Wi-Fi connectivity problem when traveling
I travel in my business and often use public WiFi's (hotels, airport etc.). My wifi works fine until one day (different for each location) it stops working. I have good connection and an IP address bu my internet will not connect. Would appreciate if someone had a suggestion for a solution. Thanks.
Software/Hardware used:
Software/Hardware used:
ASKED:
March 22, 2009 7:16 AM
UPDATED:
March 30, 2009 3:16 PM
RELATED QUESTIONS
- How to run a Wi-Fi router without NAT and DHCP
- How to force laptop to connect to wired instead of Wi-Fi connection
- Connecting two Windows 7 machines via WiFi?
- How do I find out the gateway IP address of a WiFi network my computer is connected to wirelessly
- Configuring wireless ethernet router to access PCs across router
Answer Wiki:
Assuming the network connection at the hotel or airport is working (a lot of times that is the root of the problem), Try these steps:
1. Make sure the wireless local area connection is enabled.
2. Check that the wireless reciever is turned on. Sometimes this is overlooked.
3. Make sure you have a working IP. Release and renew the IP to make sure.
a. Open command prompt
b. Type: ipconfig /release
c. Type: ipconfig /renew
4. Do a ping test
a. In the command prompt, ping the gateway IP address in the previous step
b. Type: ping IP_ADDRESS. where IP_ADDRESS is the gateway IP address.
5. If you can ping to the gateway, you have a good connection to the internal network. Try pinging to a website. Type: ping www.google.com
6. Try surfing the web with Internet Explorer
7. If you can't surf the web, you've just narrowed it down to the Internet explorer settings.
8. Make sure you don't have any proxy settings or dial up connections configured
a. In Tools -> Internet Options, click on the Connections tab.
b. Select never use a dial up connection.
c. Click on the lan settings button
d. Make sure the lower half concerning proxies is not checked.
9. If you still can't access the internet, use another web browser or go to Start -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Internet Explorer (no Addons).
If you run into any problems let us know.
To see all answers submitted to the Answer Wiki: View Answer History.
Thanks for your quick answer.
I have done the release and renew portion of what you suggested and it connected just like before and I got an IP address but none of the browsers would give me anything but a blank (or that connection page).
I don’t know what the ping command does, but could that solve my problem. To me it seems like it is an internet problem since I am connected.
Jorma
Ping is a basic command line tool that will send some test packets to the specified address and tell you if you are connected to that address.
Go to Start -> Run. Type: CMD
The command prompt window will open (a black box).
Type: PING ip_address
Trying pinging the Gateway address when you used IP config. It should tell you Reply from ip_address:
If you get a reply try: PING http://WWW.GOOGLE.COM
If this does not give you a reply, you have to tell the hotel people to reset the wireless router or access point. I have first hand experience where the access points need resetting from time to time.
ping is a tool that runs ICMP (internet control message protocol) tests. It is not the same as running a web browser that uses TCP (transmission control protocol). A ping test is usually good for telling if you have a good physical connection and some route between the client and destination hosts. However, you must know that not all networks permit ICMP traffic as it can be a covert transmission channel and ICMP exploits do exist.
If nothing is coming up in your browser, then there could be a problem with your browser settings as mentioned above. Check those, especially the proxy settings as mentioned. If that does not work, try another browser like Firefox or Chrome. If you get the same results with all browsers on the same network, then it could be a few other things:
1. Firewall settings – varies depending on software used and network attached.
2. Maybe there is a captive portal on the network and your browser is not attaching to the portal to provide credentials. A captive portal is where a provider requires you to enter some type of login credentials or pay for the service to gain access to the internet.
3. Clear your temporary internet files. There could be something in cache that is causing browsing to fail.
4. Disable any browser add-ins. This might interfere and/or use up capacity when trying to connect to the network and cause a browsing session to fail.
These are just a few items to consider. The list is not exhaustive nor may it actually work in your case or any other situation. This is just meant to give you some ideas to check and consider during troubleshooting.
You may want to try updating/refreshing your wireless NIC driver – something you can obtain from your vendor’s web site.