Please help with wireless connection

LadyDee

Hi,
Really stuck, and need some help please.

I've always used wireless connection.

My phone & broadband went down last Friday and I got my phoneline back this morning but my laptop still won't connect to the internet, so I phoned Plusnet who went through various checks and said that they can see a connection their end. My laptop is saying I'm connected but the only way I can actually connect is by using an ethernet lead.

The tech guy at PN did say that if I could find an ethernet lead and get connected via that then it means that probably it's my settings gone awry.

I really don't know what I should be looking for/checking or doing! So if anybody can give me some guidance I'd be really grateful.

I_have_spoken

Have you tried turning everything off and on again, modem then router (if seperate) then laptop?

LadyDee

I_have_spoken wrote: »

Have you tried turning everything off and on again, modem then router (if seperate) then laptop?

Yes, tried that a couple of times.

The PN guy also mentioned a possibility of the wifi adapter (?) being faulty in my laptop, but it seems too much of a coincidence that it should fail just at the moment there is a cable fault.

I think it's more likely that I've mucked something up when I was first trying to get connected before I realised it was an OR cable problem.

windup

does it say you're connected to your router/ssid in the wireless list on the laptop

click reconnect or re-enter the wireless password on the laptop

if you've been playing around with settings, use system restore

pendragon_arther

Also try this:

Repair the Windows 8/7/Vista TCP/IP Stack

If you’ve tried everything you can think of to cure an Internet connection problem without success, it could well mean that Windows TCP/IP parameters have become corrupt. This often happens when a virus has been removed from your system but left behind some damage. It can also happen when you remove security software such as a firewall, which is deeply integrated with the Windows networking system.

To fix the problem you need to reset the Windows networking stack. Fortunately Windows 8/7/Vista comes with a built-in tool you can use to do this:

Click Start > All Programs > Accessories, right-click on Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator. Windows 8 users press [Windows Key] + [X] and select Command Prompt (Admin).
At the command prompt type: netsh winsock reset catalog and press [Enter].
Next type: netsh int ip reset reset.log and press [Enter].
Restart your PC for the changes to take effect.

LadyDee

Thanks people for your suggestions - unfortunately, I was still only able to connect via ethernet.
I got back onto Plusnet to explain what I'd tried, remembering that it couldn't be the wifi adapter because I was able to connect using free wifi at the library.
They did some very clever things remotely and sorted it out for me. I think it was something to do with a channel number? I was fortunate that I happened to choose a very quiet time to ring so the chap I spoke to had the time (and patience) to talk me through things.

Thanks again - at least they knew I'd tried!

Norman_Castle

remembering that it couldn't be the wifi adapter because I was able to connect using free wifi at the library.

The wifi card in my older laptop will only connect to channels 1-9. It will not connect to channels 10-12 so it probably was an issue with the card. The library was just using a different channel to your home set up.

LadyDee

Norman_Castle wrote: »

The wifi card in my older laptop will only connect to channels 1-9. It will not connect to channels 10-12 so it probably was an issue with the card. The library was just using a different channel to your home set up.

I think it was on 6 and he changed it to 11, but before the phone cable fault I never had a problem. Still, it's working now so fingers crossed.
He did change it first from automatic to manual then changed the channel. I wonder if it was able to automatically find the library channel, changed itself to 6, but then wasn't able to automatically revert back to my original channel. Maybe it was on 11 before I hooked up to library wifi.
It sort of makes sense now.:o

Cycrow

LadyDee wrote: »

I think it was on 6 and he changed it to 11, but before the phone cable fault I never had a problem. Still, it's working now so fingers crossed.
He did change it first from automatic to manual then changed the channel. I wonder if it was able to automatically find the library channel, changed itself to 6, but then wasn't able to automatically revert back to my original channel. Maybe it was on 11 before I hooked up to library wifi.
It sort of makes sense now.:o

There could be many reasons, its possible that lots of people in your area are using the same channel, so there was too much congestion preventing you from connecting properly. Could also be that the wifi adapter has some incompatibility problems with certain channels.

Before the fault the router was most likely running on a different channel, the fault caused it to change channel (this is what happens when its set to automatic).

At least you know how to fix it if it happens again now