My home internet stopped working today after being fine earlier. There doesn't appear to be a provider outage in my area, but my own Wi‑Fi network no longer appears in the available networks list on either my phone or computer. I've restarted the modem and router several times without any change. The provider says the connection looks online, although my seven-month-old Nighthawk 3000 modem is reporting issues, and a technician is scheduled to visit tomorrow. All the modem's front-panel lights are solid, and the coax and power connections are secure. I can still see my neighbors' networks, so the problem seems limited to my equipment. Is there anything else I should check?
3 Answers
Since other nearby networks are visible but yours isn’t, the Wi‑Fi radio or router function may be disabled or malfunctioning, even if the modem lights look normal. Check whether the unit has a physical Wi‑Fi button or switch, then log in to the router’s administration page and confirm that wireless broadcasting is enabled. You can also check whether the router is detecting a WAN address and any connected LAN devices.
If the router’s WAN address starts with 169.254, it usually means it didn’t receive a usable address from the provider. If there’s no WAN address or the router shows no connected devices, that points to a modem, router, or provider-side handoff problem. The scheduled technician should be able to test the signal and determine whether the modem needs replacement.
Solid status lights mainly show that the modem has power and believes it has a connection; they don’t guarantee that the wireless network is being broadcast. If Wi‑Fi is enabled but the network still doesn’t appear, try a full power cycle: unplug the modem and router, wait several minutes, power the modem back on first, and then power the router back on. Avoid factory-resetting it unless you know the setup details, since that could erase the provider configuration.
All the front lights on the Nighthawk 3000 are solid, and I’ve confirmed that the power and coax connections are firmly attached.