‘WIFI CONNECTED BUT NO INTERNET’ — WHAT TO DO?

It can often be confusing and frustrating when you connect to WiFi, but not the Internet. Over the years, we have all experienced the "no WiFi connected but no internet" error, but unfortunately, there is no single solution to fix it. In most cases, this is due to a change in the settings of your operating system or router, but the cause may not always be so obvious. This means that you need to try different solutions to get proper recognition. Here are some tested options that fix connected wifi but no internet error.

WiFi connected but no internet: Get started with the router

To detect router issues, connect other devices, such as your mobile phone, to WiFi and see if it works. If the Internet works fine on other devices, the problem is with your device and its WiFi adapter. On the other hand, if the Internet does not work on other devices as well, the problem is mostly with the router or the Internet connection.

The best way to fix a router is to re-enable it. Although it sounds silly, the resume flushes the start cache and fixes many associated network and software issues.

If your router and modem are separate, start both art.

• 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, WiFi is connected but there is no internet connection with the internet connection or device. This could be about broken cables, service interruptions or anything else that is out of your control.

It is important to know if there is a problem with your internet provider. For this, check whether the "Internet" light is working on the modem. Ideally, Power and DSL lights should be turned on. Also, make sure that nothing is as uncommon as the constant flicker of lights.

If the light does not turn on or you see a flickering light, contact your Internet service provider immediately.

Problem with your device

When other devices can access the Internet through your WiFi, the problem is with your device and its WiFi adapter.

As a first step, restart your device and see if it fixes the problem. With routers, network and software issues are often automatically resolved with a simple re-start.

If that doesn't solve your problem, here's what you can do.

• Right click the network icon in your task tray in the lower right corner. Click "Troubleshoot"
• Windows will try to diagnose the problem automatically and try to fix it for you.
• If Windows can't fix your problem, in some cases it will tell you what the problem is.
• You can find a solution to this problem online or ask experts.

DNS cache conflict

DNS cache stores all recent visits to websites, so it loads web pages quickly for you.

Typically, when you enter a URL in your browser, the operating system accepts this URL and appears in the DNS cache. If your request matches the pages available in the cache, the operating system will take these pages out of the cache instead of downloading them from the Internet.

Sometimes, this DNS cache is corrupted due to a technical error or when unauthorized domain names are added by third party software such as viruses. Ads and banners on some sites may also send malicious code to damage your DNS cache.

This corrupt DNS cache prevents you from connecting to the Internet because of an IP address mismatch. To resolve, you need to flush the DNS cache.

To do this,

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.

Old wireless mode

The wireless mode and standard your router uses will affect Internet speeds and coverage. Basically, you can see standards like 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11b and 802.11ac. These standards are defined by a company called IEEE, and this is done to ensure uniformity across all router models.

Of these, 802.11b is the oldest and slowest, while 802.11ac is the latest and fastest. So, while your router depends on the latest 802.11ac, you now have an older device that can only connect to 802.11b or 802.11g. This creates a conflict because the device is not connected to the new standard.

The first step to fixing this problem is to find out your router details. Open the command prompt and type "ipconfig". This is the information you need to look at.

Ip Configuration Details

The default gateway is your router's IP address.

You can also get these details through your GUI.

• Visit the Network and Sharing Center
• Select your router and double-click on it.
• Click on the "Description" button

The IPv4 address is your router's IP.

Next, enter this IP address in your browser's URL box. This will prompt you to login your credentials to the router. In most cases, the username and password are the administrator by default.

Once you're logged in, look for the "Wireless Mode" option. Although the GUI is different for each router, you will find it under "Wireless Settings".

Change the wireless mode to 802.11b and save the changes. Now, restart your WiFi and see if it fixes the problem.

Ip address conflict

IP address conflicts occur when two or more devices are assigned the same IP address. When this happens, the two devices cannot connect to the network.

Although this is rare, IP address conflicts occur in the following situations.

• When two devices are given the same static IP address, a conflict occurs.
• One device assigns a static IP address within the DHCP and the same IP address to another device on the DHCP server network.
• When the laptop is in sleep mode, this IP address is assigned to another device on the network. Therefore, when you turn on the laptop, there is a conflict.
• Conflict is common when you connect multiple wireless routers 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 provides a new IP address for your computer.

If it doesn't work:

• Press Windows + R and type "ncpa.cpl" in the dialog box. This will open all your network connections.
• Select 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 "Get IP Address automatically" and "Get DNS server address automatically".

It should be connected to WiFi but there is no internet error. If it is not, restart your router and see what works.

If none of these work, it means that your router has a defective DHCP server. Contact your router manufacturer and upgrade the firmware.

The old network driver

Occasionally, an old, outdated or corrupted network driver can be connected to WiFi, but there is no Internet error. Most of the times, your network device name or a small yellow mark on your network adapter indicates a problem. If none of the above corrections work, even if you don't see the yellow mark, try these steps.

Fix:

• Press Windows + R and type "devmgmt.msc". This will open your device manager.
• Navigate to "Network Adapters" and right click on your network
• "Choose an update network driver." You get two options and here, select "Automatically search for updated driver software".

Windows will try to fix the network driver for you automatically.

Update the wireless network adapter driver

WiFi is connected but Internet error is a common yet frustrating problem that prevents users from connecting to the Internet. This is caused by a host of different things, so it is advisable that you try one solution after another to identify the cause and fix it.

Please share the other solution you have tried so that we can all benefit from it.