Fix local connection issues
If you’re able to see your path to the internet through your router, but still can’t connect to network services, the problem may lie with your firewall.
If your wider network appears to be functioning well, but the problem is isolated to a specific PC, then this section will hopefully help you track down a solution. Your first step of course is to check the physical connection itself: if you’re connected via an ethernet cable, check it’s securely plugged in at both ends. If you connect through a HomePlug network check the lights on the HomePlug itself – try resetting or switching the device off and on to see if it can reconnect. You may also have to do the same with the HomePlug plugged into your router, but only if the issues affect other HomePlugs and their connected devices on your network.
When it comes to Wi-Fi, check any USB adapter is firmly plugged in, and if you’re a laptop user that the Wi-Fi switch hasn’t inadvertently been switched off (it may be a physical switch or a keyboard shortcut involving the Fn key – look for the Wi-Fi icon above a key on the top row). You may also be able to switch the Wi-Fi back on from the Network icon in the Taskbar Notification area: select this and make sure the Wi-Fi button is blue and the Flight Mode is grey. If they’re opposite colours, click them to hopefully resolve your problem.
Troubleshoot in Windows
Still no connection? The step-by-step guide opposite carries you through the basic troubleshooting options offered by Windows 10. When it comes to installing driver updates, you’ll need to port them across using a USB stick, then either run the setup.exe file or – if it’s just a folder of files – return to the
Driver tab in Device Manager, click Update Driver and choose ‘Browse my computer…’ to manually locate the folder containing the driver file.
If everything appears in order, but you’re still not getting connected, you might want to try manually setting your connection instead of letting your router assign a network address: open ‘Settings > Network & Internet > Status’ and click ‘Change connection properties’, then scroll down and click
Edit under IP Settings.
Select Manual, then make sure IPv4 is enabled and fill in the fields: Subnet prefix length is 24, the Gateway is the IP address of your router, and IP address is the unique IP address you’re assigning to your PC: note the first three numbers (192.168.x) are the same as your router, but the final number is one between 0 and 254 that’s not being used by another device on your network. While you’re here, set the Preferred DNS to 1.1.1.1 and Alternate DNS to 1.0.0.1 to use CloudFlare DNS to resolve internet web addresses.
Click Save and see if things now work – if they do, the problem may lie with your router’s DHCP server (turn the page). If they don’t, you can set things back to ‘Automatic (DHCP)’ and continue with the troubleshooting.
Troubleshoot your firewall
If your path to the router is visible, but the internet itself is down across all your networked devices, turn the page; if you’re able to see your path to the internet through your router, but can’t connect to some or even all network services, the problem may lie with your firewall. Start by attempting to disable it temporarily: look in your security software’s dashboard for an option to switch off the firewall. If you’re a Windows Firewall user, type “command prompt” into the Search box, then click ‘Run as administrator’ underneath it before typing the following command:
netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state off
If disabling the firewall resolves your connection problem, look for an option to reset it (go to ‘Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security > Firewall & network protection’ to click ‘Restore firewalls to default’ for Windows Firewall). Visit the security software’s help pages online for further troubleshooting advice – including how to remove and reinstall your security software if necessary.
Whatever you do, don’t forget to re-enable your firewall (‘netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state on’ in the case of the Windows Firewall).