If you’re over a certain age you might remember the early days of home internet. Back then it was clunky and, by today’s standards, extremely slow. What’s more, there were wires everywhere, and you couldn’t use the phone when you were on the internet. And as for mobile internet? Forget it, an impossible dream. Most people didn’t even own a mobile, let alone consider the possibility that one day it would be connected to the internet.
Things have moved on incredibly quickly, and the tech has become so fast and efficient that the internet is now integrated seamlessly into our everyday lives. In fact, we almost take it for granted, and have come to rely on it for business, commerce and entertainment. And not only that, but we expect it to be everywhere, wirelessly. That’s quite a change over a couple of decades, but what happens when it goes wrong, and suddenly our access to the internet isn’t so seamless after all?
Sometimes this is a minor inconvenience, preventing us from watching a TV show, but at other times it can be a major disruption, affecting our work and even resulting in financial loss. In these cases it pays to have some idea of how to go about fixing internet connection problems, and, before that, what caused the problems in the first place, so let’s think about those things.
Your Wireless Doesn’t Work in Every Room
This is a very common issue. You can sit down and open your laptop in one area of your home and everything works fine, but when you move to another room the internet cuts out or slows down. This is a straightforward problem. Basically, your wireless router is broadcasting radio waves the whole time, which are picked by your wireless connected device. If there is something physically blocking those waves, then you can have issues. If your home is particularly large, with thick walls, there may especially be problems.
As a first step, make sure there is nothing physically blocking the router. Place it optimally, in the center of the space it has to cover. Depending on the layout of your home, this may be difficult, in which case you’ll need to consider other options. The best thing to do is get a wireless repeater to boost the signal, or use another router for this purpose, as a repeater. This will have the effect of extending the range of your wireless and getting round obstacles and layout problems.
Always Check Where the Problem Lies
It’s not always clear whether the problem is with your device, or with your router and internet provision. The first thing you need to do, to make sure where the problem actually is, is to test other devices and determine whether or not they’re working. If other devices are working fine, then you know the problem lies with the one device that is having problems. In that case, there are a few things you can do.
First, the old classic: turn it off and on again. It’s amazing how often this works to clear up problems. If you’re still having issues, then check the internet and network configurations. IP conflicts are a possible issue if you have several wireless connected devices. Another possible problem could be viruses and malware. Run anti-virus software to clean up your device and ensure there are no malware problems.
The Issue is Not With the Device
On the other hand, if more than one device is having problems, then the issue must be with the wi-fi or your internet provision. Try plugging a device directly into the modem with a networking cable. Does it work? If so then the problem lies with the wireless router. Try rebooting the router, and if that doesn’t work, you might need to reconfigure the network settings, or, possibly replace the router.
If you try to connect multiple devices by networking cable and still nothing works, then it looks like your internet is down. Be aware that internet outages do sometimes occur, and you should be compensated by your provider if such an event happens. At this point, if you’ve tried several devices, rebooted everything, connected directly with cables, and reconfigured network and internet settings, then call your provider and explain the problem. They should take you through a troubleshooting procedure, and if that doesn’t work then they may have to send out an engineer to physically repair the issue.
In general, it’s always a good idea to keep your set-up as clean as possible. Have your router placed optimally, and use a repeater or second router if necessary. Keep your devices free of malware and keep software and applications regularly updated. Avoid suspicious websites, and never download anything you don’t need, or that comes from a source in which you’re not absolutely confident.