If you connect to the Internet via a router, then you are most likely doing it via cable, or via a Wi-Fi network. Compared to Wi-Fi, cable is the most stable, reliable, and easiest. But, even in spite of this, very often when connecting a computer to the router using a network cable, the Internet on the computer does not work. The computer may simply not respond to the connection of the network cable from the router, display the status "unrecognized network", or establish a connection with the router, but without access to the Internet.
It is in these problems that we will try to figure it out today. Let's find out what the cause of the problem is: in the computer, router, or cable. Let's check if there is a network adapter and if it works fine. I will show all the solutions on the example of a laptop with Windows 7. But, if you have Windows 10, or Windows 8, then the solutions will be exactly the same. There are no significant differences there. By the way, if you have Windows 10, then see this article: Internet does not work in Windows 10 after connecting a network cable. There I wrote about the problem on the example of Windows 10, when my laptop did not respond to the connection of the network cable.
What to do first:
- First, look at the instructions: how to connect the Internet from a router to a computer (laptop) via a network cable. You may be doing something wrong.
- If possible, connect the Internet directly to your computer. No router. So we can figure out what the problem is.
- If you have other computers, try connecting the Internet to them.
- Connect the cable to another LAN port on the router.
- Check if you are connecting the network cable correctly. It should fit snugly in the connector. On the router, we connect the cable to the LAN connector (home network).
- Note if the status of the Internet connection icon on the computer changes after the cable is connected. And what the connection status appears. It can be "Identification ...", "Unidentified network", "No Internet access" (limited) with a yellow icon, or even a computer crossed out with a red cross "No connections available."
- Restart your computer and router, disconnect and reconnect the cable. Perhaps this will help, and you will not need to dig into the settings.
Well, if these simple tips didn't help, then let's look at a few other solutions.
The network cable is not connected. Red cross and no available connections
The situation is as follows. We connect the network cable to the router and to the computer, and the computer does not react at all to the connection of the network cable. The connection icon on the notification panel in the form of a computer with a red cross. And if you click on it, you will see the connection status: "No connection - no available connections."
By the way, you can run "Diagnostics" from this window. In some cases it helps. If you have such a problem, then most likely that the adapter is disabled, there is no driver for the network card, or the network card is not working at all. They just burn out often.
We'll check everything now. Go to "Network Connections". Like this:
In the new window, you should see a "Local Area Connection" or "Ethernet" adapter (in Windiws 10). This is the network card. If it is in the "Disabled" status, then right-click on it and select "Enable".
If you do not see such an adapter there, then most likely the driver is not installed on the network card, or it is not working. In any case, try updating the driver.
How to check the network card in device manager
Go to Device Manager, and go to the "Network Adapters" tab. There you should see a network card. Its name will be "LAN", or something like "PCIe GBE Family Controller". See which icon the name is. Is there nothing superfluous there. Everything should look something like this:
If you do not find the network card, but there is at least one unknown device with a yellow icon, then try installing the drivers. If you have a laptop, then look at the manufacturer's official website for your model. And if you have a stationary computer, then look on the website of the manufacturer of your motherboard.
Well, do not forget that the network card can be broken. Therefore, the Internet via cable does not work. If all else fails, you can simply buy and install a separate network card. If you have a stationary computer. And for laptops, there are network cards that plug into the USB port. But, you need to make sure that the problem is in the computer.
Errors "Unrecognized network", "Identity", and "Without Internet access"
Let's take a look at another solution that should help if you see the connection status "Identity", "Unrecognized network", or "No Internet access" after connecting the network cable.
In this case, we need to check the IP and DNS settings. Set them to be automatically received. Most likely, you already know how to do this. Go to network connections (shown above), right-click on the adapter "Local Area Connection", or "Ethernet", and select "Properties."
Highlight the "Internet Protocol Version (TCP / IPv4)" item, and click on the "Properties" button. Set up automatic receiving of addresses.
If you have a "Limited" or "No Internet access" error with a yellow icon, then see the article "Limited" connection in Windows 10.
