How to Fix Common Internet Connection Problems

Most internet problems are fixed by working outward from your device: confirm the device has a valid connection to the router, confirm the router has a connection to your ISP, then check DNS. Restarting the modem and router in the right order, renewing your IP address and flushing the DNS cache solve a large share of everyday faults; the rest are narrowed down by matching the symptom to its likely cause below.

Start by identifying exactly what is wrong. "The internet is broken" can mean a device with no network at all, a Wi-Fi icon showing "no internet", pages that load slowly, connections that drop, or one website that will not open. Each has a different set of likely causes, so this guide is organized by symptom. Our connection troubleshooter runs several of these checks automatically if your browser can load a page at all.

Quick checks before anything else

• Is it one device or all of them? If your phone works on Wi-Fi but your laptop does not, the problem is the laptop. If nothing works, it is the router, modem or ISP.
• Check the modem lights. A red, orange or blinking "internet", "online" or "DSL" light usually means the ISP link is down.
• Check your ISP's status page or app from mobile data. Outages are common and no home fix will help.
• Turn off VPNs, proxies and security software temporarily. They are a frequent hidden cause.

Restart the modem and router in the right order

A restart clears memory leaks, stuck NAT tables and stale sessions. The order matters, because the router needs the modem to be fully online before it requests an address:

1. Unplug the power from both the modem and the router. If you have a single combined unit, unplug that.
2. Wait about 30 seconds so the devices fully power down.
3. Plug in the modem first. Wait until its online or internet light is steady, which can take a few minutes.
4. Plug in the router and wait until its Wi-Fi and internet lights settle.
5. Reconnect a device and test.

No connection at all

The device shows no Wi-Fi network, a red cross, or "not connected".

• Wi-Fi: check that Wi-Fi and airplane mode are set correctly, forget the network and rejoin it with the correct password. If the network name does not appear, the router may be off or its Wi-Fi disabled.
• Ethernet: reseat the cable at both ends, try a different cable and port, and check that the port's link light comes on.
• Drivers: on Windows, open Device Manager and check the network adapter for a warning icon. Disabling and re-enabling the adapter, or reinstalling the driver from the manufacturer, often helps after updates.

Connected, but no internet

The device joins Wi-Fi, but shows "No internet", "Connected, no internet" or a Wi-Fi icon with an exclamation mark.

Check the IP address

Run ipconfig on Windows or look at the network details on other systems. If the address starts with 169.254., the device gave itself a self-assigned (APIPA) address because it got no reply from the router's DHCP server. Restart the router, then renew the address.

Renew the IP address and reset the network stack on Windows

Open Command Prompt as administrator and run:

ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
ipconfig /flushdns
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset

netsh winsock reset repairs the Winsock catalog, which VPN clients and security software sometimes corrupt, and netsh int ip reset resets TCP/IP settings. Restart the PC afterwards. If that fails, Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings > Network reset reinstalls all adapters.

macOS, iPhone and Android

• macOS: System Settings > Wi-Fi > Details > TCP/IP > Renew DHCP Lease.
• iPhone and iPad: Settings > Wi-Fi, tap (i), then Renew Lease, or Forget This Network and rejoin.
• Android: forget the network and reconnect, or toggle airplane mode on and off.

Captive portals

Hotel, airport and café networks need you to accept terms on a login page first. If the page does not pop up, open a browser and visit a plain HTTP address such as http://example.com to trigger it.

Test without DNS

Run ping 1.1.1.1. If it gets replies but ping example.com fails, your connection works and only DNS is broken; jump to the DNS section below. Our guide to ping and traceroute explains how to read the results.

Slow internet

1. Compare wired and wireless. Test with a laptop connected by Ethernet. If wired is fast and Wi-Fi is slow, the problem is Wi-Fi coverage or interference, not your ISP.
2. Move closer or change band. 5 GHz and 6 GHz are faster but have shorter range than 2.4 GHz. Walls, floors, mirrors and appliances all reduce signal.
3. Look for heavy users. Cloud backups, game downloads, OS updates and video uploads can saturate a connection, especially the upload direction.
4. Check latency under load. If ping times jump sharply while something is downloading, the router is buffering too much (called bufferbloat). Routers with SQM or "smart queue" features fix it.
5. Measure stability. Use our Ping & Jitter Test to see whether latency is high, erratic or losing requests.
6. Restart and update. Restart the router and install firmware updates from its admin page.

Connection keeps dropping

• Find out what drops. Run ping -t 192.168.1.1 (your router) and ping -t 1.1.1.1 at the same time on Windows, or ping without a count on macOS and Linux. If both stop, Wi-Fi is dropping. If only the second stops, the internet link is dropping.
• Wi-Fi drops: change the router's Wi-Fi channel to a less crowded one, disable aggressive power saving on the adapter (Device Manager > adapter > Power Management on Windows), and update the adapter driver.
• Internet link drops: check the modem's event log on its admin page. Our router login guide explains how to reach it. Repeated resyncs or signal errors usually indicate a line or cabling fault the ISP must fix. Tighten coaxial connections and replace phone or fiber patch cables if damaged.
• Overheating: routers in enclosed cabinets can overheat and reboot. Give them airflow.

Specific sites or apps not loading

1. Check whether the site is down for everyone with our Is it down checker.
2. Try another browser or a private window to rule out extensions, cached files and cookies.
3. Try mobile data. If the site works there, the issue is your network, DNS or ISP routing.
4. Suspect broken IPv6. If the site has IPv6 but your IPv6 path is faulty, some sites stall while others work. See how to troubleshoot IPv6.
5. Disable VPNs, ad blockers and DNS filters. Filtering services sometimes block legitimate sites, and some services block known VPN addresses.
6. Check the date and time. A wrong system clock causes certificate errors on every HTTPS site.

DNS errors (DNS_PROBE and "server not found")

Steps that fix most DNS errors:

1. Flush the local cache: ipconfig /flushdns on Windows, or sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder on macOS.
2. In Chrome or Edge, clear the browser's own host cache at chrome://net-internals/#dns or edge://net-internals/#dns.
3. Switch DNS servers, either on the device or in the router, to a public resolver such as 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8. If that fixes it, your ISP's resolver was the problem.
4. Restart the router, which often runs a DNS forwarder that can hang.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my phone work on Wi-Fi but my laptop does not?

The router and internet connection are fine, so the laptop is the problem. Forget and rejoin the network, renew its IP address, turn off any VPN, and on Windows run the reset commands above.

Is it safe to run netsh winsock reset?

Yes. It restores the Windows network stack to a clean state and requires a restart. Some VPN or security programs may need reinstalling afterwards if they hooked into Winsock.

How often should I restart my router?

Only when you have a problem or after a firmware update. A router that needs regular restarts to stay usable is likely faulty, overheating or running outdated firmware.

When should I call my ISP?

Call when a wired device connected directly to the modem still has no connection after a correct restart, when modem lights show no sync, or when the modem log shows repeated dropouts. Note the times of failures and any ping results; it speeds up the support call.