Troubleshoot Your Wireless Network

You want to watch your favorite movie or might to chill with your friends streaming Netflix or
might have to finish some important work but your wifi seems to be off. What will you do now?

The following article assists you in troubleshooting wireless network problems with routers,
wireless access points, wireless extenders, and wireless USB adapters.
The following article assists you in troubleshooting wireless network problems with routers,
wireless access points, wireless extenders, and wireless USB adapters.
For new routers that have yet to be connected to the internet, refer the installation guide and
user manual that was supplied with the router. The manuals can also be found on the NETGEAR
Support website.
If the router has been connected to the internet and worked in the past, confirm the signal
from your internet service provider (ISP) is not the problem.

• Turn off the wireless function and directly connect your computer to the router with an Ethernet cable.
• Reboot the computer and check for an internet connection.
• If there is still no internet connection reboot the router and any modems in use.
• You can also repeat this scenario with your computer directly connected to the modem instead of the router.
• If you are still not getting an internet connection, contact your internet service provider.

If you are able to access the internet with a wired connection but not wirelessly, your wireless
network may be not be emitting a signal. To enable the wireless router signal, see the
following:
How do I enable or disable the WiFi radios on my NETGEAR router or DSL gateway?
How do I turn the WiFi radios off or on using the WiFi On/Off button?
How do I find and select the WiFi network on my Nighthawk router?
If you cannot access the wireless network because of an issue with your password, see How do I
change my NETGEAR router’s WiFi password or network name (SSID)?

If the WiFi signal strength is weak or intermittent see the following:
Improving wireless range: Overview

• How do I resolve poor wireless range or a weak WiFi signal from my NETGEAR router?
• What do I need to know before selecting a different wireless channel?
• How do I change the wireless channel on my NETGEAR router?

To troubleshoot wireless access points:

• Ensure the access point is correctly configured using the following:
• Connecting a NETGEAR access point to your network
• I’m setting up my NETGEAR router for the first time, how do I set it to Access Point (AP) mode?
• How do I change my NETGEAR router to AP mode?
• How do I change my Nighthawk router to AP mode after I’ve already run setup?
• To test the connection, see Testing network connectivity with ping.

To troubleshoot wireless extenders:
Ensure the wireless extender is properly configured, see How do I set up my NETGEAR WiFi
range extender?
If you are still experiencing problems, see Troubleshooting NETGEAR WiFi range extenders

To troubleshoot wireless USB adapters:
If the USB adapter is not detected, see Troubleshooting – USB adapter not detected
If the wireless adapter is not achieving desired speeds or range, see NETGEAR USB wireless
adapter is not achieving desired speed/range.