Let me get straight to the point, fixing internet connection is one of the most frustrating things in anyone’s life. The main issue while fixing internet connection is the inability of us to identify where the fault is, but not any more. I have been a tech support guy for almost 5 years and have worked with all types of internet connections, so I hereby have listed some simple steps that you can do to get your internet back. Hope it helps you all.
Please note that these steps will only help those who have a wired internet connection.
Before going in to the issue identification part, let me explain how wired internet connection looks like.
A wire from the box/pole outside your house ——–> it is either connected to your home wiring system or directly comes to a junction box —-> wire from junction box runs in to a splitter –> from the splitter to modem –> modem to your computer.
If you have all the above in place and your internet goes down suddenly, here are some practical things that you have to do.
Check for internet outage: Yes, there might be an internet outage in your area, call your provider or ask your neighbor whether their internet is working or not, if it is not, then it might be an local internet outage, wait for a bit and your internet should be back.
If there isn’t any internet outage in the area and only your internet is down, here is what you have to do.
1) Check all your internet devices (modem, router etc) are turned on. Do not avoid this step, there are many of us who have our modems and routers far from our computers and have barely seen them in ages. It is important for you to check whether everything is on, especially if you are using internet after a long time.
2) So you have all the devices turned on. Now, the first thing that you have to do is to check whether your browser settings are proper. Make sure your browser is not offline, if you have two computers, try connecting from another computer. Do a ping test to check whether the internet is there or not. Also, if you are trying to get connected to internet for the first time, make sure you havethe your modem and router settings are perfect. You MUST have the user name and password in the modem settings (most ISP’s provide you with user name and password), if you are not sure, contact your ISP to confirm the settings, user name and password etc.
3) So, you have all the modem settings right and your devices turned on, still no internet. Time for you to connect the modem directly to the computer. Yes, most of us have a router connected to the modem and we get internet connection from the routers. You cannot trust ANY router when your internet is down. Disconnect the router from your internet setup, connect the modem directly to the computer and check whether you can go online, if you can, then your router is the culprit. In this case, the fault might be with the firmware in the router or with the device itself. Try to reset the router, enter all the settings and check whether it is working. If it is not, time to contact the router manufacturer. However, if the internet is not up without the router being connected, please follow the next step.
4) The modem shouldn’t be more than 6 years old, if it is, there is a good chance of issues arising in the modem. Make sure your modem is new, check for the age of the modem, also make sure the firmware of the modem is up to date. Reset the modem, check whether there is excess heat coming out of the modem, check whether only the respective lights are glowing in the modem. If all the lights are glowing irrespective of the settings, then it is the modem which is at fault. In this case, disregard the age of the modem and contact the provider. If your modem is working fine, but yet there is no internet connection, please follow the step below.
5) If your modem, router, settings and power are fine, then it is the wiring which may be at fault. Make sure that you have a splitter between your junction box and the modem. Without a splitter, especially for connections where a phone is also being used, the static that comes along with the incoming call is directed to the modem, which will definitely affect it. And, most of the times, the splitter easily becomes faulty, check for the conditions of the splitter, if you are not sure about the condition, buy a new splitter and get it connected. IF you still have no internet, follow the step below.
6) Either the junction box is faulty, which you can never fix or there is an issue with the wiring. Especially, if the line from outside is connected to your home wiring, there is a good chance of the home wiring to go faulty. In this case, check whether u can go online in the different outlets in your home, if you can, then the issue is with the home wiring, hiring an electrician and get it fixed. If you cant go online even after fixing home wiring, follow step below.
7) It might be either the distance between your home and the local server, the condition of the wire outside, faulty box outside, lot of knots in the wire running in to your home or the aging of the wire. The only way for a normal person to fix this is to get someone from the ISP to have it fixed for you.
Although these are things that most of you know, we definitely miss few things while we are frustrated without internet, follow all these steps and I’m sure that your wired internet connection will be fixed.
