I recently moved into a college dorm and am having a strange network problem. My computer shows that Ethernet is connected, and when no browser is open, a speed-test application reports around 900 Mbps. However, as soon as I launch a browser, the connection appears to stop working completely. Online games still work, but Surfshark does not.
I registered my MAC address with the school, tested multiple browsers and Wi-Fi networks, flushed DNS, updated network drivers, performed a network reset, and tried a clean boot. Two members of the school's IT staff checked the Ethernet cable, wall port, and connection but could not identify the cause. The Ethernet port worked normally at home recently, and the internet works perfectly when I use my phone's hotspot. I'm using a fresh installation of Brave, with only Edge still installed by Windows. What could cause browsers to lose connectivity while other applications continue working?
3 Answers
Try testing Edge in an InPrivate window and then run it with all extensions disabled. If Edge fails too, open Command Prompt and compare these tests: ping a known IP address, ping a domain name, and use nslookup on that domain. If IP requests work but domain lookups fail, it points to DNS. If both work from Command Prompt but browsers fail, look for a system proxy, firewall rule, antivirus web filter, or VPN filter driver. Completely uninstalling Surfshark temporarily may be worthwhile because VPN software can leave network filtering components behind even when it appears disconnected.
Since the connection works through your phone’s hotspot and games still have connectivity, the adapter, cable, and basic network connection are probably fine. The problem may be specific to how the dorm network handles browser traffic. Check whether the school requires a proxy, captive-portal login, or custom DNS settings, and make sure Windows has no manual proxy configured under Network and Internet settings. Also check Brave’s secure DNS, VPN, and extension settings, since those can interfere with browser traffic.
The school network may be identifying your computer differently when a browser opens and redirecting it to an authentication or registration page. Try visiting a plain HTTP address such as http://neverssl.com to trigger any captive portal, rather than starting with an HTTPS site. You can also ask campus IT whether your device needs to be registered separately for wired access and Wi-Fi, and whether they block browser traffic until a device-authorization page is completed.
That makes sense, although I already tried a clean boot and a fresh browser install. I’ll check Windows’ proxy settings and whether the dorm requires a separate browser login.