Why won't wi-fi on my phone connect? If the main suspect is a router

Wi-Fi is the next generation of wireless technology. Only a little time, and this method of connection to the Internet is used by millions of users around the world. Wi-Fi connectivity makes it possible to connect compatible devices that are up to fifty meters away from the access point. In this case, the data exchange rate is about 150 mb / s... However, this is not all. Thanks to the latest advances in this area, speeds can reach several gigabits.

Every modern laptop, tablet or phone has a Wi-Fi radio module to its credit. Thanks to this, there is a significant saving in expensive traffic of mobile operators, and the radio module also opens access to high-quality multimedia content, while nothing needs to be downloaded to the device. All you need is to set up a Wi-Fi connection on a portable device, set a security password and then save it to open up broad Internet access. However, sometimes not everything goes as smoothly as it seems.

Sometimes wi-fi won't connect. Why? There are a number of reasons for this, the main of which we will now discuss.

Why do problems arise?

Mostly, failures while connecting the device to a Wi-Fi network occur due to incorrect settings of the wireless router. In this case, the laptop or tablet does not recognize the Internet connection at all. If this happened at home, you must sequentially perform a series of actions described below:

If, when connecting a portable device to a Wi-Fi network, a pop-up window appears with a message "Saved, WPA-WPA2 Security", it means that the encryption on the router is incorrectly configured or the password for the Wi-Fi coverage was entered incorrectly. To fix everything, you need to follow these instructions:

• Check if the password is entered correctly by opening "Connection" and clicking "Change". Next, you need to select the function of displaying the password and enter it again.
• If the password is entered correctly, but there is still no access, then the router settings are problematic.

If the settings are incorrect, you must:

Outcome

So now your laptop, tablet or smartphone should connect to Wi-Fi. In this case, the initial connection of the device with the router will be broken, you need to reconnect. As for encryption problems, in these cases it is also necessary to proceed step by step:

• You need to go to the "Settings" of the router, select the item "Network protection" - the sub-item "WEP", "WPA / WPA2", and then enter a password that will help the router to recognize the user. You will understand which item to choose from the error message, or you can experiment yourself.
• Next, you need to save the settings using the corresponding function, and then reboot the router.

These are, perhaps, all the main actions that you can do at this stage. In other cases, it is better to contact a specialist for a more accurate setting.

The most popular problem from a number of Internet and Wi-Fi network connections is when a laptop does not connect to a Wi-Fi network through a router. There are a lot of questions on our website on this topic, and even so they often ask what to do if the laptop does not want to connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi? I decided to write a separate article in which to collect all possible causes and their solutions related to connecting to Wi-Fi networks.

We will consider laptops and computers with Wi-Fi adapters. Simply put, any computers that can connect to the Internet wirelessly. Also, this article is suitable for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. We already have many separate instructions on the site, with solutions to various, specific problems with Wi-Fi both on laptops with Windows 7 and Windows 10. As I write this article, I will provide links that will definitely come in handy.

In the very question "what to do if the laptop does not connect to Wi-Fi", there is no specific information at all. There can be a lot of reasons why you cannot connect a computer to a router, as well as solutions. And as practice shows, the computer is not always guilty. I will try to consider all possible problems in order so that you yourself can fix them without any problems. Of course, everyone has different laptops, different routers, settings, problems, errors, etc. This undoubtedly complicates the task, it is very difficult to prepare a universal instruction that would help absolutely everyone.

If you have a laptop with Windows installed, there is a Wi-Fi router that distributes the network, and you cannot connect your laptop to the Internet via a wireless network, you cannot figure out what's what, then this article should help you.

Before we move on to any settings, be sure to try connecting your laptop to a Wi-Fi network. If you have Windows 10 then take a look. Perhaps you will succeed. If the problem persists, the computer could not connect to Wi-Fi, then see the article further.

All problems with the connection and operation of the Internet, I would divide into three categories:

• The laptop does not see the Wi-Fi network at all: the wireless adapter is turned off, the driver is not installed.
• The computer sees the Wi-Fi network, but does not connect to it: incorrect password, "failed to connect", endless connection, etc.
• The laptop connects to the wireless network, but the Internet does not work: "No Internet access", "Limited".

You can skip straight to the section you want, depending on what problem you have. Whatever it is, it should definitely fall into one of the categories. It will be much easier and clearer that way.

What to do if the laptop does not see the Wi-Fi network?

And so, let's start with the problem when your computer does not see wireless networks at all. At the same time, you are sure that your Wi-Fi network is working, there are neighboring networks, and they are displayed on other devices. But, in the list of available networks in Windows, they are not. And the list itself is not. In this case, the connection status (icon on the taskbar), most likely it will look like this:

If on the notification bar you see a wireless network icon with a red cross "no available connections", then most likely, there really is not a single wireless network in the radius. But, it is possible that this problem appeared for other reasons. In this case, running "Troubleshooting" can help. (you can start it by right-clicking on the connection icon)... I wrote about this using the example of Windows 10, in the article.

Most likely, you have the first case. Red cross near the computer. In this case, the driver is not installed on the Wi-Fi adapter. Or, the wireless adapter itself is turned off. Let's first make sure that everything is in order with the driver, since nothing will work without it.

Checking the wireless adapter driver

To do this, we need to go to the device manager. Right-click on "Computer" or "This computer" and select Properties... In a new window, on the left, open Device Manager... You can also start in the start menu, in the search, start writing "device manager" and open it in the search results.

In the device manager, we need to open the tab Network adapters, and see if there is a driver for our wireless adapter. You will recognize it by these words in its name: "Wireless" and "Wi-Fi". Here's how it looks roughly:

If everything is in order there, then read this article further. If there is no driver for the Wi-Fi adapter in the device manager, then you need to install it, and everything will work. If you do not know how to install the driver, where to download it, etc., then see the article on. On Windows 8 or Windows 10, this process is almost the same.

The main thing is to download and install the driver specifically for your laptop model (or the adapter itself if you have a USB / PCI adapter), and for your operating system. Well, I recommend downloading the driver from the manufacturers' official websites. If it doesn't work at all, then you can try programs for automatically installing drivers. But, this is if you cannot find the driver you need and install it manually.

Checking if the wireless adapter is enabled

The adapter itself, through which the laptop connects to Wi-Fi, or rather in our case does not connect, can be turned off. This needs to be checked. Right click on the internet connection icon and select "Network and Sharing Center"... In the new window, select Change adapter settings.

There should be an adapter Wireless Network Connection, or Wireless Network - in Windows 10. If there is no such adapter at all, then see above where I wrote about installing the driver. If it is, then it may be turned off. Right click on it and select Turn on.

If it is enabled, then you need to check if the wireless connections are disabled on the laptop itself. On every laptop, there is a keyboard shortcut that can be used to disable / enable wireless connections (activate airplane mode) including Wi-Fi. This, as I already wrote, is either a keyboard shortcut, or some kind of separate switch. For example, on Asus laptops, these are the Fn + F2 keys. You can always find this combination yourself. Key Fn + antenna key, or something like that. You can see separate instructions for. And if you have Windows 10, then see this instruction.

So we figured out the problems because of which it is impossible to connect to Wi-Fi. When a list of available networks is not displayed. If you've tried everything, but you just can't get your computer to see wireless networks, then it is possible that the adapter (hardware) itself is simply broken, or disabled. This, by the way, often happens after disassembling a laptop and cleaning it from dust. You can describe your problem in detail in the comments, I will try to advise something.

Computer won't connect to Wi-Fi

According to the plan, the second big problem is when the laptop sees and displays a list of available networks, your network is there, but it does not connect to it. At the same time, other devices are connected to your network (it would be nice to check and make sure of this)... Let's consider now the most popular problems with connecting to Wi-Fi in Windows 7, and Windows 10. On the eight, everything is the same, there is nothing new there.

First of all, if any error appears, restart your router and computer. Try to reconnect.

Error: "Windows could not connect to ..." and "Unable to connect to this network"

A very popular error that can appear when trying to connect a laptop to a Wi-Fi router.

I wrote about solving this error in Windows 10. As for Windows 7, there are the same solutions. To be honest, there are not many solutions, not a very clear error, and there is no definite way to get rid of it.

What else can you try to do: check on a laptop, in properties Wireless network connection (protocol version TCP / IPv4) whether automatic obtaining of an IP address is set there. In the router settings, you can try to change the security type of your network to WPA2-PSK (if you have another installed)... All this can be done in the settings of the router. We have detailed instructions on how to change the password on different routers on our website.

By solving the error "Windows could not connect to ..." in Windows 7 is.

Security key mismatch. Windows does not accept Wi-Fi password

You select your network in the list, specify the password, and Windows writes that the password is incorrect. Well, of course, the computer does not connect to Wi-Fi.

Please try again to see if you really entered the wrong security key. Check if CapsLock is enabled. If the laptop does not want to accept your password in any way, then there are two options: remember the password by looking at it in the router settings, or change the password for your wireless network. See the article:. You can change the password, for example, to some simple one, from numbers. For verification, then put a more complex password.

Read more about this error and its solution.

Another error that often appears in Windows when trying to connect to a wireless network. And it usually appears after changing some settings on the router. Basically, this is the network name and password.

When the error "The network settings saved on this computer do not meet the requirements of this network" appears, it always saves the removal of the Wi-Fi network on the computer, and then reconnecting. Links to instructions for deleting a network in Windows 7 and Windows 10 (forget the network), I gave a little higher (they are highlighted in blue).

After deleting the information about the wireless network, we simply reconnect, specifying the key from your network.

There is a Wi-Fi connection, but the Internet does not work

This is another story altogether 🙂

Therefore, we have separate, large articles on this problem, when a laptop connects to Wi-Fi, but the Internet does not work:

I will not write here because of what the errors "No Internet access" and "Limited" appear. The article has already learned a lot. If, after connecting to a wireless network, you encounter a problem when there is a connection, but the Internet does not work, then feel free to follow the links above. I am sure that there you will find a solution to these problems.

I wanted to collect all the possible, or at least the most popular problems encountered while connecting a computer to Wi-Fi. I think I did it. If you still could not solve your problem, then carefully read the article again. If, nevertheless, it does not work out, then describe your case in a commentary, we will think together.

IMPORTANT! Before setting up your phone, first check if you are within the range of a particular wireless Wi-Fi connection. You can use your home Wi-Fi, or you can connect your Iphone to free networks, for example, in cafes or shopping centers.

So let's start:

1. We go to the home screen and go to the "Settings" menu.
2. Then it will automatically start searching for available Wi-Fi.
3. Choose a name and connect.

This method is suitable for connecting to unsecured routers, for example, in public places.

If you connect to a secure Wi-Fi, then the sequence will be slightly different:

1. Open the "Settings" menu.
2. We are looking for the line "Wi-Fi" and enable the option.
3. After automatic search for Wi-Fi, select the desired access point.
4. Enter the password and click "Connect".

If in this way you cannot connect the phone to Wi-Fi, then you are entering the wrong password. In order to find out the correct one, contact the Wi-Fi administrator.

DO NOT FORGET! To connect your phone to a secure Wi-Fi you need to know the password, next to such connections the "lock" icon is displayed.

There are also situations when you need to connect your phone to a hidden access point that is not displayed in the general list. To connect a smartphone, you need to know the exact name of Wi-Fi:

1. Open the "Settings" menu.
2. We are looking for the line "Wi-Fi" and enable the option.
3. Click "Other" and enter the exact name.
4. We press "Security".
5. After that, you need to select the type of protection, as shown in the illustration below.

1. We return to the "Other network" item and enter the password.
2. Click "Connect".

The most common problems when trying to connect an IOS phone to Wi-Fi

It often happens that it seems that they did the right thing and followed the instructions, but nevertheless it is impossible to connect the phone with the IOS operating system to Wi-Fi. Do not despair and think that the saying "Technique in the hands of a monkey is a piece of iron" about you. Most likely, this is not a technical glitch.

If you cannot connect your phone to Wi-Fi, do the following:

1. Check the router connection. Also, make sure you are within range.
2. Check that the Wi-Fi option is enabled on your smartphone. Go to "Settings", then to "Wi-Fi". If there is a blue check mark next to the desired name, it means that the connection in the phone is complete and problems are observed in the router.
3. If you want to connect your phone to Wi-Fi at home, check if the cables are connected correctly and if the router is configured correctly.
4. Reboot your IOS phone and reconfigure it.
5. Reboot your router and reconfigure it as well.

If all else fails, try the following:

1. If you are trying to connect a smartphone in a public place, contact an employee of the establishment and ask him to set up Wi-Fi.
2. Check the connection on other devices, such as a laptop, or ask others if the Internet works for them. If the other devices are also not connected, then there is a problem with the Internet provider. Contact your internet provider.
3. Try to connect to another location or to a different Wi-Fi. If attempts are unsuccessful, contact a service center to check your Iphone.
4. Update the firmware version of your router and check that your smartphone is on the list of supported devices.

How to connect Android to Wi Fi

Many people think that setting up an Iphone is really not an easy task. Few would argue with this statement. But about Android, many believe that these are easy-to-use smartphones that even a child can figure out. However, in fact, when trying to set up Wi-Fi, there may be some difficulties here.

In general, the popularity of Android is growing every day. Probably, there is no longer a person who would not have a smartphone or tablet with the Android operating system in the arsenal of home appliances. Even the smallest children today actively use these gadgets instead of the usual toys, dolls, cars, etc. But at the same time, few people know how to properly configure Wi-Fi.

It is worth connecting a smartphone once and in the future the smartphone will independently connect to Wi-Fi. But it's not uncommon to see situations when you need to manually configure Android.

For a visual illustration, we will use the LG G4 smartphone with the version of the Android 5.1 operating system. However, the model does not matter, the android smartphones are almost the same.

Before you start configuring Android, you need to set up Wi-Fi by turning on the adapter. The adapter can be turned on in two ways:

1. Through the toolbar.
2. Through device parameters.

The first method is very convenient: swipe your finger across the screen (from top to bottom) and see the toolbar, as in the figure:

We are looking for a Wi-Fi button with a corresponding icon. Click on it and thus activate the Wi-Fi model.

After that, the system starts searching for available wireless networks and the following list appears on the screen:

Choose the one you need and connect. If it is password protected, enter a combination of characters and click "Connect". The whole process is automated and does not take much time.

Another question is if the connection is hidden in the parameters of the router or the DHCP function is disabled. Then you need to configure Android manually.

How to set up Wi-Fi on Android manually if the connection to the router is hidden

As with the first method, we first need to enable the adapter. But the methods listed above do not suit us for this. Changing the strategy: first go to "Settings". And then we act depending on the version of the phone. We find the item "Wi-Fi" and open its menu. We turn on the adapter. If you have an earlier model, then find the item "Wireless networks" and select "Set up Wi-Fi". We translate the adapter into the on position.

Next, we proceed to the manual search for available connections: you will be presented with a list of access points that were found automatically. If you are connecting to a hidden network, click "Add Wi-Fi":

Enter the exact name of the hidden access point (SSID) and proceed to security, as in the illustration below.

The capabilities of modern telephones go far beyond voice communication. With equal success, they can be used to store and edit files and, of course, to connect to the global network. Since mobile standards are most often limited by providers, owners of gadgets based on Android and iOS most often use Wi-Fi technology to connect to the Internet. But the presence of a Wi-Fi module in a mobile device alone does not guarantee a connection to the network.

It so happens that the phone does not connect to Wi-Fi, giving errors or notifying the user about the impossibility of connecting. Most often this happens due to a failure or incorrect settings of the device itself, but incorrect router configuration, modification of system files, installation of custom firmware, inconsistency of communication standards, infection with viruses and, in rare cases, failure of the Wi-Fi module can lead to the same results ... So, let's try to analyze in more detail why the phone does not connect to Wi-Fi and how it can be fixed.

Incorrect password entry, temporary failure

This error is usually issued when the Wi-Fi network cannot recognize the device connected to it. The reason is most often trivial - the user makes a mistake when entering the password and, as a result, receives a corresponding message.

Check if you entered the password correctly and try to connect again. Also note the name of the network. The Wi-Fi module on the phone detects not only your network, but also other access points that may have similar names, for example, mydoms and mydons. Make sure you are connecting to your network and not to your neighbor's network.

If up to this point there were no problems with authentication, try first restarting the smartphone and the router itself, perhaps there was some kind of temporary failure. Your phone still cannot connect to the Wi-Fi network? Delete the saved network in the WLAN settings and try to reconnect.

The above example is the simplest, but more often than not everything is a little more complicated, being associated with incorrect settings of the router itself.

Router settings

You connect to the network, but the phone does not connect to Wi-Fi, it says WPA2 or WPA is saved. After a few seconds, the message "Authentication error" appears. If the password is correct, there is most likely something wrong with the security settings of the router. It may be that the phone says "Saved", but the connection is still not established. It's easy to get into the router settings, you just need to go to the internal address in the browser 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 ... It is more difficult to understand its interface, since it can differ significantly in different router models.

By default, login and password are used to log in. admin / admin(look at the bottom on the case). Before making any changes to the router settings, remove the network from your phone, or at least disconnect. It is also advisable to create a backup copy of the router settings - if you suddenly get confused or do something wrong, you can always recover. After making changes to the settings of the router, it also needs to be rebooted.

Region

Now a little more detail about setting up an access point. First, try changing the region.

In the settings, this option is located in the section Wi-Fi - Advanced Settings, c - on the "Wireless" tab. In other models, it may be located in a different location. In a word, you need to first study the interface of your router. In the regional settings, the country in which you live should be selected, although this is not critical. Save your settings and reconnect.

Network mode

A much more important setting that can prevent the gadget from connecting to Wi-Fi is the wireless network operating mode. This is almost the main reason for the authentication error when connecting to Wi-Fi on a phone that may not support the current mode. There can be several modes: B, G, N, etc. If you have B / G / N mixed, install it, or you can try experimenting by choosing one or the other mode. Pay attention to the channel as well. It should be auto.

Security options

Find the security section in your router's settings and try playing with the options. It is desirable that the network authentication be set to WPA / WPA or WPA-PSK (if mixed, enable it), encryption - AES, the key contains only Latin characters, only numbers, or both.

After changing the settings of the router, reboot it, re-establish the connection on the phone. Unfortunately, the two methods described above can cause problems with connecting other devices, for example, a laptop or TV, if they do not support the changed parameters, so everything is not so simple here. If the password has been changed, in any case it will also have to be changed on other devices.

Channel width

It is highly unlikely that this will solve the problem, but just in case, you can try changing the width of the Wi-Fi network. In D-Link routers, look for the setting in the subsection Wi-Fi - Advanced Settings, in TP-Link - Wireless Settings - Channel Width... There are usually several available options: 20MHz, 40MHz, Auto and others.

Filtering by MAC address

Each electronic device has its own unique identifier - MAC address. Find the MAC filter subsection in the router settings and make sure that filtering is disabled.

If it is enabled, determine the MAC address of your smartphone, check the settings in the router and, if necessary, exclude the phone from the “black” list, or, conversely, add it to the “white” list.

Phone stuck getting IP address

Another common problem is the device getting stuck at the stage of obtaining an IP address. The phone does not connect to Wi-Fi, writes "Obtaining an IP address", and this message can be displayed for hours. The cause of the problem, again, may be hidden either in the settings of the mobile device or the router. The latter is indicated by problems with connecting to Wi-Fi and other devices. A DHCP server is responsible for distributing IP addresses to devices, changing the pool of addresses and the router itself in the router. If it is disabled, your device will never receive an IP address.

Is DHCP enabled?

Let's check the DHCP operation. The location of this setting differs from router to router. In TP-Link, you need to look for it in the Local network or LAN section, in D-Link it is usually located in the subsection Network - LAN.

The mode must be set to "Allow". Instead of a drop-down menu, the "Enable" and "Disable" radio buttons can be used in the router settings. Here, we suppose, everything is also clear.

Static IP

You can solve the problem of obtaining an IP address forever by registering a static IP in the advanced connection settings of your device.

To do this, click on your connection in the list of networks, select Change Network - Advanced Settings - DHCP - Custom(in earlier versions of Android, you will need to check the Static checkbox).

In the panel that opens, enter the IP address 192.168.X.YYY in the appropriate fields, where X is 1 or 0, it depends on the address where you access the router's settings (you can try both options), and YYY is any number from 0 up to 255.

The gateway must match the address of your router, leave the prefix length by default, DNS 1 (8.8.8.8) and DNS 2 (8.8.4.4) do not touch. If you have other data instead of those indicated in brackets, also do not change them - they are given by your provider. An exception is DNS 2, which can be left blank. If something is not clear or you doubt the correctness of the data entered, it is better to contact the support service of your provider - it is their direct responsibility to connect the devices of their clients to the network.

Automatic bug fixes

If you encounter an authentication error when connecting to Wi-Fi on Android, but your mobile Internet is working, install the application from the Google Play Store Android Wi-Fi Fixer... This utility is analogous to the Windows Connection Diagnostic Tool and is designed to find and automatically fix Wi-Fi connection errors on Android mobile devices. Once launched, the application checks all network settings and tries to connect to Wi-Fi bypassing.

Other reasons

The above examples of problems and how to fix them are the most common. In reality, there may be more reasons. Why won't my smartphone connect to Wi-Fi? Perhaps you installed an incomplete proxy server program, caught some kind of virus, rooted the device, changed the firmware, etc. Here you need to look at the circumstances. There have been examples of antivirus software blocking wireless connections.

In general, if the connection is lost after making some changes, most likely the reason is in them. If all else fails, reset your device to factory settings, remembering to back up important apps and data first.

Well, the most unpleasant thing that can happen is the failure of the Wi-Fi adapter. In this case, not only yours, but also other wireless networks will not be detected. There is already nothing to do, you have to carry your gadget to the service center.