We all know about wireless networks, and that most of us
should have our own router if we want to use more than one computer on the same
Internet connection. What a lot of
people don’t understand, though, is that being “connected†to a wireless
network doesn’t always mean that we’re connected to the Internet.
Tech Support:
how may I help you?â€
Customer:
Tech Support:
Customer:
strength is ‘Excellent,’ but it still says ‘Page cannot be displayed.’â€
This can happen for a number of reasons.
problem usually is. We’ll start with a
basic overview of how home networks are usually set up.
If you have high-speed Internet access, your connection to
the Internet at home is likely through a cable or DSL modem.
the TV cable (cable modem) or telephone line (DSL modem) and does the needed
modulation/demodulation for communication over your Internet Service Provider’s
(ISP’s) network (don’t get discouraged at this point – I know those were some
foreign words.) Techies like to refer to
this as the wide-area network, or WAN.
Your connection has an IP address, that is, an assigned set of numbers
used by the Internet to route traffic to your house.
different. I won’t go into the details
here, but I will say that your ISP usually assigns one IP address per customer,
and it always is given to the device connected directly to that modem.
“public†address.
Those of you who use more than one computer at home
simultaneously probably have some sort of router.
wireless router, and probably a laptop with which you roam about your home.
your modem, which has been granted that single IP address from your ISP.
cables, but we’re only going to look at two of them.
there are five RJ-45 connections (these look like wide telephone jacks).
separated from the pack.
That lonely RJ-45 connection is usually
labeled “Internet,†“WAN,†or both.
It is the WAN (remember, wide-area network = Internet Service Provider’s
network) interface, and should have a network cable (usually included with the
modem and with the router) connected from that port to the modem.
directly to the Internet. Everything
after this concerns your internal home network, or local-area network (LAN).
The other four ports (the RJ-45 connections) are referred to
as the LAN. It doesn’t matter which port
you connect your computer to; they’re all the same.
cables to connect your computer to the LAN.
If everything is on and working properly (and you’re all paid up with
your Internet provider), you should be able to access the Internet.
Okay, here we go…
This home router can do some pretty cool stuff if you really
think about it. It creates a whole other
network, just for you, and it allows everyone connected to it to use that one
single Internet connection. It grants
each computer an internal, or private, IP address so that it can manage each
connection separately. After granting
the IP addresses, it uses something called network address translation (NAT) to
properly route communications to and from the Internet for each user.
but it is connected to your home network, or the LAN.
This picture I’m painting concerns a “hard-wired†connection
(remember the cable from the computer to the router?), but the same goes for a
wireless connection. The status could
show “connected†and the signal level could be “Excellent,†but that’s only
your connection to your router, not the
Internet. You could think of your
router as a “gateway†to the Internet through which all traffic must pass. I’ve
gone through all of this to say that if
your router can’t access the Internet, no one in your house can, either.
There are a couple of reasons this could happen:
Reason #1:
modem is offline. Large networks,
especially cable and DSL networks, are exposed to many
elements and are fairly fragile. They
are susceptible to radio interference, heat and cold, lines being cut by
construction workers, lawn mowers, bad landlords, and the occasional car
knocking down a telephone pole.
Maintenance on the cabling that runs through your neighborhood can also
affect your service.
You can tell that your modem is online just by looking at
it. Cable and DSL modems always have a
series of indicator lights used for showing its own status.
labeled “Power.†If this light is not
lit, check the following:
- That
the modem is plugged into an electrical outlet,
and the cord is firmly in place in the power connector on the back of the
modem. - The
electrical outlet you are using is live.
Is there a tripped circuit breaker in the house?
modem to another room just to plug it in and check the power connection.
the power supply for your modem has gone bad, or the modem itself has
ceased to live. Most customers
rent/lease the modem from the ISP.
Call tech support to get a replacement.
If the light is on, continue your investigation:
Some modems have a standby mode which breaks the
connection. If there is a standby button
on your modem, press it and see if the lights come back on.
light used to indicate the modem is in standby mode, but I’ve seen an RCA modem
that shuts off all the lights when in
standby.
Usually there is a light labeled “Online†or “Ready.â€
steady rate, there is a problem with your ISP’s network.
- Make
sure the telephone line (DSL) or cable (Cable Modem) is connected to the
modem and to the outlet in the wall. - Unplug
the power cord from the modem. - Wait
20 seconds. - Plug
the power cord back in and let the modem initialize.
That often solves the problem, but not always.
an hour (if you haven’t done so already) before calling tech support.
other type of outage, and your ISP likely knows about it.
If that worked and your modem shows that it is “Online,â€
congratulations.
If it was online to begin with, we can assume then that the
problem lies elsewhere, and it is not a problem with your ISP.
Reason #2:
router can’t access the Internet.
When the power goes out at my house and comes back on, everything comes
on at the same time, including the modem and my router.
modem for access and starts asking for its IP address.
connect to the ISP and come online again.
During this time, the router can simply give up asking for an address,
because nothing is responding while the modem is situating itself.
So, what needs to happen is for the modem to come online,
access right away.
Here is the fix-all for this situation:
- Shut
down everything. Turn off all the
computers, and remove power from the modem and the router. - Wait
two full minutes. - Apply
power to the modem only. - Wait
for the modem to initialize and come online. - Apply
power to the router. It will
initialize and connect within about 30 seconds. - Start
your computer(s). All should be
well.
If this is not done in the prescribed order, it may not
work.
Reason #3:
router still can’t access the Internet.
Lightning can be a real pain sometimes.
I’ve seen computers that have fallen prey to lightning strikes hitting
the cable networks, which in turn can ruin the modem, the computer, or
both. Check the lights on the modem
related to PC or LAN. This is the
connection from your modem to the router.
The corresponding light on the router is usually labeled “Internet†or
“WAN.†They should both be
If not, try the following:
- Try
another cable between the router and the modem. - Connect
a computer (must be powered on) to the modem and check the PC light on the
modem. If it still does not light,
the modem is likely at fault. - With a
network cable, connect a computer (again, it must be on) to the
Internet/WAN port on the router and check the light.
router, or both the modem and the router.
Reason #4:
Problems at the ISP. I won’t
call them hackers, because most hackers aren’t evil.
Rogue Degenerates, or TARDs.
have a field day with someone, and try to crash whatever ISP their victim may
be using. You might be on the same ISP,
or even be that victim. Other things can
happen though, such as a server crashing or a
disgruntled employee gone mad. These
things we cannot help, but rest assured that someone is working on it.
problem is. Also, you might want to make
sure your payment wasn’t late.
Conclusion
As you may imagine from reading this far, many things must
be in place for the Internet to work and for your home or office network to
operate. I probably haven’t covered
absolutely everything in this article, but from my experience, this covers the
majority (and I mean majority, like 97% for home users) of the problems related
to Internet access that I had to help customers correct while I did technical
support at an ISP. I still encounter these
same things with the people I meet and serve, and not much outside of this ever
arises in the residential arena.
Many things can affect wireless networks, radio interference
being the main culprit. Other factors
can affect connectivity, but that is not the scope of this article.
in another post here.
Cross-posted at techpickle.org.
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