Connectivity
Internet Connection Troubleshooting: A Step-by-Step Guide
When the internet suddenly stops working, most causes fall into a handful of categories: power, cabling, the router itself, or an outage on your provider's network. Work through this checklist in order -- it resolves the majority of "no internet" cases without needing to call support.
Step 1: Check the basics
- Is the router/modem powered on? Check for lit status LEDs.
- Are all cables (power, Ethernet, fiber/DSL) firmly plugged in at both ends?
- Is more than one device affected, or just one? If just one device, the problem is likely with that device, not your connection -- see our device troubleshooting guide.
Step 2: Restart your router
A large share of connectivity issues are fixed by a simple restart, since it clears temporary faults and forces your router to reconnect to your provider's network fresh.
- Unplug the router/modem's power cable.
- Wait a full 30 seconds -- this matters, since it lets internal capacitors fully discharge and any stuck memory clear.
- Plug it back in and wait 2-3 minutes for it to fully boot and reconnect.
- Test your connection again.
For a full walkthrough (including when to do a factory reset instead), see our router restart and reset guide.
Step 3: Check the status lights
Most routers use light patterns to indicate where a problem is. As a general guide (check your specific model's manual for exact meanings):
- Solid green/blue "Internet" or "WAN" light: connection to your provider is working normally.
- Off or red "Internet"/"WAN" light: no signal is reaching your router -- this usually points to an outage or a cabling/fiber issue, not something you can fix yourself.
- Blinking "Internet" light with no solid state after several minutes: your router may still be negotiating the connection, or authentication is failing -- see our PPPoE troubleshooting guide if you use a username/password to connect.
Step 4: Rule out an account issue
If your service was recently suspended for a missed payment, your router may power on normally but still show no internet. Check our payment and account troubleshooting guide, or check your account status directly with your provider.
Step 5: Check for a wider outage
If your neighbors or nearby customers are also affected, it's likely a network-wide outage rather than something local to your home. Check your provider's status page if one is available, or contact support to confirm.
Still no connection?
If you've worked through every step above and you're still offline, see how to contact support and what to have ready -- providing the right details up front gets your issue resolved faster.
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