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With the proliferation of smart home devices, online gaming platforms, and video-streaming services, maintaining a strong internet connection is more important than ever. If you’re experiencing lag while playing League of Legends, or it takes forever to download music, there’s a good chance the problem is on your end and not an issue with your internet service provider (ISP).
Before you schedule a service call with your cable company, check out our tips for troubleshooting your internet connection.
Try Another Device or Website
Start with the obvious: is the problem only happening on one device or all your devices? If your computer’s having problems, see if your tablet can connect to the internet, or if your spouse or roommate’s laptop works. If the problem only happens on one device, you can safely narrow the problem down to that particular machine.
Make sure Wi-Fi is enabled and that you are connected to the proper SSID using the correct password. If you’re running Windows, right-click on the network icon in your system tray and select Troubleshoot Problems to run the Windows Network Diagnostic routine. This can sometimes correct common issues by resetting the adapter. Also, check your network adapter settings to make sure the adapter is using the correct gateway address and other settings.
Similarly, try another website. If you can visit other websites just fine, it’s likely that the problem is with the website you’re trying to visit, and you’ll have to wait for them to fix things on their end. (You can also try typing the website’s address into downforeveryoneorjustme.com—if the site appears to be up but isn’t working for you, try visiting it in an incognito window, another browser, or clearing your browser’s cache and cookies).
Scan for Viruses
Sometimes your internet connection can be affected by malicious code on your computer. Do a scan for spyware, viruses, and malware, all of which can have a significant impact on your web-surfing speed and overall system performance. Windows 10 comes with Windows Defender built-in, which can do the job nicely—but there are plenty of free and subscription-based utilities available as well.
Check Your Internet Package
If your internet is working, but is working slower than expected, head to a site like Speedtest.net and run a speed test. You’ll get a number in megabits per second denoting the speed your computer is actually experiencing.
From there, head to your ISP’s website and check your bill—if the number on your bill is the same as your speed test, then you’re getting the correct speeds you pay for. If that feels too slow, you’ll need to upgrade to something faster. If your speed test is significantly slower than the speed you pay for, then you are indeed having problems, and should continue with troubleshooting.
Bypass Your DNS Server
When you type a website into your browser, your computer looks up the IP address of that website using a DNS server. Occasionally, these servers can have problems, making it difficult to visit websites using their friendly domain names (like ). It’s like having a working phone with no contact list—you technically have the ability to call people, but you don’t know anyone’s number.
Try bypassing your DNS server by typing an IP address into your browser, like 216.58.197.78 (which is one of Google’s IP addresses). If the page loads properly, you’ll need to change your DNS server, or maybe flush your DNS cache to fix your problems.
Decode the Blinking Lights
If you can’t connect to the internet at all, take a look at your modem and router. Both should have a few LED status indicators—if none of them are lit up, then the modem or router is probably unplugged or powered…
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