmware.
Outdated
network driver
Sometimes, an old, outdated, or
corrupted network driver can be the cause of WiFi connected but no Internet
error. Many times, a small yellow mark in your network device name or in your
network adapter could indicate a problem. If none of the above fixes work,
these steps are worth a try, even if you don’t see the yellow mark.
To fix:
·
Press
Windows +R and type and “devmgmt.msc.” This will open your Device Manager.
·
Navigate
to “network adapters” and right-click on your network
·
Select
“update network driver.” You will get two options and here, choose “search
automatically for updated driver software”
Windows will try to automatically fix the network
driver for you.
The LAN or WiFi connected but no
Internet error is a common yet frustrating problem that stops you from getting
connected to the Internet. It happens due to a host of different things, so
it’s best you try one solution after another to identify the cause and fix the
same.
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