Solved! Windows 10 Laptop can't access internet even though it is connected to wifi and phone and desktop can surf the web just fine

[l5atpher]

So long story short, a random power outage in the neighborhood happened for a minute and when power went back on, the internet was down and out (very unsurprising since this isn't the first time this exact thing has happened).

Here is the problem:

The ISP company told me they were aware of an internet service outage in the area and when the company gave me confirmation that the problem in the area was fixed, all devices in the home could connect to internet AND browse it except the Windows 10 Laptops (mine and another person's).

The Windows 10 devices can detect and successfully connect to the wifi modem/router BUT they each behave as if there is zero Megabit transfer going to them.

Mind you the laptops have always had an inexplicably volatile and slower throughput, Mbit transfer, etc. But now it's zero. Just no access to the data being pulsed out by the router at all even though there is a secure and successful connection to the wifi's SSID itself.......

Clearly the electrical power outage exacerbated some existing difficulty the Windows 10 devices had with utilizing our wifi (desktop and phones have always, before and now, had pretty much 100% access to our 5Mbit service while the laptops would only get half that or even 1.5Mbit connections)......

P.S. yes I have called the ISP and did my due diligence and all the basic troubleshooting and the like.

The end result was that from the company's side, everything looks as it should and they even reset the modem/router remotely just for good measure, but the problem remains. Seems like it is clearly on my end of the problem where something is amiss, but I don't know what is causing this really......

 

[webworkings]

Try this....

1. Go to "Control Panel".

2. Next go to "Network and Internet" and then "Network and Sharing".

3. Now click on "Manage Wireless Networks".

4. On this screen, remove all wireless connections by "right clicking" on it and select "Remove network" from the drop down menu.

5. After doing this, close the open windows and reboot the computer.

6. Once the computer is fully reloaded, scan for the "WiFi networks".

7. Click on the available network that you want to access and select "connect".

8. It takes a moment, but then you will be asked to give a password for your WiFi connection. Type in the password and click the "connect" button.

It should now be connected.
If this doesn't work, test seeing if your laptop will connect via Ethernet. If so, then your WiFi card may be going. You can either look to replace it/have it replaced, or get an external (plugs in via USB) WiFi card.


Another way to try it is to...

1. Go to "Settings".
2. Click on "Network & Security" and then click on "WiFi".
3. Now click "Manage known networks".
4. Select the WiFi connection you want to remove.
5. Click the "Forget" button.
6. After doing this, close the open windows and reboot the computer.
7. Once the computer is fully reloaded again go to "Settings".
8. Click on "Network & Security" and then click on "WiFi".
9. Now click "Manage known networks".
10. Click "Add a new network" and enter the network name.
11. Using the drop-down menu, select the "network security type".
12. Check the "Connect automatically" option.
13. Now check the "Connect even if the network is not broadcasting" option and click "Save".

Once you have completed these steps, whenever the device is within range of that particular network, it should automatically connect to it.

 

[l5atpher]

Thank you for the quick response!

I did it, but it is still not accessing the internet.

It connects to the wifi, but zero Mbits per second are shown when I look at the "Network" window in "Task Manager."

The other Windows 10 Laptop is showing maybe 0.1 Mbits per second, so it can access the internet but loading any website often fails.

When trying out user webworkings proposed solution, I stumbled upon the "Wi-Fi Status" window of the SSID and it is showing an Mbps of anywhere from 11 to 70 and a ratio of 1:2 bytes sent/received.

It all seems to be in working order, the laptops are detecting and interacting fully with the wi-fi connection but it's as if they simply can't put it to use to actually reach the internet.

It is really odd because before the power went out the Windows 10 laptops could access the internet, but now they can't.... So the wifi card is likely not the issue (also this is occurring on two separate laptops, a 2 year old one and a 1 year old one) as it would not suddenly go kaput because of a power outage when it seemed to be functioning sufficiently before it happened.

 

[webworkings]

Sounds like the WiFi card may be having issues. Will it work when connected via Ethernet? Also, you may want to see if someone you know has an external WiFi you can try. They are pretty small and connect via a USB port. See if that can get you a good connection. If it works fine, then you need to either replace your internal WiFi card or get your own external one.

 

[l5atpher]

I saw your external wi-fi card suggestion and I think that may be something that could solve this issue (at least I'm hoping it can). It's definitely worth a try.

I also need to try to ethernet connect the other laptop since that one does have an Ethernet port and mine does not. I'm sure that will work since the desktop that's currently connected to the modem/router through Ethernet is surfing the web properly.

Thank you for the perspective on this weird issue! It is probably ultimately a local issue or something because no matter which ISP we sign up to, the laptops always have subdued access to the full speed that's being paid for. It's just very strange that all the circumstances have been returned to the way they were before the outage happened yet the laptops suddenly can't access the internet.... very weird

 

[webworkings]

Computers always have weird issues. Sometimes I would say they have mental issues!

 

[l5atpher]

It is fixed. I just need to go to settings to start a automatic troubleshooting of any potential hardware problems and it ended up that some drivers needed to be updated (I guess the outage somehow messed with this, no clue how that makes sense) and once I restarted the computer the internet was accessible. Thank you for the help and getting the ball rolling!

 

[webworkings]

Glad you got it sorted.