Laptop turns off internet connx

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
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Display name:
Dave Taylor
"Nothing has changed"
But it wont connect to wifi anymore!
Dell Latitude 5+ yrs old Win10Pro

Other computers connect to this signal fine - its an ATT Uverse wifi box btw.
Airplane mode is off (I cycled that switch several times)
Have rebooted the laptop 2X
Have rebooted Uverse box

Bottom right, the 'radiating signal' icon: I click it once; it pops up;
"Wireless Network Connx:
Turned off"
A selection below "Turn WiFi back on" offers these options:
Manually (selecting this changes nothing)
-In 1 hr (I selected this, am waiting) [I did bump the computer time up by 55mins to see if that helps]
-In 4 hrs
-In 1day

Also I can find my wifi signal & it says the name of the box, and "No internet" (dont forget, sll ather puters in the house, including this (no data plan) ipad are using the internet frn this box).

Deeper, I saw
no ipv4 connectivity
no ipv6 connectivity
and I also find, using their troubleshooter...
"the DNS server is not responding" (but maybe that is the connection I sometimes use to checkin with the office server?)
 
Try an ipconfig /release then reboot
 
Computers don't like you. Technology is not your friend. It is telling you that it is time to go "off the grid". ;)
 
On a more serious note, the problem is that wireless is turned off. Look for a physical switch on the laptop. If there is none, there should be a software switch.

Edit: for an older laptop, there is probably a physical switch Or button you accidentally flipped. If not, type wireless in the search and check the settings.
 
Its not the switch; I have cycled that switch repeatedly. Plus, the computer sees the router.
Will google ipconfig release when I get beck tonight.
 
In Device Manager, check the power management setting on the adapter, and un-check the box allowing the computer to turn it off to save power. Also check for driver updates while you're in there.

While the connection is working, run IPCONFIG and see whether you have an IPv4 or an IPv6 address on the laptop. IPv4 is still more common for LAN addresses on consumer-grade routers, so we'll assume that's what you have. If you have an IPv6 address while the connection is working, just reverse the advice that follows.

In Network and Sharing Center, check the Adapter Settings for TCP/IPv4 and TCP/IPv6 on the wireless adapter. If your router is issuing IPv4 addresses on the LAN side and you don't use the laptop elsewhere, you can disable (un-check) IPv6 completely. Sometimes having IPv6 enabled causes problems on the IPv4 side when the adapter continually searches for an IPv6 address that's never going to be granted.

If that doesn't work...

On the IPv4 settings, check to see whether the IP, DNS, and Gateway addresses are all set to automatic (DHCP). It's possible that you or someone working for you set them manually at some point, and that those settings are now causing conflicts. If you can think of no reason why they need to be set manually (for example, port or application forwarding of some application or protocol to the laptop), then jot the settings down (just in case) and switch them all to automatic.

Conversely, if they're all set to automatic, you can try manually setting the DNS server and Gateway IP addresses to the router's LAN IP address, which you can determine by running IPCONFIG when everything is working. (It will be the Default Gateway address.) It shouldn't be necessary if the router and adapter are both working properly, but once in a while that communication breaks down, and setting the Gateway and DNS addresses manually is a quick-and-dirty fix as long as you don't use the laptop anywhere else.

You can also try setting the gateway address to the LAN address of the router (or setting it to automatic) and setting the DNS addresses to two reliable public DNS servers. It's possible (though unlikely) that the router or the upstream DNS server it's using is the culprit, and that the other computers are using cached IP addresses during DNS failures.

Rich
 
Laptop (HP Envy) fan quit working message then 'puter shut down. Fan replacement in order? Know nothing about that stuff.

Just when I was in the middle of Gleim's CFI renewal course...grrr. Maybe wife will let me use her iPad...
 
Last edited:
Let'sgoflying! said:
"Nothing has changed"
But it wont connect to wifi anymore!
Dell Latitude 5+ yrs old Win10Pro

Other computers connect to this signal fine - its an ATT Uverse wifi box btw.
Airplane mode is off (I cycled that switch several times)
Have rebooted the laptop 2X
Have rebooted Uverse box

Bottom right, the 'radiating signal' icon: I click it once; it pops up;
"Wireless Network Connx:
Turned off"
A selection below "Turn WiFi back on" offers these options:
Manually (selecting this changes nothing)
-In 1 hr (I selected this, am waiting) [I did bump the computer time up by 55mins to see if that helps]
-In 4 hrs
-In 1day

Also I can find my wifi signal & it says the name of the box, and "No internet" (dont forget, sll ather puters in the house, including this (no data plan) ipad are using the internet frn this box).

Deeper, I saw
no ipv4 connectivity
no ipv6 connectivity
and I also find, using their troubleshooter...
"the DNS server is not responding" (but maybe that is the connection I sometimes use to checkin with the office server?)
Click to expand...


Get a Mac :).
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Its not the switch; I have cycled that switch repeatedly. Plus, the computer sees the router.
Will google ipconfig release when I get beck tonight.
Click to expand...
If there is a physical switch and it is not changing the state of the wireless controller, then maybe the switch is bad (or the controller). Check under Network and Sharing to make sure it is enabled there. If all looks good, you might just need to buy a USB Wifi adapter.
 
Every time this has happened to me the wifi adapter has failed. It has happened at least 3 times in the past 12 years. Grab another card on ebay and replace if you know software is not the culprit.

If you are not sure what card will work, take the thing apart then get the same one on ebay by searching for the model number. $15 fix I bet.
 
A really easy way to tell if its hardware is to make Linux Mint usb boot drive. Boot up in it, if you have no wifi you probably have a bum card. Use this, really fast and easy. https://unetbootin.github.io/
 
updated dx info:

Laptop connected happily (and went online) to IT guy's wifi.

Brought home, it sees the wifi but says 'no internet' (and indeed cannot connect)
Other devices continue to work on this wifi signal, just not my laptop.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
updated dx info:

Laptop connected happily (and went online) to IT guy's wifi.

Brought home, it sees the wifi but says 'no internet' (and indeed cannot connect)
Other devices continue to work on this wifi signal, just not my laptop.
Click to expand...

Thoughts.

Either you've accidentally locked out that machine somehow in your router/access point... via security stuff...

Or you have an older laptop with say, 2.4 GHz only and something changed your band settings on the A/P to kill the band or mode that it needs...

Or someone hit something like "Do not connect to this network" on the laptop and now it refuses to see it because it was told to ignore it, and that'd be buried in the wireless settings...

Or, you've got an encryption mode turned on in the A/P that your laptop hardware can't do.

Exact model number of the A/P and laptop would help, as well as Windows version, if you want us to dig. Also help to know if it's your A/P and you manage it, or if it's a carrier's leased device that they can upgrade settings or firmware on it remotely.
 
I don't know if they still do it this way, but most of the AT&T gateways I've worked on had an "access code" printed on a label under the router itself that could be used to change the settings on the LAN side. You'd enter the router's LAN IP address in a Web browser to enter the interface without a password, but would need the access code to actually change anything.

Printing the access code on a label attached to the device never struck me as the brightest idea security-wise, but I guess they figure it at least requires physical access to the device.

It's possible (but by no means certain) that AT&T pushed an update that hosed some setting that your particular laptop needs to connect. There have been a bazillion critical security holes identified in routers and gateways lately. If an update is at fault, then the most likely problem would be the router using an encryption mode that your adapter can't handle, as Nate said.

Another thing to try if you haven't already would be to have the laptop completely forget the AP and then reconnect. Sometimes this is necessary after router updates that change the default encryption. It shouldn't be, but sometimes the router has a hard time figuring out that the encryption has changed. Completely forgetting the AP forces re-connection. How to do it depends on your adapter and whatever other software the machine's vendor installed over the native driver.

Rich
 
Have you recently connected any NEW device like a new iPhone, tablet, laptop etc? Wondering if you have a max connections set in your security settings. Also can you check the logs on your router?
 
What is going to happen if I push that little 'reset' button on the side of the router/Uverse box?
 
(if something happens as a result, ie no internet til IT shop opens on Monday, I will not be too popular around here)
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
What is going to happen if I push that little 'reset' button on the side of the router/Uverse box?
Click to expand...

If it's cable or fiber and you have no special port forwarding or other unusual firewall rules in effect on the router, then probably nothing. It may or may not solve your problem, but it shouldn't hurt anything.

If it's any flavor of DSL, then you may have to re-enter your PPPoE or PPPoA username and password. Or maybe not. It depends on the box and whatever improvements they may have made since I was in that end of the business. About when I got out of it some DSL providers were starting to authenticate via the user's port on the DSLAM rather than using PPP, so you might not need that information.

In either case, it may reset the WiFi SSID and key back to some arbitrary value that you'll need to at least know, and may want to change, before your computers can connect again.

It probably would be best to call AT&T first just to be sure.

Rich
 
I have AT&T's Uverse DSL, and while I haven't pressed a reset button (and I'm not sure if I actually have one), cycling the power on the box doesn't require any intervention to put it back in service.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
(if something happens as a result, ie no internet til IT shop opens on Monday, I will not be too popular around here)
Click to expand...

Welcome to the first rule of IT... do no harm to the folks who's stuff is working to fix other broken stuff... unless it makes Mike money than their stuff does. ;)
 
Palmpilot said:
I have AT&T's Uverse DSL, and while I haven't pressed a reset button (and I'm not sure if I actually have one), cycling the power on the box doesn't require any intervention to put it back in service.
Click to expand...

Its getting to be a lengthy thread, so understandable it might be missed that my noting this was done already.
 
denverpilot said:
Welcome to the first rule of IT... do no harm to the folks who's stuff is working to fix other broken stuff... unless it makes Mike money than their stuff does. ;)
Click to expand...

As much as I wanted to reset it, "discretion was the better part of valor" & I restrained myself.
 
eman1200 said:
Have you recently connected any NEW device like a new iPhone, tablet, laptop etc? Wondering if you have a max connections set in your security settings. Also can you check the logs on your router?
Click to expand...
"Nothing has changed" on user end, 1st line, 1st post.
IT will tackle it this week. I'll report back & tell you how I unwittingly, probably, caused the problem.
Thanks for putting your minds to it!
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
"Nothing has changed" on user end, 1st line, 1st post.
IT will tackle it this week. I'll report back & tell you how I unwittingly, probably, caused the problem.
Thanks for putting your minds to it!
Click to expand...

Something always changes. Starting a conversation like that is unnecessary. Change is a given.
 
Had this problem with a new Dell Inspirion. It had Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless Dual Band Network Adapter. Dell support was of not much help. Finally had to just dick around(install/uninstall) with several versions of the adapter downloaded from the Intel site. Found and installed a version that has been working since. You might be able to go to the adapter mfg. site and find an updated version of your adapter that will work.

Noah W
 
Do you have a Roku or other device that uses wi-fi direct? I'm fighting this same issue with an android device at home. Apparently the Roku wi-fi direct piggybacks off the 2.4ghz signal no matter which channel you select. Causes a lot of signal interference and dropped connections. Unplug the Roku, problem ceases.
 
Last edited:
CHIP SILVERNE wins the award and is a fricken genius.
A family member has been using an "internet->TV box", not sure which brand, for a month now. Had no problems for the first 3 weeks.
Last week, this weird problems where only my laptop could not connect(none of the other 5 devices had a problem). Whether the TV was being used or not, laptop was incommunicado. Even if ethernet cabled to the uverse box.

This evening, I...
-ensured the problem still existed.
-then I unplugged the 'internet TV' box.
-rebooted the Uverse box. (I had rebooted it several times before, remember)
-almost immediately, was able to connect via the laptop! Emphasis exclamation mark! Emphasis CHIP SILVERNE! @Chip Sylverne

So we had this box (I am now told it is a Google Comcast box, btw) for weeks with no problems....and suddenly it is kicking my laptop, and only my laptop off the internet.
The bizarre world of electronics!

Thanks Chip!
Will continue to test my theory out.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
...So we had this box (I am now told it is a Google Comcast box, btw) for weeks with no problems....and suddenly it is kicking my laptop, and only my laptop off the internet....
Click to expand...
Is your Uverse box set up to only accept a certain number of simultaneous connections?
 
Palmpilot said:
Is your Uverse box set up to only accept a certain number of simultaneous connections?
Click to expand...
No clue, Richard. As I recall, it was plug n play, without any set-up.
If it is set up that way, not sure why it is changing its behavior after 3 weeks.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
No clue, Richard. As I recall, it was plug n play, without any set-up.
If it is set up that way, not sure why it is changing its behavior after 3 weeks.
Click to expand...
AT&T might have an online help file that would tell how to look at settings of the Uverse box.

When such a limit is reached, I would think that the last device to attempt to connect in any given time frame would encounter a problem. If so, the last device to attempt connection could have previously been some other device that no one happened to notice a problem with.

Just speculating here; I'm not a network or WiFi expert.
 
It sounds like it could be an IP conflict. Is it possible that the TV box was previously configured to another network and that someone gave it a static IP that conflicts with the laptop's?

In theory, DHCP should detect that sort of situation and reassign another address to the device using DHCP. In practice, it doesn't always work.

What mitigates against that possibility is that the laptop wouldn't connect by Ethernet either. But it could be that someone disabled the Ethernet NIC, or that it simply doesn't work.

To my [rather limited] knowledge, AT&T doesn't limit the number of devices that can connect simultaneously.

Rich
 
Chip Sylverne said:
Do you have a Roku or other device that uses wi-fi direct? I'm fighting this same issue with an android device at home. Apparently the Roku wi-fi direct piggybacks off the 2.4ghz signal no matter which channel you select. Causes a lot of signal interference and dropped connections. Unplug the Roku, problem ceases.
Click to expand...
Yep, the RoKu and its remote can do that.

That's one reason why I have a second wifi system just for streaming video, and a dual band access point for the main computer system. (Other reasons include RoKus penchant for scanning and inventorying each computer on its wifi network, and the ability, should I decide to at some future point, to establish an oitbound VPN connection off the video router.
 
RJM62 said:
It sounds like it could be an IP conflict. Is it possible that the TV box was previously configured to another network and that someone gave it a static IP that conflicts with the laptop's?

In theory, DHCP should detect that sort of situation and reassign another address to the device using DHCP. In practice, it doesn't always work.

What mitigates against that possibility is that the laptop wouldn't connect by Ethernet either. But it could be that someone disabled the Ethernet NIC, or that it simply doesn't work.

To my [rather limited] knowledge, AT&T doesn't limit the number of devices that can connect simultaneously.

Rich
Click to expand...

Or the Windows machine is static or inappropriately holding on to an address. (Same thing in reverse. I know you know this, but just for the OP...)
 
They watched TV for a while, I surfed, er worked on the internet then boom I was kicked off. After they finished TV, I checked the laptop: no connection still.
I unplugged their TV box and ya; back on.


I hope this doesn't get my system hacked!

SSID: ATT752
Protocol: 802.11n
Security type: Open
Network band: 2.4 GHz
Network channel: 1
IPv6 address: 2602:306:8303:8cf0:8010:fbdf:d217:2e4
IPv4 address: 192.168.1.101
IPv4 DNS Servers: 192.168.1.254
Manufacturer: Broadcom
Description: Dell Wireless 1504 802.11b/g/n (2.4GHz)
Driver version: 5.100.82.112
Physical address (MAC): ‎70-18-8B-9A-B1-EE
 
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