Today, Wi-Fi is a part of everyday life, and many things depend on reliable Wi-Fi access. For example, our work, social, and personal lives depend somewhat on our ability to connect. But what should you do if your Wi-Fi won’t connect?
If you’re having trouble connecting to Wi-Fi, it may be due to a random technical error, incorrect credentials, or a network configuration error. To fix the issues, try turning your devices off and on again, re-entering credentials, or, as a last resort, conducting a hard reset of your router.
The trick to fixing Wi-Fi issues is knowing what you’re looking for. Once you can narrow down the possible issues, the solution is often relatively straightforward. Let’s look at a few of the most common Wi-Fi issues and how to solve them.
What Causes Wi-Fi Connection Issues?
To answer this important question, we first need to understand what precisely Wi-Fi is. Wi-Fi uses radio waves to transmit data to your devices.
The radiowaves your router uses come in two frequencies: 2.4 gigahertz and 5 gigahertz. As a result, many things can cause interruptions.
When you connect a device, it ‘pairs’ with your router, creating a link that shares information with your device. If the two devices didn’t link, the router can’t send the applicable data to your device.
Random Technical Errors
It may seem like a no-brainer, but turning everything off and back on again has an amazing way of correcting technical quirks. When you do it, make sure to turn everything off.
That includes your router, phones, computers, and any smart device that links to the Wi-Fi. If turning everything back on has no effect, you’ll need to try some other common fixes.
Linking Your Device to the Router
The most common connection problems usually involve connecting to the router’s Wi-Fi network. That’s the step in making the pairing that allows the Wi-Fi router to communicate with your device.
Behind the scenes, many complicated registrations, allocations, and ‘handshakes’ need to occur. Fortunately, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, you need not worry about any of that.
The Problem of Passwords
When struggling to connect your device to the Wi-Fi network, incorrect credentials are often the problem. The following steps should help you fix it:
- Make certain that you’re trying to log on to the correct device. The Wi-Fi name, or SSID, identifies the network you’re trying to connect to.
- You should confirm the type of security that the router uses. Some public connections use no security, while most routers use Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2).
- If the router requires a password, make sure that you enter it correctly. Check your caps lock button, and select ‘show password’ where possible so you can see what you’re typing.
If these steps don’t work, there’s an additional way to connect to a Wi-Fi network. Most routers have a feature called WPS. With WPS, you press the WPS button on your router and keep your phone or laptop near.
The router will discover your device, and the device will open a prompt to connect it to the network without needing a password.
Network Configuration Error
You may have a configuration error if you’re that unlucky one in a hundred we mentioned. You can identify the issue in one of two ways.
First, if your devices have Wi-Fi access but no internet connection, it could indicate a serious configuration issue on your modem or that someone has placed access restrictions (parental controls) on your devices.
Alternatively, the router itself can’t access the internet. Most routers offer an easy way to tell whether there is an internet connection issue. The router should have several lights that indicate various connections.
Look for the Indicator on Your Router
One of these lights indicates the router’s direct connection to the internet. The relevant light should look like a globe or sphere (the ‘world’ wide web). If that indicator isn’t the same color as the other lights on your router, you’ve found the problem.
The best thing to do at this point is to call your service provider and find out whether there’s a service outage in your area.
Re-Enter Your Credentials
Try re-entering your credentials in your router settings menu. To access the menu, type ‘192.168.0.1‘ into your web browser’s search bar. Here you’ll get a prompt to sign in to your router.
Once signed in, look for a tab or submenu that says ‘Internet.’ Either on this page or one of its submenus, there will be a form to enter your username or password. You must enter the username and password your internet service provider gave you.
Once you’ve saved the settings, turn your router off and back on. Give it five to ten minutes. If all goes well, your router should reconnect to the internet.
Note: Some manufacturers may use different IP addresses for their routers. 192.168.1.1 is another popular one.
Hard Reset
A hard reset is your last hope before calling your IT guy. We recommend having a technician from your ISP on the phone for the process.
In this method, you will again log into your router’s settings. Under the Settings tab, you should find a submenu that says something like ‘Factory Reset‘ or ‘Restore Default Settings.’
Once you start the process, the router will kick all devices off the network. Give it some time, and the router will come back online.
When you reset a router, all the passwords return to their defaults. The default password for your router should be on the underside of the device.
Return to your router’s settings. That’s where you’ll need the aid of a technician from your ISP. In short, you’re going to set the router up from scratch.
It will prompt you for the connection type; the ‘Auto‘ option should detect that and autofill. Next, you’ll need to enter your username. That’s the name of your account with your ISP.
Enter the password provided by your ISP. Next, the route will give you options to configure your Wi-Fi. Skip that for now, and make sure that your device can connect to the router and that the router has internet access.
Even the most technical of these methods require only a web browser. Therefore, the methods work the same on OSX, Windows, and any Linux distribution with a GUI.
On an iPhone or Android (Or Any Device With a Browser)
As with traditional computers, there’s little difference in how you troubleshoot your Wi-Fi with your phone. Should you want to try all the technical measures we’ve looked at, you can use your phone’s browser.
The process works for Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and every chromium-derived browser.
However, try connecting a different phone or laptop to the Wi-Fi first to identify which device is responsible for the Wi-Fi issues. If the other device connects without issue, it’s your phone.
Conversely, if not a single device will connect to the Wi-Fi, it’s almost certainly the router. That might mean it’s time to make an appointment with a technician.
Note: Water, glass, and wood can block a Wi-Fi signal. So move around to see if your device gets a signal.