I'm having trouble with my Lenovo Ideapad laptop. It connects to various Wi-Fi networks and hotspots, but none of them provide internet access, even though other devices connect just fine. The Ethernet connection isn't working either, and I'm stuck with a 169 IP address. I've restarted both the router and laptop several times, turned the internet adapter on and off, uninstalled and reinstalled the adapter, and done a complete reset. I've also tried command line fixes like releasing, renewing, and flushing DNS. I even set a fixed IP address of 192.x.x.x and used Google's DNS. Does anyone have any suggestions?
3 Answers
When you set a static IP, did you ensure that the last part of the IP address wasn't causing a conflict with other devices on your network? Also, check the output of the 'ipconfig /all' command for more details. If you have admin access to the router, try logging into its web interface to see if you can identify the problem there.
If you're facing issues with both Wifi and Ethernet across different networks, it usually points to some software on your laptop interfering with your DHCP lease. It's rare to have driver issues with both adapters. Is this a new device with a fresh Windows installation? Where did you purchase it from?
It actually was the VPN. Thanks for your insight!
It sounds like you're dealing with APIPA, which means your laptop isn't getting an IP configuration from the router. This could indicate a problem with the DHCP server connection. You might want to check if there are software programs interfering with the connection, like a VPN or a third-party antivirus. These can sometimes block internet access even when Wi-Fi is connected.
I just installed the free Proton VPN, but since it needs an internet connection to work, I doubt that's causing the issue, and I’m not using any antivirus either.

Thanks for your help! It turned out that the VPN was indeed the culprit.