​​​​​​​Fix network connection issues in Windows

Fix network connection issues in Windows

Miguel Mendoza

Jun 21, 2021

806

Troubleshooting Network Problems in Windows 10

If you can’t get email, browse the web, or stream music, chances are you’re not connected to your network and can’t get onto the internet. To fix the problem, here are some things you can try.

Things to try first

Try these things first to help you fix or narrow down the connection problem.

Make sure Wi‑Fi is on. Select the Start button, then select Settings > Network & Internet > Wi‑Fi to check. Under the Wi-Fi heading, the toggle should be switched to On. Under that, it should say that your network is connected. If it doesn't say that, select Show available networks, and if a network you expect to see appears in the list, select it, and then select Connect. If it does say it's connected, select Disconnect, wait a moment, and then select Connect again.

Make sure the physical Wi‑Fi switch on your laptop is turned on. (An indicator light usually shows when it's on.)

Make sure airplane mode is turned off. Select the Start button, then select Settings > Network & Internet > Airplane mode and turn off airplane mode if it's on.

Move closer to the router or access point.

You may be able to connect to a cellular data network instead. Select the Start button, then select Settings > Network & Internet , and see if Cellular appears in the list of settings.

Restart your modem and wireless router. This helps create a new connection to your internet service provider (ISP).

When you do this, everyone that is connected to your Wi-Fi network will be temporarily disconnected. The steps you take to restart your modem and router can vary, but here are the general steps:

1. Unplug the power cable for the router from the power source.

2. Unplug the power cable for the modem from the power source. Note: Some modems have a backup battery. If you unplug the modem and lights stay on, remove the battery from the modem.

3. Wait at least 30 seconds or so. If you had to remove the battery from the modem, put it back in.

4. Plug the modem back into the power source. The lights on the modem will blink. Wait for them to stop blinking.

5. Plug your router back into the power source. Wait a few minutes for the modem and router to fully power on. You can usually tell when they’re ready by looking at the status lights on the two devices.

6. On your PC, try to connect again.

Generate a wireless network report. This report can help you diagnose the problem, or at least provide you with more information to give to others who might be able to help.

This action creates an HTML file that you can open in your web browser from the location listed under the command prompt. For more info about the network report and how to analyze it, see Analyze the wireless network report in Fix Wi-Fi problems in Windows 10.

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type Command prompt. The Command Prompt button will appear. To the right of it, select Run as administrator > Yes.

2. At the command prompt, type netsh wlan show wlanreport, and then select Enter.

Make sure it’s not a problem with your cable modem or internet service provider (ISP).

1. If it is, contact your ISP. In the search box on the taskbar, type Command prompt. The Command Prompt button will appear. To the right of it, select Run as administrator > Yes.

2. At the command prompt, type ipconfig, and then select Enter. Look for the IP address listed next to Default gateway. Write down that address if you need to. For example: 192.168.1.1

3. At the prompt, type ping <DefaultGateway> and then select Enter. For example, type ping 192.168.1.1 and select Enter.

The result should be something like this:

Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=5ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=5ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=5ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=5ms TTL=64
Ping statistics for 192.168.1.1: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4,
Lost = 0 (0% loss), Approximate round trip times in milliseconds:
Minimum = 4ms, Maximum = 5ms, Average = 4ms

If the ping is successful and you see results similar to the results above, but can’t connect to the internet on your PC, there may be a problem with your modem or internet service provider (ISP).

Make sure your router is set to broadcast the network name.

1. Connect your PC to the router using an Ethernet cable.

2. Open a web browser and type the IP address for your wireless router. (For example, 192.168.1.1 or 172.16.0.0—check the documentation for your router to find the default IP address.)

3. Sign in with your user name and password, then make sure an option labeled Enable SSID Broadcast, Wireless SSID broadcast, or something similar is turned on. This setting is often on a Wireless Settings page.

Run the Network troubleshooter followed by networking commands

The Network troubleshooter can help diagnose and fix common connection problems. Using this troubleshooter, then running some networking commands afterwards if needed, can help get you connected.

To run the Network troubleshooter

1. Select the Start button > Settings > Network & Internet > Status.

2. Under Change your network settings, select Network troubleshooter.

3. Follow the steps in the troubleshooter, and see if that fixes the problem.

If that doesn’t fix your connection problem, try these things:

Reset the TCP/IP stack
Release the IP address
Renew the IP address
Flush and reset the DNS client resolver cache

To run the above networking commands in a command prompt window

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type Command prompt. The Command Prompt button will appear. To the right of it, select Run as administrator > Yes.

2. At the command prompt, run the following commands in the listed order, and then check to see if that fixes your connection problem:

Type netsh winsock reset and select Enter.
Type netsh int ip reset and select Enter.
Type ipconfig /release and select Enter.
Type ipconfig /renew and select Enter.
Type ipconfig /flushdns and select Enter.

Roll back the network adapter driver

If you were connected before and you recently installed a new network adapter driver, this could cause connection problems. It can also happen if you've installed an update to Windows that might have included an updated driver. In either case, rolling back your driver to a previous version might help.

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type Device Manager, and then select Device Manager from the list of results.

2. Expand Network adapters, and locate the network adapter for your device.

3. Select the network adapter, and then select Properties.

4. In Properties, select the Driver tab, select Roll Back Driver, and then follow the steps. If the Roll Back Driver appears dimmed, that means there's no driver to roll back to.

5. After rolling back to the previous version of the driver, select
the Start button > Power > Restart if you're asked to restart, and
see if that fixes the connection issue.

If Windows can’t find a new driver for your network adapter, visit the PC manufacturer’s website and download the latest network adapter driver
from there. If your PC can't connect to the internet, you'll need to download a driver on a different PC and save it to a USB flash drive. From the USB you can manually install the driver on your PC. You’ll need to know the PC manufacturer and model name or number. To learn how to manually install the driver, see the previous section.

Update the network adapter driver

An outdated or incompatible network adapter driver can cause connection problems. If you recently upgraded, it's possible that the current driver was designed for a previous version of Windows. It can also happen if you recently updated Windows 10. In either case, check to see if an updated driver is available.

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type Device Manager, and then select Device Manager from the list of results.

2. Expand Network adapters, and locate the network adapter for your device.

3. Select the network adapter, select Update driver > Search automatically for updated driver software, and then follow the instructions.

4. After installing the updated driver, select the Start button > Power > Restart if you're asked to restart, and see if that fixes the connection issue.

If Windows can’t find a new driver for your network adapter, visit the PC manufacturer’s website and download the latest network adapter driver
from there. If your PC can't connect to the internet, you'll need to download a driver on a different PC and save it to a USB flash drive. From the USB, you can manually install the driver on your PC. You’ll need to know the PC manufacturer and model name or number.

To manually install the network adapter driver

Do one of the following, depending on what kind of file you downloaded from the PC manufacturer’s website:

If you downloaded an executable (.exe) file, just double-click the file to run it and install the drivers. That should be all you need to do.
If you downloaded individual files, and at least one file has an .inf file name extension and another has a .sys extension, do the following:

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type Device Manager, and then select Device Manager from the list of results.
2. Expand Network adapters, and locate the network adapter for your device. (If the network adapter isn’t listed under Network adapters, expand Other devices and look for it there.)
3. Select the network adapter, and then select Update driver >Browse my computer for driver software.
4. Select Browse > select the location where the driver files are stored > OK.
5. Select Next > follow the steps to install the driver > Close.
6. After you've updated the driver, select the Start button > Power > Restart if you're asked to restart, and see if that fixes the connection issue.

Temporarily turn off firewalls

Sometimes firewall software might prevent you from getting connected. You can see if the connection issue is caused by a firewall by turning off
the firewall temporarily and then trying to visit a website you trust.

The steps to turn off a firewall depend on the firewall software you’re using. Check the documentation for your firewall software to learn how to
turn it off. Make sure you turn it back on as soon as you can. Not having a firewall turned on makes your PC more vulnerable to malicious hackers, worms, or viruses.

If you have trouble turning off your firewall, do the following (just be sure to turn your firewall back on as soon as you can):

To turn off all firewalls

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type Command prompt. The Command Prompt button will appear. To the right of it, select Run as administrator > Yes.

2. At the command prompt, type netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state off, and then select Enter.

3. Open your web browser, and visit a website you trust to see if you can connect to it.

4. To turn on all firewalls you might have installed, at the command prompt, type netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state on, and then select Enter.

If you find the firewall software is causing the connection issues, contact the software manufacturer or visit their website to see if updated software is available.

Temporarily turn off any antivirus or malware-prevention software

Sometimes antivirus or malware-prevention software might prevent you from getting connected. You can see if the connection issue is caused by
antivirus and malware-prevention software by turning it off temporarily and then trying to visit a website you trust. If you find it is causing the
connection issues, contact the software manufacturer or visit their website to see if updated software is available.

The steps to turn off antivirus or malware-prevention software depend on the software you’re using. Check the documentation for your software to learn how to turn it off. Make sure you turn it back on as soon as possible. Not having antivirus or malware-prevention software turned on makes your PC more vulnerable to malicious hackers, worms, or viruses.

If you’re not sure what antivirus or malware-prevention software program you have installed, Windows might be able to tell you.

To find out what antivirus or malware-prevention software is installed

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type System and security, and then select Review your computer’s status and resolve issues.

2. Select the down arrow next to Security. If Windows can detect your antivirus software, it's listed under Virus protection. For malware-prevention software, look under Spyware and unwanted software protection.

3. If the antivirus or malware-prevention software is on, check the documentation for that software to learn how to turn it off.

Make sure you turn your antivirus or malware-prevention software back on as soon as you can to make sure your PC is better protected.

Uninstall the network adapter driver and restart

If the previous steps didn’t work, try to uninstall the network adapter driver, and then restart your computer. Windows will automatically install
the latest driver. Consider this approach if your network connection stopped working properly after a recent update.

Before uninstalling, make sure you have drivers available as a backup. Visit the PC manufacturer’s website and download the latest network adapter driver from there. If your PC can't connect to the internet, you'll need to download a driver on a different PC and save it to a USB flash drive so you can install the driver on your PC. You’ll need to know the PC manufacturer and model name or number.

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type Device Manager, and then select Device Manager from the list of results.

2. Expand Network adapters, and locate the network adapter for your device.
3. Select the network adapter, and then select Uninstall device > the Delete the driver software for this device check box > Uninstall.

4. After uninstalling the driver, select the Start button > Power > Restart.

After your PC restarts, Windows will automatically look for and install the network adapter driver. Check to see if that fixes your connection
problem. If Windows doesn't automatically install a driver, try to install the backup driver you saved before uninstalling.

Use network reset to reinstall network devices

Using network reset should be the last step you try. Consider using it if the steps above don’t help to get you connected.

This can help solve connection problems you might have after upgrading from a previous version of Windows to Windows 10. I can also fix the
problem of being able to connect to the internet but not to shared network drives. It removes any network adapters you have installed and the settings for them. After your PC restarts, any network adapters are reinstalled, and the settings for them are set to the defaults.

Note
To use network reset, your PC must be running Windows 10 Version 1607 or later. To see which version of Windows 10 your device is currently running, select the Start button, then select Settings > System > About.

1. Select the Start button, then select Settings > Network & Internet > Status > Network reset.

2. On the Network reset screen, select Reset now > Yes to confirm. Wait for your PC to restart, and see if that fixes the problem.

Notes
After using network reset, you might need to reinstall and set up other networking software you might be using, such as VPN client software or virtual switches from Hyper‑V (if you're using that or other network virtualization software).

Network reset might set each one of your known network connections to a public network profile. In a public network profile, your PC is not discoverable to other PCs and devices on the network, which can help make your PC more secure. However, if your PC is part of a homegroup or used for file or printer sharing, you’ll need to make your PC discoverable again by setting it to use a private network profile. To do this, select the Start button, then select Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi . On the Wi-Fi screen, select Manage known networks > the network connection you want to change > Properties. Under Network profile, select Private.