My former girlfriend handles the internet contract, so I'm not sure whether the service is temporarily down or whether the account was canceled. Every device can connect to the wireless network, but each one reports that there's no internet access. What steps can I take to determine whether this is a router problem, an outage, or a terminated service plan?
3 Answers
The devices connecting to the Wi‑Fi only proves that they can reach your local router; it doesn’t confirm that the router has an active connection to the internet. Look at the modem’s Internet/WAN status light or its admin page. You can also try connecting a computer directly to the modem with an Ethernet cable, if possible. If that still has no connection, the issue is probably with the service or the provider rather than the wireless network.
Open a command prompt or terminal and run `ping 8.8.8.8`. If you get replies, the internet connection may work but DNS could be the problem. If every request times out, the modem has no usable outside connection. This test won’t tell you whether the bill was canceled, though—you’ll need the provider to confirm the account status.
Start by power-cycling both the modem and the Wi‑Fi router: unplug them, wait about a minute, then plug the modem back in first. Once its status lights stabilize, turn the router back on. If every device still has the same issue, check whether your internet provider has an outage or contact them to confirm whether the account is active.
How can I tell whether it’s an outage in the area rather than the contract being canceled?
I’m not familiar with that command, but I’ll try it. I assume I still need to contact the provider to check the contract.