The most common way to access the internet is by using a WiFi connection. But, sometimes in laptops or even mobile devices, a notification is displayed saying “Connected, No Internet“. So, here are the 7 simple steps to solve WiFi connected but no Internet problem.
We all know that WiFi is the best way to get access to the internet. We just need a WiFi enabled laptop or PC and a router or mobile which can give us the WiFi connectivity. Several people can use the same WiFi network at a time. Hence, in this modern world, we all prefer buying a router so that the whole family can have access to the internet.
But, for personal use, most people consider turning on their mobile device’s hotspot. Almost every smartphone has a hotspot feature which helps them to share their internet connection with other devices. There are many ways to get WiFi connectivity, but WiFi connected but no internet access is the worst scenario one can face.
I’ve also faced the same problem with my laptop which was running Windows 8. But, somehow I was able to fix this on my own by tweaking some settings. There are 4 main reasons, behind WiFi connected but no internet message which typically shown on the taskbar when you hover the connectivity icon.
To solve this, make sure your router has an active internet connection. Sometimes just turn on the hotspot and forgot to turn on the internet connectivity. In fact, outdated network drivers might be the main reason behind no internet access message. In Windows 8, we need to enable FIPS for some WiFi networks to gain the internet connectivity.
I’ve shown all these steps in details down below. Follow them one by one and solve your problem in a few minutes.
Solve: WiFi Connected But No Internet Access
Now, let’s jump into the step by step procedure to get rid of this situation. It’s common problem with Windows laptops and even caused by some human errors as well.
I’ve listed all the best fixes with pictures so that it becomes easy for you to solve it on your own.
#Step 1. Make Sure That Data Connection Is Active
It’s the most important thing to check. Sometimes we just turn on the router or the hotspot in a mobile device. Fortunately, it gets turned on and out laptop gets connected to it without any problem. But, the problem raises when accessing the internet.
Your WiFi icon will show an exclamation mark on it and when you hover it, it says Connected, No Internet Access. I’ve been in such scenario most of the times. So, it’s highly recommended to check if the data connection is active or not.
If using a mobile device, you can easily scroll down the notification bar and check it Data is turned on. For router devices, make sure data LED light is blinking.
Read down the router manual and check which LED represents the data connection and what color it shows when connectivity is turned on. It’s the simplest step you have to take. If it fixed your problem, there’s no need to read further steps. Just enjoy your internet connection now.
#Step 2. Restart The Hotspot Device
It’s another mandatory step to take. Sometimes, due to technical problems, the hotspot on any device stops working and we need to restart it. For example, when I haven’t turned off my router for a long time, it eventually stops responding and I got kbps speed.
But, by simply restarting it fixes the temporary problem and I gain my high-speed data connection back. Same goes for mobile devices as well.
Not only the router but it’s required to restart the laptop as well. Don’t just shut down and turn it on again. Instead, click on Power>Restart and wait till it’s turned on back again. You might have also seen that restarting Windows OS solves some problems on its own. So, that’s why you should follow this step.
#Step 3. Turn On FIPS In Windows
FIPS stands for “Federal Information Processing Standards”. It’s basically a set of standards defined by US government to define how certain encryption algorithms can be used in a network. Actually, Microsoft no longer wants its users to enable this feature. Because it’s no longer secure, but might help you to solve connected but no internet problem.
When you enable FIPS, Windows will use only FIPS-validated cryptographic algorithms. Enabling it helps some users to connect to a WiFi network. You should definitely try this step and check if it worked for you or not.
Note: If this step didn’t work in your case, make sure to disable the FPS to avoid errors in future.
- Make sure you’re connected to the WiFi with no internet access.
- Click on the networks icon in the taskbar.
- You’ll see all the networks available, right click on the network you’re connected with.
- Select Properties option.
- Click on Security tab and click on Advanced Settings button.
- Check the Enable FIPS option, press OK.
- Turn off your WiFi and turn On back again.
- Limited internet message should be gone now.
If still getting no connectivity, then head towards the next steps.
#Step 4. Update Network Drivers
I also call “drivers” the mother of all problems in the Windows operating system. Drivers can also be described as important parts of Windows. If any of these are outdated, external devices stop working nicely. Either your laptop isn’t able to connect to external devices, or because your drivers aren’t updated and causing some serious problems.
So, it’s always recommended to update them to the latest versions. Almost all laptops come with drivers CDs and you should also have one. Make sure all the drivers available in that CD are installed in your system.
In the case of WiFi, network drivers handle all the important things related to WiFi. Maybe in your case, that driver is totally outdated and doesn’t comply with modern security and connectivity methods. So, follow the following steps to update it.
Note: You need LAN connection or wired connection to update drivers. Or just download the latest version from the official website of your manufacturer. But, I highly prefer to use LAN connection and update them using the device manager.
- Press Win+R and type “control panel“.
- Look for Device Manager and click on it.
- Expand the Network Adapter and you’ll see Broadcom 802.11.
- Right-Click>Update Driver Software.
- Choose Search Automatically.
- Wait till Driver Software is updated successfully.
Once updated, you shouldn’t get WiFi connected but no internet connection problem. But, it problem still exists, feel free to check next steps to fix no internet access in Windows.
#Step 5. Clear DNS Cache in Windows
Windows store DNS cache, it’s basically a temporary database which stored the DNS details of the websites which users have visited recently. Sometimes, due to DNS cache conflicts, many internet related problems are faced by users.
In your case, this might be the root of all problems. Just have a look on the taskbar and see if WiFi network icon has an exclamation mark on it or not. It there’s no mark, then there are high chances that it’s caused by firewall or DNS conflicts.
Windows OS provides a simple way to flush that cache using CMD. A user should be logged into the administrator account or should have admin account credentials.
- Search tor CMD, Right-Click>Run As Administrator.
- Type ipconfig /flushdns and hit enter.
- Restart your PC (not mandatory)
- Check if you’re able to connect to the internet or not.
#Step 6. Make Sure Automatically Receive IP and DNS Is Enabled
If you’ve tweaked the IPV4 settings, then there are possibilities that because of any misconfiguration, your internet isn’t working. Some users have disabled the Automatically Receive IP address option.
In fact, maybe you’ve used a proxy before and forgot to remove it from the settings. Hence, I recommend you to make sure that automatically receive IP address and DNS option is enabled. Follow the steps for more information.
- Right click on WiFi icon and select Open Network and Sharing Center.
- You’ll see the WiFi name you’re using right now, click on it to open the network status.
- Click on Properties.
- Scroll down and find Internet Protocol Version IPV4.
- Then click Configure.
- Make sure that Obtain an IP Address Automatically and Obtain DNS automatically options are checked.
#7. Use Network Troubleshooter
It’s automotive yet powerful way to fix the wifi connected but says no internet problem. Microsoft does provide a troubleshooter for different things in Windows. It’s able to detect some common problems on its own and shows such problems to the user.
In fact, it tries to fix the problem automatically but if not able to fix, there’ll be a message shown with the error details. Such details are very useful to research and solve the errors on our own.
- Right click on the Network icon and select Troubleshoot Problems.
- A new Diagnostics Window will appear, searching for problems.
- Wait till the search is complete.
- If errors are displayed, try the troubleshooter to fix those errors.
- If the troubleshooter isn’t able to fix it, feel free to drop the error message in the comment section. Or search online for more information.
Conclusion
There isn’t a specific solution to a problem. Hence, in your case, the problem might be more dramatic or complex. But, I’ve tried to list the most common problems and their solution here. It’ll be really very useful for some users.
If you still not able to gain the internet access and gettig WiFi connected but no internet error, feel free to describe your problem in details and I’ll try to give you a solution according to the details provided.
