My girlfriend's PC randomly got bumped, and now it won't connect to either WiFi or Ethernet. When she tries to connect, it shows an error saying 'can't connect to this network.' She's already tried restarting both her PC and the modem. What could be wrong here?
4 Answers
What do you mean by 'bumped'? Like, did she kick it or just accidentally nudge it?
It sounds like she might have a single card for both LAN and WiFi. If that's the case, the bump could have loosened the connection—though it's pretty rare for that to happen without causing other issues. It’s worth checking for any software or configuration problems that may have come up after the bump.
How many bars of signal are showing when you try to connect to the WiFi? You might want to forget the network in your settings and reconnect. If that doesn’t work, a network reset could help.
Are you trying to connect via both WiFi and Ethernet? It's a good idea to test with a different Ethernet cable or connect to another WiFi network, maybe even a Mobile Hotspot. If those work, it's likely a faulty Ethernet cable or a WiFi issue. If not, some advanced fixes include uninstalling the network drivers in Device Manager and checking BIOS to make sure the network card is recognized.
She just nudged it a bit by accident.