Picture this – you have an important meeting, and you turn your PC on only for it to suddenly say that you have no internet. What gives?! Well, this is quite a common issue that has been plaguing users, especially ones on laptops, for a long while.
Your computer may say it has no internet because of the following reasons:
– There is no internet connection from your ISP.
– The ethernet cable isn’t seated properly.
– A VPN is misconfigured.
– Your drivers are faulty or aren’t updated.
– Your DNS/IPv4 settings are not correct.
In this article, we’re going to go about how you can check why your computer says no internet alongside all the ways you can fix them and get back to Googling!
Check Your Internet Connection
Alright, first things first. We’ve often had trouble with our computer saying “no internet” and assuming it was our PC at fault until we realized the connection was glitching out.
The fastest way to check if you actually have an internet connection is to either connect a laptop or a mobile phone to the same network as your PC. If a webpage loads successfully on a secondary device, your PC is at fault. If that doesn’t seem to be the case, contacting your ISP is a smarter option.
Re-Seat Your Cable
The Ethernet jack has not gone through a major change for a few years now. Even with a locking mechanism, there’s a high chance that your jack might have just gotten loose over time. In order to fix that, we recommend removing the cable and then seating it back. You should hear a clicking sound if everything is done correctly.
Some cables also dimly light up when seated properly into the jack. This is not indicative of an Internet connection but instead establishes that some sort of connection has been made.
Use the Network Troubleshooter
Now that we’re sure that there isn’t a physical issue at play moving on to software-related errors is our safest bet. Thankfully, Windows has a nifty little troubleshooter that can latch onto some of the more common issues that lead to no internet.
- In Search, type “Find and Fix Network Problems.”
- Once there, click “Next” and wait for the troubleshooter to run its course.
- You should be getting a detailed report of what exactly may be the cause of your network not running. Click on “Try These Repairs as an Administrator.”
- Restart your computer. Your computer should connect to the internet now.
Disable Your VPN
A virtual private network aptly referred to as a VPN can be a pain to manage. It can completely reconfigure your actual internet connection and fiddle around with important settings. Before you move along further, ensuring that your VPN isn’t the reason behind you getting a no internet error is of utmost importance.
- Open your Control Panel.
- Now, head to “Internet Options.”
- Click on Connections > Lan Settings.
- After doing so, if you see the “Proxy Server” tickbox checked, uncheck it.
- Now, select “Automatically Detect Settings.”
Check Your IPV4 Settings
After we’ve ensured that our VPN is disabled, we also need to ensure that our computer is receiving the right information from our router/modem and isn’t being routed to a random address.
- Right-click on the Network icon and click on “Network and Sharing Settings.”
- After doing so, click on “Network and Sharing Center.”
- You will get your connected network’s name on the right side; click on it.
- Now, head to “Properties.”
- Double click on “Internet Protocol Version 4” (TCP/IPv4).
- If there are manual entries in the boxes, change them to “Obtain an IP Address Automatically.”
- After doing so, click “OK” twice.
- Restart your computer.
Update Your Drivers
While not always the case, corrupt drivers can often be the cause of you receiving internet, but your computer says no internet. This can be quite infuriating, especially if you cannot connect to the internet to update your drivers in the first place.
- Open the search menu and type “Device Manager.”
- Now, head to “Network Adapter.”
- There, your wireless adapters will be listed as 802.xx, while your LAN Adapters will be listed as ethernet drivers.
- Now, right-click on these drivers and click on “Update.”
If you do not have an active internet connection, you will not be able to update your drivers. If that’s the case, either switch to another network or head to your motherboard manufacturer’s support site. Download the drivers from another device and then transfer them to the one which has no internet.
Flush Your DNS
If you are getting a “No Internet” message on your computer even though some applications like Discord, Slack, or WhatsApp seem to be working, chances are that your DNS needs to be flushed.
The reason why your DNS setting goes haywire in the first place can primarily be accredited to faulty network drivers.
- Search for the Command Prompt and run it as an administrator.
- Now, type the following commands:
ipconfig /flushdnsipconfig /registerdnsipconfig /releaseipconfig /renewipconfig /renewnetsh winsock reset
- After typing all these commands, restart your computer. It might take a while for your computer to reconnect.
If, after flushing your DNS, you receive Internet, but it’s rather slow, we recommend switching from your ISP’s DNS to Cloudflare or Google.
Summary
That concludes all the steps you need to follow if your computer suddenly says it has no Internet. If, after following all these steps, your internet still does not work, there’s a high chance that this may be a hardware issue after all.
If that’s the case, consulting with your local technician or checking online forums for whether this may just be a one-off issue for your motherboard is the most optimal way forward.
