Most often, problems with Wi-Fi routers arise during the setup process. Typically, when a router is configured correctly, it just works and does its job. But even after working for some time, the router may break down at any time. And if this is not a hardware failure (when something is wrong with the board itself, the power adapter), then you can try to solve the problem yourself and fix your wireless router.
In this article I will write about possible solutions to the most common problems that can happen with your router. First of all, let's look at the problems that many face in the process of setting up a router. We will also try to deal with the main breakdowns that may appear suddenly. When the router worked perfectly, and at one point some problems, errors and other malfunctions began. Does not distribute Wi-Fi, the indicator does not light, does not see the cable, does not enter the settings, breaks the connection - all this from one opera.
I have already written separate instructions for solving the most popular problems, links to which I will definitely leave in this article. Well, the list of the most frequent breakdowns I formed from my own experience and comments that visitors leave to various entries on this site. These recommendations will come in handy regardless of whether you have Windows 10, Windows 8, or Windows 7. It does not matter which manufacturer your router is: ASUS, D-Link, TP-Link, Tenda, Netis, ZyXEL, Xiaomi, etc. .d.
Below we will consider solutions to such problems:
- Doesn't go into router settings. The page with settings at 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 does not open. Login and password are not suitable.
- The Internet (WAN) indicator is off, there is no response to the cable connection from the provider, the WAN is disconnected. No internet connection (ISP). After setup, the Internet works only on one computer. Wi-Fi Internet does not work, or only works when the computer is turned on.
- The router does not distribute Wi-Fi, or there is a network, but the Internet does not work. Laptops, tablets, smartphones and other devices cannot see the Wi-Fi network.
- Unstable Wi-Fi network operation. Slow internet speed over the wireless network.
- The Internet disappears "without Internet access". Only rebooting the router helps.
- The settings page is displayed crookedly, the router settings are not saved.
- The LEDs on the router are not on as usual.
Instructions for resolving other problems and errors:
- "Connection limited" in Windows 10 and "No Internet access" in Windows 7.
- No connections available. Lost Wi-Fi, network with a red cross.
- When the error appears Windows could not connect to Wi-Fi.
- Several solutions to the problem when the laptop does not see the Wi-Fi network of the router.
- Wi-Fi is connected but the internet is not working. Pages won't open.
- The default gateway is not available - solution in Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7.
- General, long article with solutions to Wi-Fi problems on a laptop.
- Error 651 while connecting to the internet. Including through a router.
A few important tips:
1First, just restart your router. Turn off the power for a minute and turn it back on. Perhaps this will solve your problem, and everything will work. If possible, then connect the Internet directly to the computer. Perhaps the problem is on the side of the provider. Also make sure if you have paid for the Internet. You can call the provider's support. 3 If your Internet does not work on one device, be it a laptop, PC, smartphone, tablet, TV, then the problem is unlikely in the router. Check out the articles I linked to above. Perhaps the solution you need is already described there.Trouble setting up the router. Doesn't go to the "admin"
First of all, we will consider the case when we cannot log into the router's control panel. This is the same "admin panel", a page with settings, a personal account, a web interface, etc. If we cannot access the settings of our device, then, accordingly, we cannot configure it, or change some parameters.
As it usually happens. From the device that is connected to our router, we go to the IP address 192.168.0.1, 192.168.1.1, or the hostname (address from letters). And an error appears in the browser that the page is not available.
Or the second option: the authorization page opens, we enter the username and password, but they do not fit. Although you are sure that you are entering everything correctly, or specify the factory ones (usually admin), which you did not change.
An important point! In order to enter the router settings, you do not need an Internet connection. The connection status on the computer may have a yellow exclamation mark.
Main reasons and solutions:
- The device from which you are trying to enter the settings is not connected to the router. The connection can be both cable and Wi-Fi. Check the connection.
- Some IP settings are registered on the computer. You need to set up automatic receipt of addresses. For more details, see the article at the link below.
- Make sure you go to the correct address. Usually the address is listed on the router itself.
- If possible, try accessing the web interface from a different device.
Well, and a detailed article with solutions to this problem: it does not go into the router settings for 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1.
And if you have a problem with authorization: the admin password at 192.168.1.1 (192.168.0.1) does not work.
No internet connection. WAN problems. Internet only works on PC
A surprise may await us immediately after connecting the cable from the provider to the WAN port of the router. He may simply not see the cable. The WAN (Internet) indicator will not light up. And in the control panel there may be an error "There is no cable plugged into the WAN port", or something like that. If you are faced with this, then look at the article: the router does not see the Internet cable. The WAN port is not working.
The most important thing in setting up and operating a router is to properly set up the connection to your Internet service provider. It is very important. Now I will try to explain everything in simple language. Every internet service provider uses some type of internet connection. This could be:
- Dynamic IP - a popular connection type for which you do not need to configure anything. The computer or router itself receives the address from the provider and everything works.
- Static IP - rare. To configure it, you need to register static IP addresses that are issued by the provider.
- PPPoE, L2TP, PPTP - popular connection types, to configure which you need to specify a username, password and / or server address.
After installing the router, we go to its control panel. In the section where the Internet connection settings are set. It is usually called "Internet", "WAN", "Internet". In this section, we select the type of connection that our provider uses and set the necessary parameters. Which is issued by the provider when connecting to the Internet. On TP-Link routers, it looks like this:
Of course, on devices from different manufacturers, these settings will be different.
If you had the Internet connected to your computer, and a high-speed connection to the provider was configured on your computer, then after installing the router you do not need to start it. We just set up this connection on the router, and it will start it itself. And we just connect the computer with a network cable. Without starting any connections.
It is because of the incorrect configuration of the router that the Internet may not work on devices that are connected to it. There will be an error "Without Internet access". I wrote a separate instruction about this: when setting up the router, it writes "No Internet access", or "Limited" and there is no Internet connection.
Sometimes it happens that the Internet works only on one computer, or only when the computer is turned on. All this is also due to incorrect settings. Or when you launch a high-speed connection on your PC. I also wrote about this: why Wi-Fi only works when the computer (PC) is on.
I think we sorted it out.
Problems with the Wi-Fi network on the router
This malfunction should be divided into two categories so as not to get confused. Since the solutions there will be different.
- When the router does not broadcast the Wi-Fi network at all. Your laptops, tablets, smartphones cannot see the network.
- When there is a Wi-Fi network, devices will connect to it, but the Internet does not work. No internet access.
They often write to me that the router has stopped distributing Wi-Fi. And try to understand, the wireless network is completely gone, or it is there, but the devices do not access the Internet. Let's look at these two situations.
When the wireless network is completely gone
Reboot the router. If it does not help, then we check the button that is responsible for disabling and enabling the wireless network. It is available on a large number of models. It looks something like this:
Perhaps it was accidentally pressed.
Also, note that the router could reset the settings for some reason, and now the Wi-Fi network with the standard name. It is indicated on a sticker on the bottom of the device.
When there is Wi-Fi, but there is no Internet
We also reboot the router first. We look to see if the Internet is gone on all devices, including by cable. It would be nice to connect the Internet directly to the computer and check if it works. Maybe the provider has some kind of accident.
I wrote in more detail about these problems in the article: the router does not distribute the Internet via Wi-Fi. What to do. Both problems are covered there. Everything is detailed and with screenshots.
Slow Wi-Fi speed and unstable wireless connection
As for the speed of the Internet over a wireless network and the stability of this network, everything is very ambiguous and blurred there. When you install a router, you need to be prepared for the fact that the speed will be lower than the cable. And the speed of the Wi-Fi network itself depends on a large number of different factors: the router, the speed that the provider gives out, the type of connection, interference, the number of neighboring networks, the signal level, the device that you connect, etc. I already talked about why via Wi-Fi Internet speed is lower and why the router cuts the speed.
A few tips:
- Check the cable speed to see how much lower it is in the air.
- Try changing the channel of your Wi-Fi network. Read here how to do it.
- Check the speed on different devices. Perhaps the problem is with the client itself (the device you are connecting). It may have an outdated wireless adapter installed. You can try updating the wireless adapter driver (if it's a computer or laptop).
- You can experiment with the network mode and channel width settings. More on this at the link below.
- Update your router firmware. If it turns out that the problem is in it.
- Transition to 5 GHz frequency. If the poor speed is due to interference, a large number of neighboring wireless networks, then it may make sense to think about choosing a dual-band router with Wi-Fi support at 5 GHz. May come in handy: choosing a Wi-Fi router with 802.11ac (5 GHz). Inexpensive models.
Well, and a detailed guide: how to increase the speed of the Internet over Wi-Fi through a router.
As for the unstable operation of the wireless network, you can apply the tips that I wrote about above. Or just follow the link: Wi-Fi is unstable. Why is the Internet cut off via a Wi-Fi router.
The router has to be rebooted frequently
This problem looks like this: everything works, the devices are connected, the Internet is there, and at one point the Internet access is lost. On computers, a yellow exclamation mark appears next to the connection icon. This happens simultaneously on all devices. We reboot the router (turn off and turn on the power), and everything works again, until the next such break.
The Internet can disappear several times an hour, day, week. But this is a little annoying, you constantly need to reboot the router. If you do not restart, then Internet access will not appear. Of course, I cannot say with complete confidence, but most often this problem occurs with budget, weak routers, or already old devices. And most likely the break occurs precisely at the moment of increased load on the router. Video, online game, torrent, etc.
Why is this happening: due to some hardware problems on the motherboard of the router itself, or in the power supply (as is often the case), it simply cannot withstand the load and freezes. It's hard for me to explain this from the technical point of view, but we don't need it.
What you can try to do in such a situation:
- Upgrade your firmware. This is the first thing to do.
- Disable on your devices programs that can load the network. For example, torrent clients. If you don't download anything.
- You can reset the router settings and configure it again. Maybe some parameters were previously set there that you have already forgotten about, and which affect the operation of the network device.
- See if your router is getting warm. Place it in a place where it will cool well.
- If you have a lot of devices that create a heavy load on the network (heavy online games, high quality video, Smart TV, downloading large files), and all this on different devices and at the same time, and at the same time you have a budget router for $ 15, then most likely you will have to change it to a more powerful one. Especially if you observe breaks at moments of increased load.
Another small article on this topic: the Internet disappears, after restarting the router it appears.
Settings are not saved, the web interface is displayed crookedly
I often hear about problems when a router does not want to save the specified parameters. After clicking the save button, either nothing happens or some kind of error appears. Also, there are often cases when the settings page is displayed somehow crooked. There are no sections, inactive links and buttons, everything has moved out, etc.
Whenever you are faced with such cases, the first thing to do is try to configure from a different browser. Better yet, from another device.
If the router still does not save the settings, then try reflashing it. Or return to store (if new). Since it is possible that this is a hardware failure. And the settings can fly off after each power outage. And this is not normal, it should not be so.
You can find more information on this issue here: https://help-wifi.com/oshibki-i-polomki/sbrasyvayutsya-nastrojki-routera-posle-vyklyucheniya-ne-soxranyayutsya-nastrojki/
The indicators on the router are not lit / blinking correctly
Indicators, which are found on almost every router, signal possible malfunctions or breakdowns. For example: if the Wi-Fi indicator does not flash, then the wireless network is not working for some reason.
What a certain indicator is responsible for and its modes of operation should be described in the instructions that came with the kit. This information may differ depending on the manufacturer and model.
If, for example, all the indicators are on and not extinguished, or only the power light is on, sometimes with an indicator in the form of a gear, then this very often indicates a hardware failure of the router.
And if this happened at the time of the firmware update, then there may be a chance to restore the router. As I did with TP-Link in this manual.
But as practice shows, the strange behavior of the indicators on the router means just a breakdown in the hardware. The first step is to do a factory reset. But that doesn't often help. And in most cases, you have to buy a new router. Since the repair of this technique is not always justified. So this article with tips for choosing a router might come in handy.
Afterword
Of course, it is impossible to collect all the faults and their solutions within the framework of one article. In addition, there are a lot of different manufacturers and different models of routers on the market, all have different Internet connections and different devices. And a lot also depends on this.The very errors, symptoms and problems can be very different. Well, you need to understand that this is a technique, and any technique breaks down. Sometimes there are cases and breakdowns that it is simply impossible to give them some kind of logical explanation.
When some kind of malfunction appears, many are simply sure that it is something in the settings. You need to click on one button and everything will work. Perhaps I will upset you, but I am not. More precisely, this is not always the case. Routers often break down, something burns out in them, power supplies fail, LAN and WAN ports burn out. It is clear that it is almost impossible to fix it with your own hands and at home.
To understand what the problem is, and how to solve it, try to analyze after which a malfunction occurred, what could be the case, how other devices behave, etc.
Be sure to write in the comments. Ask questions, share tips and observations on this topic. Good luck!
