Troubleshoot internet and network connection problems on your PC

If the Internet does not work on our PC, it is advisable to investigate the reason and find the right solution for fix the internet connection problem. In most cases we can solve the mystery using the tools provided by Windows, while in other cases we will have to go and change some connection parameters, as well as check our modem.

In the following guide we will show you in detail how to troubleshoot internet connection failure through a series of simple and affordable ways for everyone, valid both for those who connect via Wi-Fi and for those who connect via Ethernet cable.

READ ALSO -> How to tell if the modem router is broken

1) Restart or reset your modem

This is the simplest method but can sometimes be very effective. The modem is the device that communicates with the Internet service provider, while the router shares the connection between all the computers and other network devices in the house: more and more often the two terms coincide, given that we now only use the modem to provide also the functions of the router.

To reboot the device successfully unplug the power cord for 2 minutes, then try to reconnect the cable. After restarting the router we also make sure that there are no error lights flashing.

On the same subject we invite you to read our guide on what to do if the modem does not respond (red LEDs).

As a further attempt we can also do the reset the router to factory settings. If the connection now works correctly, the modem was misconfigured or it was just a temporary problem; to learn more we can read our guides on come configure the modem via the Internet e how to configure optical fiber.

2) Check modem cables and operating system

Another thing to do is to check that all cables are connected correctly (electricity cable, telephone cable or fiber optic cable), that the modem/router is correctly switched on and does not signal anomalies (red lights) and that wireless signal reception is at least good.

While this step may seem obvious it is actually easy for i network cables are disconnected by mistakeboth those of the computer and those of the modem or that, on laptops, the Wi-Fi reception has been inadvertently disabled by pressing the appropriate key or by disabling the function at the BIOS/UEFI level or at the operating system level.

To check the Internet connection in Windows 11 we press WIN+I on the keyboard, we open the menu Network and the Internetclick on Wi-Fi and verify that the connection is active and that the home network is visible; if we don’t see any active connections we go back to the Network and Internet menu and deactivate the switch next to the entry Flight mode.

To check the Internet connection on Windows 10 let’s go to the path in Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Ficheck the available networks and press on Connect on the recognized wifi network name; always from Windows 10 let’s make sure that the airplane mode is deactivated (in Settings > Network & Internet > Airplane mode).

3) Generate wireless network reports

The wireless network report is a very useful Windows tool to understand if your Wi-Fi network has had problems in the last 2 days. To generate the report, open the Start menu, type cmdright-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.

In the command prompt we type the following command:

netsh wlan show wlanreport

The wlan-report-latest.html file can be opened in your web browser and is saved in the folder C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WlanReport. To learn more, we can read our guide on how to generate the network status report.

4) Check if the site is online

If we are trying in vain to access a particular website, it is necessary check that the site is not offline and that the other sites are functioning instead.

To do this test we open a command prompt window from the menu Startwe write ping google.com o ping site-to-check and hit enter to see if there is a response. This command sends several packets to the specified address.

The web server responds to every packet it receives; if there is no packet loss and the time each packet serves is quite low, then the internet connection is good and the problem is at the browser level.

However, if there is packet loss (in other words, if the web server did not respond to one or more of the packets sent), this may indicate a network problem. If the website takes too long to respond, the network is working but has slow issues. The latter problem can be caused by the site itself (unlikely if the same problem occurs on multiple websites), by your Internet service provider, or by the router.

5) Check if the modem is online

Still using the ping command seen in the previous chapter, we pose check if gateway is reachable, i.e. if our modem or router is working properly. To proceed, open the command prompt with administrative permissions (as seen above) and type the command:

ipconfig

Among the information we look for the IP address of the default gateway and write it down (for example 192.168.1.1); always in the prompt we type ping ip gateway and press Enter to see if the modem is online.

If it is absent we must check all the cables again, try to connect to Wi-Fi again o change ethernet network cable.

6) Run Windows troubleshooter

The automatic troubleshooting in Windows should not be underestimated on network problems, because it clearly shows where the problem, if any, is and tries to solve it automatically, without user intervention (great for beginners).

In Windows 11 we can start the troubleshooter by pressing WIN+I on the keyboard by clicking on System -> Troubleshootingby pressing on Other troubleshooting tools and clicking on the button Run present next to the items Internet connections, Incoming connections e Network card.

In Windows 10 just go to the path Settings -> Update & Security -> Troubleshoot -> Additional troubleshooting tools and use the same tools seen on Windows 11.

7) Complete network reset

If the tools built into Windows have not successfully restored the connection, we suggest you do the manual network reset I am opening the command prompt again as administrator and launching, in sequence, the commands below:

netsh winsock reset

netsh int ip reset

ipconfig /release

ipconfig /renew

ipconfig /flushdns

At the end, restart the computer for the changes to take effect. These tricks were also covered in our guide on how to restore limited or no connectivity.

8) Use network repair program

Almost all the operations seen in the article can be done quickly thanks to a free tool for Windows PC called NetAdapter Repair. This program integrates convenient buttons to perform the following operations:

• Ping IP addresses and DNS servers
• Change the Mac address of the system
• Repair WinSock and TCP/IP
• Reset VPN and proxy settings
• Windows Firewall Repair
• Release and renew the DHCP address
• Delete the Hosts file
• Change DNS to Google’s
• Flush DNS Cache
• Clear Route / ARP table
• Reload and release NetBIOS
• Enable LAN or Wireless cards
• Reset the Internet, Security and Privacy options
• Set the default Windows network services

Let’s launch this program and try to restore our Internet connection, so that we can surf again at maximum speed.

More tricks to fix connection problems

In addition to the methods seen so far, we can also apply other valid tips and tricks to solve Internet connection and network problems on the PC, to be used together or only in case of specific problems.

• Network Driver Recovery: If you have installed a network adapter driver or an update for the same it may help to roll back the driver to a previous version. Right click on the Start menu, press on Device management then we select Network cards and we identify the name of the network card; now just right click on the network adapter, select Propertyselect the tab Driver and press the key Roll back drivers.
• Virus check: if our computer is infected by a virus, we immediately launch theESET Online scannerin order to immediately identify any threat, clean up the PC and restore normal web browsing.
• Reset the firewall: as a connection test we can reset the Windows Firewall to its original settings, as seen in our guide on how to configure Firewall in Windows 11 and 10.
• Check proxies and VPNs: let’s make sure that there is no proxy or VPN active on the connection, taking us to the path Settings – Network and Internet and checking the menus Proxy e VPN.
• Check DNS servers:se i DNS servers are not responding it is impossible to navigate properly. In this regard, we invite you to read our guide on come modificare i server DNS su Windows 10 e 11.

We apply all the suggestions and check that the connection works by starting the Google site where he Fast.com site (best for test internet speed).

Conclusions

Our ultimate collection of cheats should solve all kinds of network connection problems, even the most difficult to understand. In most cases it will be enough to restart or restore the connection on the modem, but in some situations we will still have to act from the operating system to restore the Internet connection.

If nothing has worked, all that remains is to contact the network operator’s call center and explain each attempt made, starting the procedure for restoring the connection from the telephone exchange; in this regard, we invite you to read the guide on how to request operator assistance from TIM, WindTre, Vodafone, Fastweb.