How to Troubleshoot Windows Network Connections: Get your Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection going Most Windows devices can’t really function properly or well without an active Internet connection, nor can users fully or adequately use them. Fixing network problems is therefore crucial. Here’s how to accomplish that.
How to Troubleshoot Windows Network Connections?
Windows without a functional network connection might not be all that valuable. This is so that you may access email, social media, the Web, Windows updates, and other services that require network (and Internet) connection. That’s presumably why Microsoft spent so much time and effort making networking problems simple to identify, diagnose, and solve as a fundamental aspect of how Windows functions.
Getting Network Troubleshooting Started
Figures 1 and 2 below show the views from more recent Windows 11 and Windows 10 builds. What they demonstrate is that you may start troubleshooting your Windows network connection by right-clicking the network icon in the notification area of the Task Bar (which is by default on the right-hand side).
Figure 1 shows that the Windows 11 Insider Preview immediately displays “Diagnose network problems” when you right-click on the Wi-Fi (or Ethernet) symbol in the bottom center.
Figure 2: To get “Troubleshoot problems” instead, right-click on the active network symbol in any current version of Windows 10.
In Windows 10 and the most current releases of Windows 11, starting the network troubleshooting procedure is a one-click operation in any case. Figure 3
illustrates how less accommodative earlier Windows 11 versions are. Network troubleshooting is, however, always available in earlier versions of Windows 11. After selecting Settings from the Start menu, type “Trouble” into the Settings search box. As seen in Figure 4, several choices appear as a result; select “Troubleshoot Other problems” to proceed.
You can finally find the “Network and Internet” box by selecting that “Other problems” entry. You want that, and other Windows versions will lead you there more quickly. To continue, click the “Run” button on the right.
Actually, this method works with all versions of Windows 10 and 11 (Windows 10 has a few minor phrasing variations, but the process is essentially the same).
The Windows Network Troubleshooters
A wired Ethernet troubleshooter and a wireless Wi-Fi troubleshooter are both necessary because Windows networking mostly involves these two types of networks. In a “no trouble” scenario, Figure 6 displays the outcomes of running the Wired Ethernet troubleshooter with all options expanded:
Figure 7 depicts the same troubleshooter being used on a system that is connected via Wi-Fi. It is the same as the variation seen in Figure 6, with the exception of minor adjustments to vocabulary and iconography.
The troubleshooters’ varied proposed activities address a wide range of potential problem sources. Let’s go over each of those in order to talk about the things troubleshooters look for, potential findings, and related fixes.
Visit another website: Of course, there is an Internet location for every single website. However, since websites themselves experience outages, trying a different one can assist identify whether the “other end” of the attempted connection is experiencing issues. Through a series of “reachability checks,” the troubleshooter monitors access to the local network, Internet gateway, and finally true Internet access. The PING command can be used to accomplish the same task at the command line as seen below:
1. Ping loopback (this verifies that TCP/IP is operational and searches for a response from an artificial address that is constantly reachable).
2. Ping localhost to see if the presently connected network interface device is operational.
3. ping the closest gateway or router (Use ipconfig to find the IP address for the “Default Gateway”; on my network, it is located at 192.168.1.1, thus the command to use is ping 192.168.1.1.)
4. Ping a known-working Internet address (MS frequently utilizes pinging Microsoft.com as its test address for some reason). See Figure 8 for this sequence.
Restart the network adapter (Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet, as appropriate): This essentially turns off and then on the network interface. Sometimes signaling or traffic problems can briefly prohibit the network interface from functioning. Usually, turning it off and back on again will fix such momentary issues. Keep an eye out for the button labeled “Restart Adapter.” By disabling the adapter and then re-enabling it after a little delay (often around 30 seconds), this does the identical tasks that you may carry out manually in Device Manager.
Restart your modem, router, or access point (the first two for wired Ethernet and all three for Wi-Fi). There will occasionally be problems at the equipment that anyone uses at their network boundary to go over to an ISP’s network. I’ve observed service failures, signaling problems, and even power outages manifest as border device problems. Restarting the border device will often restore order (apart from when a service disruption continues). This is frequently indicated at the hardware level; for instance, the status light on my Arris SAC2V1A turns from blue to red to indicate a connection issue.
Restart your computer: This was known as the “three-fingered salute” in the early days of DOS and Windows and was accomplished by pressing the keys CTRL-ALT-DEL. These days, pressing the same keys simultaneously will bring up the logout screen, from which you can in fact access the restart button. But occasionally, Windows finds itself in a situation where certain components stop operating, in this case, networking. But if the network troubleshooter can’t fix what’s wrong with your Windows network connection, a restart will frequently clear whatever’s creating issues.
Other Sources of Network Difficulty
There are basically three different ways that networking might go wrong. Both Windows PCs and other devices fall under this umbrella, but the specifics will vary. First, there’s a chance that the hardware — which controls how data enters and leaves the device — has problems. These problems can take many different forms, such as outright failure, shorts, partial or intermittent malfunctions, improper setup or configuration, or incompatibility with local network capabilities and connections.
Second, the program, or the addresses and services used to make it function – such as DHCP for local addresses, DNS for name resolution, and so forth – may have problems with the TCP/IP networking protocol (and wireless support, where relevant). The third category includes all the many protocols that enable email, web, file transfer, and all the other Internet services that enable users to interact with the networks they choose to access and utilize. This category also includes the apps that enable these protocols (Outlook for email, Chrome or Firefox for web access, and so on).
All of these things are checked quite thoroughly by the Windows network troubleshooter when it does its different checks. But if, despite your best efforts, your computer is still unable to connect to the network or the Internet, you can — and probably should — check on some (or all) of the following problems:
1. Verify that the network address settings and scheme displayed by ipconfig are correct.By typing “ipconfig” into the command line, you may verify this. PCs that display Microsoft Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) addresses are one solid symptom of IP issues. These IPv4 addresses, which are essentially the end of the 169.254 Class B address, are in the range 169.254.0.1 to 169.254.255.254. When other addressing sources don’t function, they appear on their own. This typically denotes some sort of issue (not functioning or unavailable) with local DHCP services. The local router, gateway, or wireless access point must frequently be restarted (or occasionally replaced) in order to resolve this.
2. Verify that DNS is operational and pointing to the appropriate DNS server. All types of issues with Internet access can be brought on by bad name resolution, which may also be a sign that security has been compromised. Run ipconfig /all and verify the DNS information for the active network adapter. For instance, on my network, Spectrum, my ISP, assigns the default address of 1.0.0.1. It is connected to CloudFlare, a reputable, highly secure, and well-known DNS provider. For a list of trustworthy public DNS service providers, see LifeWire’s Best Free and Public DNS Servers (June 2023).
3. Always have a spare network interface on hand. I always have one or two alternative hardware devices on hand, so if the network interface on any one PC seems to be acting up, I can try a new one. I have a USB 3.0 to GbE adapter (US$20–$35) that fits into any USB 3.0 (or better) port and provides an RJ-45 from which I can cable into my nearest switch on the wired (GbE) Ethernet side. I have a USB 3.0 to 802.11ax adaptor (cost: US$20–$60) for Wi-Fi. I just need to plug one or the other in if the PC’s current adapter breaks down or has issues. Typically, that is all that is necessary to restore networking (along with an RJ-45 wire into the switch for GbE). In a pinch, I’ve even used my iPhone and the USB-to-Wi-Fi device as a hotspot to keep working online even during ISP outages, some of which lasted for days.
Bottom Line
If any (or all) of your Windows PCs experience a networking issue, use the Windows Network and Internet Troubleshooter as your first port of call to try to figure out what’s wrong and fix it. In the vast majority of circumstances—more than 90% in my personal experience—it will also be the final tool you require to assist in determining what’s wrong and beginning a fix. In fact, you won’t likely need to use this program again to fix networking or Internet access unless there are hardware-related issues, ISP border device issues, or similar third-party problems.
https://laptotech.com/2023/07/23/how-to-troubleshoot-windows-network-connections/
No comments yet