I’ve got a problem with my internet connection, but what do you do to fix it?

This is where our guide to Troubleshooting WiFi Internet Connection could come in handy.

 

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Reboot

Before starting, please reboot your device. In many cases that’ll fix your problem and you don’t need to do anything else.

However that doesn’t always work, so here are some tips on how you can get back online.

 

Start with the Password

Passwords are case sensitive – so make sure you type it in correctly. Sometimes passwords include 0 (zero) and o (the letter O) and these can easily be swapped. A good way to ensure you’ve got the right password is to copy paste from an email or document, or show the password once it’s entered. If there is a 0 or o in the password, try both combinations. But don’t make too many attempts with the wrong password, or your device could be put in the sin bin, being blocked for a period of time.

 

Are you connected to the 4G Router?

Can you see the WiFi and can you connect to the router? If you can’t see the WiFi network (SSID), we need to look at the internet router. Is the router on? Is your router managed through the cloud? Contact your supplier and ask them to have a look. In many cases, it’s only a reboot that is required. You can see the WiFi, but can’t connect. The most likely cause is that you’ve got the wrong password. Easily fixed by contacting your reseller.

 

No Internet Connection?

Can connect to the WiFi, but there’s no internet connection. Firstly we recommend you check the basic internet connection by opening google.com. If this works, you should use Speedtest or nPerf to test your internet speed. You can read more about this here: Link to Article about WiFi Signal and Speed and the link to Speedtest is: Link to Speedtest.net and the link to nPerf is here: Link to nPerf.com. You can use either, but if you want a fast test we recommend Speedtest, if you want a more in depth test, which also takes longer, we recommend nPerf.

Is the Mobile Network working?

Sometimes Mobile Networks have issues, most of which are local, but approximately once a year one of the networks have a nationwide problem. Click on the link here for each network to check the status in your area. All you have to do is enter your postcode:

EE

O2

Three

Vodafone

How many Devices are Connected?

Don’t have an internet connection or it is very slow? Talk with your provider, to find out what the load on the router is, i.e. how many devices are connected to the router and how much data (down and up) is being used. In some cases we’ve seen hundreds of devices connected to a router which is capable of delivering WiFi to 60 devices. Have the credentials for the WiFi been shared with a large number of people? You can fix this easily by changing the password (which can be done online by your reseller).

 

Check Network Coverage

WiFi speeds on 4G LTE Routers also depends on the mobile network. Is there a good connection to the Mobile Network? Can you get a strong 4G signal? You can get an idea of which mobile networks provide coverage in an area by reading this article: Mobile Network Coverage. Check which network your SIM is connected to. Is there work going on at the network level, which can cause outage? Does your 4G LTE Router have 2 SIMs? You can test the router by switching SIM (and network).

 

Company IT Policy and Firewalls

Another avenue we’ll need to explore is the device you’re trying to connect to the WiFi. In some cases other apps and settings can influence your ability to successfully connect to a WiFi and get the data throughput you are looking for. To check this, we recommend you check your security settings first. Is your device (laptop, tablet or smartphone) governed by a company IT policy and is is protected by a corporate firewall? If it is, you will want to discuss your requirement with your company IT department and potentially with your IT service provider. Most smartphones have hotspot capabilities today which is handy for checking the router and firewall.

Check if your company IT policy on the router is blocking your internet access. You can easily check this by starting a hotspot on your smartphone and connecting the device to it. If you have internet connection and get the speeds required, this would point to a firewall setting.

 

Safe Mode

From a device mode, firstly you should test if your device can connect to other encrypted WiFi networks. If it doesn’t the best test to find the problem is to reboot the device in safe mode. We’ve put links here so you can find out how to do this for each operating system:

Android: Link to Google Android Support

iOS: Link to Guide on how to boot iOS 13 and 14 devices in safe mode

Windows: Link to Microsoft guide on how to boot Windows 10 devices in safe mode

If you’ve completed the actions above, your device will most likely be back online. If not, you should contact your reseller to get back online.

 

What about PTT Radios and WiFi?

Some PTT Radios (like the iPTT P500) have WiFi connectivity. This means you can also use PTT Radios where there is no mobile signal (but a WiFi signal). If you want to know more about how this works, please contact us using the details below.

Before you decide on a 4G LTE router, we recommend you look at coverage of the mobile networks. You can check that here: https://www.iptt.co.uk/coverage-multi-network-sims/ If you’ve got any questions, need any help or want find out more about 4G LTE Routers, please call iPTT, email iPTT or get in touch