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Home internet not working

Check a second device and your provider's outage page on mobile data before you reset the router. Restart the modem, wait at least 30 seconds, then the router. A phone hotspot covers urgent work while that runs.

“The internet is down” is one of four failures. One device is broken. Wi-Fi is broken. The router has lost the provider. Or the provider is down for the street. Find which one it is before you reset anything. Resetting the router during a provider outage deletes settings you will need when the line returns.

Test a second device, on the same Wi-Fi, and open a site you have not loaded today. A cached page can look fine on a dead line. Then turn Wi-Fi off on a phone and try mobile data. The checklist is Home internet stops working. If the admin password failed, or browsers are being sent to the wrong sites, switch to Home router or Wi-Fi hacked and Someone is using my Wi-Fi.

Sort the failure

If the phone loads the web on home Wi-Fi and the laptop does not, the line is up. Fix the laptop. If the laptop works with an Ethernet cable and fails on Wi-Fi, the wireless side is the fault. If every device fails together, including a phone, look at the modem lights and the provider.

Apple’s Mac Wi-Fi page says a Mac can be joined to Wi-Fi and still have no internet. Restarting the Mac renews the address it was given. Check the date and time. A VPN, or other security software that sits on the connection, can block access while Wi-Fi still says connected. Click Wi-Fi in Control Center or the menu bar. If you see Wi-Fi Recommendations, the Mac has already spotted something. Hold Option and click Wi-Fi, then choose Open Wireless Diagnostics, if you want the longer report. Wi-Fi Recommendations does not appear for a personal hotspot, or for WPA Enterprise and WPA2 Enterprise networks.

If that Mac works on a different network, Apple says to ask the provider whether yours is having an outage.

On Windows, Microsoft’s Wi-Fi page reads the icon first. Wi-Fi Connected means you have Wi-Fi and the internet. If sites still fail, Microsoft says the problem may be one app, one site, or a firewall. No Internet means the PC has no internet connection. Windows decides that by requesting a page on the internet and getting nothing back. You can still see other devices on the local network.

On Windows 11, start with the network troubleshooter in the Get Help app. The older Settings path is Start, Settings, Network and Internet, Status, Network troubleshooter. Then:

  1. Select the network icon on the taskbar. Confirm Wi-Fi is on and the network name says Connected. Pick a network you recognize if it does not.
  2. Open Settings, Network & Internet, Airplane mode, and turn Airplane mode off.
  3. If this PC is the only failure, go to Network & internet, Wi-Fi, Manage known networks, Forget the network, and join it again with the password.

Try another phone or laptop on the same network. Microsoft says a success there means this PC is the fault.

A modem and router in one box is a single restart. Two boxes restart in order, below.

Restart the line once

Photograph the lights before you unplug anything. A red or amber internet light, or no light, is what you will describe to the provider. Push the power cable and the cable between the modem and the router in firmly. A loose lead there looks like a total outage.

Check the provider’s outage page or app on mobile data. An outage they have already posted will not improve because you reset the router ten times. Support numbers and outage maps belong to that company, and they differ by country. Save the account number where you can read it without the home connection.

Microsoft’s restart steps, when you do restart:

  1. Unplug the router’s power. Unplug the modem’s power. If the modem lights stay on, it has a battery. Remove the battery.
  2. Wait at least 30 seconds.
  3. Put the battery back if you removed it. Plug the modem in. Wait until the lights stop blinking.
  4. Plug the router in.
  5. Wait a few minutes. The status lights tell you when it is ready. Then reconnect the computer.

Everyone on the Wi-Fi drops during this. Do it once, not in a loop. If you have a combined modem and router, restart that one box.

On a Windows PC that still says No Internet, Microsoft’s ping test separates the router from the provider. Open Command Prompt as administrator, type ipconfig, and find the Default gateway for the Wi-Fi adapter. Type ping and that address. Replies mean the PC can see the router, so the next suspect is the modem or the provider. No reply means the Wi-Fi path to the router is the fault. Plug the PC into the modem with an Ethernet cable if you can. Internet on the cable, and not on Wi-Fi, points at the wireless router. Update its firmware from the maker’s instructions.

An address like 169.254.x.x means Windows did not get an address from the router. If you do not use fixed addresses, Microsoft says to check that DHCP is on, in the router manual.

Leave the heavier Windows tools until the line is clearly up for other devices. Network reset is the last one Microsoft lists. It is under Settings, Network & internet, Advanced network settings, Network reset on Windows 11, and under Status, Network reset on Windows 10. It removes network adapters and their settings, can set networks to a public profile, and you may have to reinstall a VPN afterward. Forgetting the Wi-Fi network is the smaller step.

Use the phone as a bridge

A hotspot is for the urgent tab, not for a system update or a photo backup. Those will burn the mobile allowance. Pause cloud backup and large downloads on the computer before you join.

On iPhone or iPad, Apple’s hotspot page:

  1. Open Settings, then Personal Hotspot. If you do not see it, open Cellular, then Personal Hotspot.
  2. Turn on Allow Others to Join.
  3. Tap Wi-Fi Password if you want to change it. Apple requires at least eight characters, using letters, numbers, and basic punctuation.
  4. Stay on that screen until the computer has joined.
  5. On the computer, pick the iPhone’s name in the Wi-Fi menu and enter the password shown on the phone.

If Personal Hotspot is dimmed, open Cellular and turn Cellular Data on. The carrier has to support Personal Hotspot. Apple says extra fees may apply, and the number of devices that can join depends on the carrier and the iPhone model. Ask the carrier. Turn Allow Others to Join off when you are done. If you leave it on, plugging the iPhone into a computer to charge can put that computer on the hotspot. A Windows PC needs the Apple Devices app, or iTunes, for a USB tether, and you tap Trust on the phone.

On Android, Google’s tethering page:

  1. Swipe down from the top of the screen and tap Hotspot. If the tile is missing, tap Edit and drag Hotspot into Quick Settings. Some of these steps need Android 14 or later.
  2. On the computer, open Wi-Fi, pick the phone’s hotspot name, and enter the password.
  3. Touch and hold the Hotspot tile if you need the password or the security setting. Leave a password on.
  4. Turn the hotspot off when you finish. Google says most phones can share with up to 10 devices, and that carriers may limit tethering or charge extra. Check the plan. A Mac cannot use USB tethering from an Android phone. Wi-Fi or Bluetooth can.

Plug the phone in if the battery is low. A hotspot is a short bridge.

Call the provider with the facts

When two devices still fail after one restart, and mobile data works, call or chat from the phone. Have the account number, the router model, the light pattern you photographed, the time you restarted, and what the outage page said. A suspended account, a failed bill, or a replacement router that was never registered looks the same as an outage from the couch. Those checks are on the provider’s side, and the wording differs by country.

A factory reset while the line is down erases the Wi-Fi name, the password, and the provider settings, and you are still waiting on the outage. Reset when the provider or the manual tells you to, after the connection details are written down.

Microsoft does list a factory reset as a later step when a PC rejects a password you believe is correct. That step is for a password error. A provider outage still needs the provider. If the admin password itself has stopped working, or pages redirect, follow Someone is using my Wi-Fi.

When the light goes green

Turn the hotspot off first, then reconnect the other devices, so they do not stay on mobile data. Open a new site on two devices. Restart the router once more only if you are checking that the connection survives a restart, and stop if it fails again. One clean restart that stays up is the test.

An Ethernet cable that fits the router is worth keeping in the drawer. So is the provider account number, on paper. The fifteen-minute version of that prep is in Home internet stops working. If the outage page is clear and the lights are still wrong after the single restart, that playbook is the list to have open while you are on the phone to the provider.

Questions

What should I check first when the home internet is down?

Try a second device. If only one computer fails, leave the router alone and fix that computer. If every device fails, look at the cables and lights, then open your provider's outage page on mobile data. Restart the modem, wait at least 30 seconds, wait until its lights settle, then start the router.

Wi-Fi says connected, but sites will not load. Is the router dead?

Maybe the provider is down, or only this computer is. On Windows, No Internet means the PC joined Wi-Fi and a check to the internet failed. A phone that loads a new site on the same Wi-Fi points at the computer. A phone that also fails, including on mobile data turned off, points at the router or the provider.

How do I put the laptop on my phone while the line is down?

On iPhone, open Settings, tap Personal Hotspot, or Cellular then Personal Hotspot, and turn on Allow Others to Join. The password is at least eight characters. On Android, swipe down and tap Hotspot, then join that name from the laptop. Carriers may charge extra. Turn the hotspot off when home internet returns.

Should I factory-reset the router?

A factory reset is for a broken router setup, and it is the wrong move during a provider outage. A reset erases the Wi-Fi name, the password, and provider settings, and the outage remains. Reset only when the provider or the manual tells you to, and only after you have written down the login details. If the admin password failed or the DNS settings changed, use the hacked-router steps instead.