Repair Pc Guide

Troubleshooting Wireless Connectivity

Wireless Network connections have really exploded in the last few years. It allows you to connect you computer to your network without being bound by the typical network cable. Routers have varying lengths that they can be away from the wireless router, but will typically cover the space of most homes. As we grow to rely on the technology we need to understand how to fix it when things go wrong. This article will give you quick and easy tips to repair your wireless connection if it starts acting up. Here are some of the reasons why your wireless can malfunction as well as ways to fix it. To start with I must say that most of the problems that people face with wireless can be resolved by simply restarting the wireless router and the Cable or DSL Modem.

Connected to the router but not the Internet
So let’s start with the basics. You are trying to get out to the internet and it is just not working. The first thing you want to look for is the wireless icon in your Windows task bar (this will be located to the left of your clock). If it shows a small computer monitor with what looks like sound waves coming from it then you are connected to the wireless router, but the router is not reaching the internet. The very first thing you want to check is if the cable from the modem to your wireless router. If everything is connected properly turn off the power to the cable or DSL modem and the wireless router. Now you can power on the modem first then wait about 10 seconds, then power on the wireless router. Check you computer to see if the connection has been reestablished.

If you are still unable to get to the internet you will need to test the actual connection. I am going to assume that you are using a laptop. Turn off your laptop and your cable modem. Connect the laptop to the cable modem with a network cable. Turn on the modem first. Wait about 10 seconds then turn on the laptop. Once the computer powers on, see if you can get to the internet. If you can get to the internet, this way then you have an issue with the router and will probably need to call their technical support to go through the more advanced troubleshooting. The port connecting to the modem or another component may have malfunction if it stops working all of the sudden. If you still do not receive internet connection then you should contact you Internet Service Provider. They can tell you if there is an outage, something wrong with your account with them and they can also diagnose your connection from their end and help find a solution.

There is no connection to the router
Now we have to back track to when we are checking if your wireless is connecting. If there is a red X on the wireless icon in the taskbar, then your wireless is not connecting to the router. Most laptops have a button on the laptop near the power button that will turn the Wireless on or off. Make sure that you toggle that to make sure it lights up. Right click on that icon and select the option to view available networks. See if your router comes up and make sure that you are pointing to that router and not a different one. If your router does not show up, try restarting your router and modem, and then refresh the wireless connections. If other devices are showing and yours isn’t then we know that something is wrong with the router’s connection. Connect your computer directly to the router through a network cable. Type your router’s IP address into Internet explorer to see if the router is actually still functioning. If it does come up you can try to restore factory settings and see if that will bring the router back up. If you don’t know your router’s IP address you can find out by going to Start - Run, then type CMD and press Enter. In the command prompt type IPCONFIG /ALL and press Enter, Default Gateway will be your router’s IP address.

If that doesn’t work it may be best to contact the technical support for the router. They will be able to guide you through some more complicated steps than we would be able to cover in this article. Technical Support, just like any other troubleshooting tool is available for you to use. Typically just restarting the modem and router will fix the majority of wireless issues that people face.

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