When you can’t get online, it’s not always your computing device. Also, if you’re the type of person who classifies yourself as “computer illiterate,” it isn’t always you, either. We often have customers call us in a panic when they can’t get online. Yes, sometimes it is your device which is preventing you from accessing your favorite online sites but, often, it’s something else.

Reasons You Might Not Be Able To Access The Internet

Of course, something may have gone wrong in your computing device. However, let’s look at some of the other reasons why it’s not always your computing device:

Your Modem Is Not Passing On The Internet To Your Network

Sometimes, although your modem is on and appears to be working, it isn’t passing the Internet on to your network. Yes, that can and does happen! By the way, let me clear up a misunderstanding many people have. When you see your computing device is “connected” to your modem, that message doesn’t mean you can access the Internet. “Connected” simply means your device is logged into the modem and has been assigned a local IP address. If the modem isn’t passing on the Internet, you won’t get online, regardless.

The first thing to try when you suspect the modem is at fault, is to disconnect it from the power. (You can do this by pulling out the power cord – just the power cord.) Leave the power cord out for 15 minutes. Then, reconnect the power and let the modem boot back up. Please note that it may take the modem 5-10 minutes to boot back up. You should wait at least that long before trying to go back to the Internet.

Let me clear up one other item. People will often say to me, “My computer won’t go on the Internet but my smartphone is on it.” Your smartphone connecting to the Internet means nothing unless you’ve turned on your phone’s Airplane mode. Why is that? Your smartphone will connect to the Internet through the cell tower even when there’s no Internet on your Network, Thus, being able to reach websites doesn’t mean your Internet is connected.

Your Router Booted Up Before Your Modem

Most ISPs (Internet Service Providers) now provide their customers with a single piece of equipment for Internet access. This device has Ethernet connections and Wi-Fi. While we often call the device a modem, strictly speaking, it’s a modem and router combination.

For those situations where you still have a separate modem and a separate router, there’s something you should know. Many times, if the router finishes booting up before the modem, you might not get online. This can often happen after a power failure.

If you do have two devices – a modem and a router – and you can’t get online, try this: 1) unplug the power cord from both devices; 2) wait 5 minutes; 3) plug in the modem power first and wait at least 5 minutes; 4) plug in the router power; 5) Wait 5 minutes; try to access the Internet.

Your ISP Is Not Providing Service To Your Modem

There are a number of reasons why the Internet may not be arriving to your modem. Here are some of them.

• Your modem has gone bad. Remember, there are electronics in the modem and they can fail. By the way, sometimes you can have Ethernet working but not Wi-Fi and vice-versa. Either way, the modem is still defective.
• Cables inside your home may have shorted out or somehow disconnected.
• The outside wires provided by your ISP have gone bad or become waterlogged.
• The Internet system from your ISP may be out in an entire neighborhood or area.

A Website Is Down

Perhaps you do have Internet access but you can’t get to a particular website. Believe it or not, websites do go down. It’s even happened to us here at 4KCC.COM. Keep in mind that websites run on servers. Servers are just like your computer only larger. Servers can have issues the same as you might have at your own computer. If you are able to get online except for one site, wait an hour or so and try again.

A Section Of The Internet Itself Is Down

If you think sections of the Internet can’t go down, think again. Here’s an example that happened just last week. On Tuesday, June 8, 2021, there was a massive Internet outage. It happened when Fastly, a content delivery network (CDN) went down. Some of the sites affected included Amazon, Reddit, The Guardian, CNN and The New York Times. If you’d like to know what caused the breakdown of Internet traffic, please check out the Guardian article found HERE.

Sometimes, it’s not even a large piece of the Net that goes down. About two years ago, I couldn’t reach our own site, 4KCC. When I called the server company, which is in Maine, the tech there had no problem reaching our site. After some investigation, we discovered that an Internet relay located just outside of Miami, had been taken out in a traffic accident. Many sites in South Florida were unreachable for about an hour.

Remember, It’s Not Always Your Computing Device

As I’ve listed in this post, there are many things which can prevent you from getting online besides your actual device. If you do lose Internet, go have a cup of coffee or watch a TV program and come back later. If the problem persists, call a neighbor and see if they can get online. If they answer in the affirmative, give us a shout and we’ll do our best to help you.