Internet not connected all the time
My laptop Wi-Fi hasn't been working today.
Most of the time, I'm able to browse the internet. However, every few seconds the internet just stops for about 30 seconds. I get a "This webpage is unavailable" and I have to refresh it. This isn't specifically only happening in my browser, but in games too and I "lag".
On the Network and Sharing Center, it goes from:
(Laptop) -> (Router) -> (Internet) to
(Laptop) -> (red X) -> Internet
Wireless networks are unavailable.
My signal strength is excellent and I have 5 bars. I doubt anything is disrupting my signal. Other devices connected to the router/Wi-Fi have been working fine. I've tried restarting the laptop but that didn't work. Like I've said before, this problem has started only today.
If there's anything I forgot, let me know.
Thanks for any help.
2 Comments • Newest first
First find out where your router AND "broadband modem" are. In some cases you may only have one box, other setups use two separate boxes.
The router is the one with the antennas on it to broadcast the wireless signal to your computer, the modem is the one that plugs into the telephone line or cable TV cable.
Look at the lights on the front of the MODEM when things are working OK. (If there's only one box, just look at the LEDs on the front of that one.) There's usually a LED that says "Internet" or "DSL" and that should usually be green and turned on solidly. See what the lights look like when everything is operating normally. There may be one LED labeled "Data" or "LAN" that is blinking green showing your computer is communicating with the Internet.
Then when this problem happens again, go look at the lights on the front of the modem. If Internet (or DSL) LED (or any of them, actually) is RED or turned off or blinking so that it looks differently from when it was working normally, then it means the connection between your modem and your ISP (Internet Service Provider) has broken and is in the process of reconnecting.
This can be caused by many different things, but is usually caused by bad wiring from your house to the company outside somewhere, or weather conditions. If this has just started happening recently and never was a problem during storms before, it may indicate the wires need work.
Give your ISP a call and tell them what's been happening and ask them to run a "line test" on the lines to your house. They should be able to do this for free, and without having to come to your house. If it indicates a problem with the lines somewhere they should be able to fix them.
The other thing to try is like Greenelf suggested, unplug the power cord from the back of the MODEM (or the one box if there's only one), wait a few seconds then plug it back in. This will restart the modem and make it reconnect to the ISP and hopefully make a better connection.
What might be happening is that your router has been set to accept a maximum number of devices. Try visiting your router's webpage, which can be found [url=http://www.techspot.com/guides/287-default-router-ip-addresses/]here.[/url] If you can't find anything there, turn your router completely off, and then back on.