Diagnose persistent problems

A quick–fire guide to network troubleshooting

WHEN ISSUES WON’T go away, or have disrupted your network completely, you’ll need to take a different approach to solve the problem. The first step is the classic “turn it off and on again” method — either with the one troublesome device, or your router if the problem is network–wide. In the router’s case, switch it off for 30 seconds to ensure its memory is properly cleared, then turn it back on again. If the problem remains, follow this simple walkthrough.

1 Mac troubleshooting

Check for wi–Fi problems by using Spotlight to run wireless Diagnostics. open network utility to see if your mac is the issue. enter the router’s IP address in the Ping tab to check it’s reachable.

2 Reset IP address

If there’s timeout issues with Ping, go to Apple > System Prefs > network, and select your connection. If using wi– Fi, click Advanced > tCP/IP. If Configure IPv4 is set to manual, try using DhCP.

3 Reset and start again

Click renew DhCP Lease. no joy? In the main pane, deactivate the connection using the gear icon, then reactivate. For wi–Fi, in Advanced > wi–Fi, remove network, click ok, then reconnect.

4 Check internet access

If it affects all devices, open your router’s admin tool to check your connection isn’t down. If the router says it is, use a mobile to check your ISP’s status page for info.

5 Resolve DnS issues

If the connection looks fine but pages aren’t loading, try “pinging” 1.1.1.1 in network utility. If this works, use your phone to follow the guide at 1.1.1.1/dns and try changing your mac’s DnS settings.