Wifi connected but no Internet? 10 Possible Causes & How to Fix Them

  – Is Wifi Connected but no Internet? – 

Wifi connected but no Internet? If you turned on your device and connected to a Wifi and you get a “no Internet-connected” message, this can be very frustrating.

Wifi connected but no Internet?

So, how do you fix this frustrating Windows error? Here are the steps you should follow to resolve this problem and get back online.

What Does This Error Mean?

Wireless devices like a laptop connect to your router. The router is a device that handles the connections between the devices in your home. Your router plugs into a modem, a device that bridges the traffic on your home network and the internet.

When you see the Connected, no internet access, connected but no internet, or similar errors on your computer, it means that your computer is connected to the router correctly but can’t connect to the internet.

Conversely, if you see Not connected, no internet, or No internet connection messages, it means that your computer is not connected to a router at all.

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Possible Problems & Solutions

1. Check 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 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.

2. Check the Internet connection

Sometimes, the WiFi is connected but with no Internet, error maybe 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.

3. It could be your Device

When other devices are able to access the Internet through your WiFi, the problem lies with your device and its 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.

4. 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 them 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 this, 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.

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5. Outdated Wireless Modes

The wireless mode and standard used by your router have 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.

Outdated wireless modes

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 your credentials to log into the router. In most cases, the username and password are an admin by default.

Once you log in, 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 changes. Now, restart your WiFi and see if it solves the problem.

6. 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, its 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 WiFi that’s 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.

7. Outdated Network Driver

Sometimes, an old, outdated, or corrupted network driver can be the cause of a WiFi that’s 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 “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 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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Other Fixes

8. Run The Windows Network Troubleshooter

This step isn’t necessary if your connection issue is affecting multiple devices.

If you’re only having an issue with your Windows PC, something is wrong with your computer’s network settings.

While the built-in Windows troubleshooter usually doesn’t fix issues, it’s worth a try before you move on.

To access the network troubleshooter, visit Settings > Network & Internet > Status. Select the Network troubleshooter and follow the steps to see if Windows can rectify the problem.

On Windows 7, you’ll find this same tool at Start > Control Panel > Troubleshooting > Network and internet > Network Connections.

9. Check Your ISP’s Status

At this point, if you can’t get any devices online, it’s worth checking if your internet service provider (ISP) is having an issue. Though this is rare, it could explain why you can’t get online.

Use your phone’s data connection to see if Comcast, Verizon, or whoever provides service in your area has reported outages. DownDetector is a great site for this.

A quick Google or Twitter search can reveal whether others are having a problem, too.

10. The Command Prompt Fix

Wifi connected but no Internet?

There are also some easy Command Prompt commands you can try to fix the issue. To open the Command Prompt type the name of the feature in the search bar and launch it.

  • Tips: Only try this if it’s only your computer that won’t go online.
  • Remember to run the Command Prompt as an administrator.

The following commands will reset files that are used when the computer goes online. You’ll need to type:

  • netsh winsock reset
  • netsh int ip reset

You can also try getting a new IP. For that, you’ll need to use the following commands:

  • ipconfig /release
  • ipconfig /renew

It’s also possible to invigorate your computer’s DNS setting; to do that, you’ll need to use the following command.

  • ipconfig /lflushdns

It’s not mandatory, but a reboot would be helpful at this time if your computer still won’t go online.

If this information was useful to you, do well to share it with friends and loved ones. It’s your turn to help other people. You can share this article on your favorite social media handle.

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