You sit down to get some work done on your Windows computer, and that’s when you see it. The dreaded yellow triangle appears over your internet connection icon, annoyingly proclaiming that you have No Internet Access.
How do you fix this frustrating Windows error? Here are the steps you should follow to resolve this problem and get back online.
How to Fix “No Internet Access” Errors
Let’s quickly outline the steps to resolve “connected but no internet access” errors first. We’ll then go into detail on each one.
- Confirm other devices can’t connect
- Reboot your PC
- Reboot your modem and router
- Run the Windows network troubleshooter
- Check your IP address settings
- Check your ISP’s status
- Try a few command prompt commands
- Disable security software
- Update your wireless drivers
- Reset your network
What Does This Error Mean?
Before we proceed, we should explain what exactly happens on your network when you see this error. To do so, it’s necessary to explain some basics of home networking.
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.
This gives you some clues about what the issue is, as we’ll see below.
Step 1: Confirm Other Devices Can’t Connect
Before you do any troubleshooting, it’s important to determine whether your PC is the only device with with no internet connection. Grab your phone or another computer that’s connected to Wi-Fi and see if it’s online properly.
On Android, you’ll see an X icon over the Wi-Fi symbol and notice you’re connected to your mobile network for data. iPhone and iPad users can visit Settings > Wi-Fi and check for a No Internet Connection message.
If your computer is the only machine that won’t connect, it’s likely due to a misconfigured setting on just that device. But if you have no internet on every device, the problem lies with your network equipment and you can thus skip some of the PC-only steps below.
Before you proceed, if the problem affects all your devices, you should perform a quick test. Disconnect the Ethernet cable that connects your modem to your router, and use it to connect your PC to the modem directly instead.
If you can get online with this setup, the problem lies with your router. Should you proceed through the following troubleshooting and not fix your issue, your router is likely faulty.
Step 2: Reboot Your PC
This step isn’t necessary if your connection issue is affecting multiple devices.
As with many issues, rebooting your computer is the first troubleshooting step you should try. If you’re lucky, you might clear up some temporary glitch by restarting and then can get back to work.
Most of this advice assumes you’re using a wireless connection. However, if you connect to your router with an Ethernet cable, you should also try another cable at this time to confirm that yours isn’t faulty.
Step 3: Reboot Your Modem and Router
Since most network issues involve your modem and/or router, rebooting them next makes sense. You don’t need to restart them through an interface like you do with your computer, though. Simply pull the power plug from both devices and leave them unplugged for a minute or two.
Plug the modem in first, let it boot up, then plug in your router again. Wait a few minutes for them to start back up. While you’re doing this, confirm that your router and modem are working properly. If you don’t see any lights on one of the devices, you may have a bad piece of hardware.
If your computer says “no internet” even after this, continue on—your issue is more complex than a basic reboot.
Note that you’re rebooting, not resetting your equipment. Resetting means putting the device back to its factory default settings; you don’t need to do that yet!
Step 4: 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 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.
Step 5: Check Your IP Address Settings
This step isn’t necessary if your connection issue is affecting multiple devices.
Next, you should take one of the key steps to diagnose network issues: making sure your computer has a valid IP address. In most home networks, under normal circumstances, the router hands out an address to devices when they connect. If your computer’s IP settings aren’t correct, it can cause this “no internet access” problem.
On Windows 10, right-click on the network icon in your System Tray and choose Open Network & Internet settings. Click the Change adapter options entry and then double-click the connection you’re using.
On Windows 7, right-click the network icon and choose Open Network and Sharing Center. Click the name of your network next to Connections.
From here, click the Properties button. Find Internet Protocol Version 4 in the list and double-click that. Here, make sure you have Obtain an IP address automatically and Obtain DNS server address automatically both selected. Setting an IP address manually is for advanced users; chances are if you have something entered here, it’s invalid.
Click OK and then try to get online again.
Step 6: 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.
Step 7: Try These Command Prompt Commands
This step isn’t necessary if your connection issue is affecting multiple devices.
Windows features several networking commands in the Command Prompt. You should attempt a few of them when you have no internet access in Windows 10. Type cmd into the Start Menu, then right-click on it and choose Run as administrator to open an elevated Command Prompt window.
To reset some of the files Windows keep to access the internet, use these two commands:
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset
If that doesn’t work, try releasing your computer’s IP address and obtaining a fresh one with these two commands, one at a time:
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
Finally, refresh your computer’s DNS settings with this command:
ipconfig /flushdns
It doesn’t hurt to reboot your PC again at this point. If you still have no internet access, there are a few more steps to try.
Step 8: Disable Security Software
This step isn’t necessary if your connection issue is affecting multiple devices.
Another uncommon, but plausible, scenario is that you have some security software on your PC preventing access to the internet. As reported by The Register, in 2017, Avast’s free antivirus prevented many of its users from getting online due to a glitch. Those who manually installed the latest update found that their problems disappeared.
Disable any third-party antivirus apps you may have installed and see if your connection comes back. While we’re on the topic of security, it’s worth running a malware scan with an app like Malwarebytes. A malicious program could have knocked out your internet connection.
Step 9: Update Your Wireless Drivers
This step isn’t necessary if your connection issue is affecting multiple devices.
Normally, you don’t need to update your computer drivers, as doing so often causes more problems than it’s worth. But since you’re still having an issue, you should check for driver updates.
If you have a manufacturer update app (like HP Support Assistant or Lenovo System Update) installed on your PC, open that up and check for wireless driver updates. Otherwise, follow our guide to updating your Windows drivers.
Step 10: Reset Your Network
At this point, if you’ve proceeded through all these steps and still have the “no internet access but connected” problem, there’s not much you can do other than reset your network settings.
If your Windows 10 PC is the only device you can’t connect with, you can reset your network by visiting Settings > Network & Internet > Status. Click the Network reset text at the bottom of the screen, then Reset now. This will completely remove all network adapters and set all your network settings back to the defaults. You’ll have to set everything up again, but it might be the fix you need.
While there’s unfortunately no equivalent of this in Windows 7, you can simulate part of this reset. Right-click on the network icon in your System Tray, choose Open Network and Sharing Center, and click Change adapter settings. Then right-click the adapter you’re using, and choose Disable. Reboot and re-enable it to see if that fixed anything.
When you can’t get online with any devices, your best bet is resetting your router (and modem, if needed). Look for a small pinhole on the back or bottom of your router and hold it in for several seconds to reset it to factory defaults. If there’s no reset button, you’ll need to log in to your router and run the factory reset from there.
With everything reset, you can run through the initial setup with factory defaults. If it still won’t work after that, you likely have faulty equipment.
Don’t Fear “Connected But No Internet” Any Longer
Hopefully, you don’t have to factory reset anything to fix your connection issue. One of the earlier steps should take care of it, but there’s no perfect formula for network issues. If you follow all the steps, you’ve confirmed that your devices are set up correctly and you don’t have anything blocking the connection.
For a much more comprehensive guide, see our complete manual to Windows network troubleshooting. However, it might be worth contacting a network-savvy friend for further help.
Read the full article: Connected to Wi-Fi, But No Internet Access in Windows? Here’s the Fix!
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