No internet connection (causes, troubleshooting, fixes, computer, phone, tablet)

If you don't have Internet access or if your internet connection keeps dropping, it is possible that there's an issue with your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Most likely, they already know about it (however it would be nice to tell them about it) and they usually fix it within a couple of hours.

If you cannot connect to internet or if your internet connection keeps dropping, consider contacting your ISP. Maybe the ISP/Operator experiences some technical difficulties they are not aware of, or they may already work on fixing them. If that is not the case, they will guide you how to diagnose the problem by yourself and fix your Internet connection.

It's possible that a virus is stopping you from going online. A good step in troubleshooting internet connection is scanning the device for viruses, and removing them.

To learn how to scan for and remove viruses and fix your Internet connection, check out the viruses/spywares/malware solutions.

If there is a problem with your internet connection, e.g. your internet connection keeps dropping, and it cannot be easily resolved, and if you have a smartphone capable to create a hotspot, you can use it as a hotspot and access the Internet.

To learn how to activate the hotspot feature, check out the don't know how to set up a hotspot solutions.

If you desparately need to browse the net, but you don't have Internet access at the moment, ask somebody around if they could temporarily allow you to go online via their mobile device. They can easily set up a hotspot by activating the hotspot (tethering) feature, available on every mobile device.

To show them how to set up a hotspot connection, check out don't know how to set up a hotspot solutions.

Maybe the modem is the reason why you don't have Internet access. If the modem's activity light is not blinking, that is one more reason for you to restart it.

If you are wondering how to fix internet connection, the easiest way would be to restart the modem, by unplugging the power cord from the outlet and waiting for a couple of minutes. After that plug it back in the outlet and everything should be back to normal.

The router sometimes stops sharing the Internet connection unexpectedly. Other times it doesn't reconnect to a network automatically. There are lights on every router which tell you whether the Internet connection is active or not. 

If you notice that the lights are not working properly and you can't connect to internet, the best solution is to restart the router. The easiest way to restart the router is to unplug the power cord from the power outlet and wait for a couple of minutes. After that, plug it back in the outlet and your Internet access should be restored.

If Time Warner Cable is your Internet provider, and you are unable to connect to internet,  call them on 1-800-892-4357.

If you have a router with two antennas and you can't connect to internet, place one of the antennas in a horizontal position and the other one in a vertical position to gain maximum speed and signal, i.e. get the most out of your Internet connection.

Devices with Wi-Fi adapters (laptops, smartphones, tablets) work best when their built-in antennas are parallel with the router's. Usually the antennas inside laptops are placed vertically, but if you use a smartphone or a tablet the signal strength depends on the position you are holding them in (horizontal or vertical).

Maybe your Ethernet (Internet) cable is broken. The first sign that it may be broken is if the router's Ethernet port light (over the port where your Internet cable is plugged in) is not blinking.

Check the Ethernet port - do the little lights blink if you plugged it in?

If the lights don't blink and the internet connection keeps dropping or there is no internet connection at all, there could be several causes, however the most common one is a damaged Ethernet cable.

You can check and fix this by trying a different cable (e.g. ask friends to lend you one, or ask your ISP to send you a new one). If it is the main Ethernet cable, which connects you to your ISP's network, report the problem to them and they will replace it and your Internet connection will be restored.