I have been wondering why suddenly my laptop couldn't establish a connection to the internet through a wireless router. It has been two or three days since I noticed this problem and I decided I just had about enough of it.
I thought about and came up with a list of possibilities:
- Could it be due to slow signal from the Internet Provider?
- Is the router damaged?
- Did my board mate remove my IP from the router settings?
- Did I mess up my laptop settings?
After a good 10 minutes of trying to mentally figure it out, I decided to start with my laptop being the closest resource.
Isolating the issue:
1. Check if your laptops Wireless Connectivity is on.
2. Check the status of your connection. Mine had "Connected" unfortunately, the internet connection indicator had a glaring red x on it.
3. Run Diagnostics by clicking "Troubleshoot problems" in Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center.
After troubleshooting finished, the error message populated:
Error:
Your computer appears to be correctly configured, but the device or resource (DNS server) is not responding)
I researched quickly in the internet for available solutions and this is what was suggested in simple steps:
1. Click Start. Run "cmd" to populate the DOS console.
**Determine if your computer is getting the correct IP address from the router. Home connections usually start with 192.168.1.x or 10.x.x.x.
2. At the command prompt, type "ipconfig /flushdns" then press ENTER.
3. At the command prompt, type "ipconfig /registerdns" then press ENTER.
4. At the command prompt, type "ipconfig /all" to display the Windows TCP/IP setting then press ENTER.
5. Check if LAN's Physical address shows 00.00.00.00 or 169.xx.x.x.x.
** If yes, this confirms that your computer is not communicating with the router properly.
7. At the command prompt, type "ipconfig /release" to display the Windows TCP/IP setting then press ENTER.
8. At the command prompt, type "ipconfig /renew" to display the Windows TCP/IP setting then press ENTER.
Notice that the red (x) on the Internet icon at the lower right of your computer screen has disappeared. Try accessing a site on the browser and confirm if the connection has been reinstated.
These steps have brought me back to the web. If it didn't resolve your issue, try other options help from this
site.
This issue, they say, surfaces when turning routers on and off. I hope this has helped you become a better netizen.