If every phone, laptop, tablet and TV is connected to Wi-Fi but none of them can use the internet, stop troubleshooting the individual devices. When the same problem affects the whole network, the fault is much more likely to be around the modem/router, NBN connection, internet provider, cabling or another shared part of the connection.
This is an important diagnostic distinction. One computer with no internet can point toward that computer. Every device failing at the same time points in a very different direction.
If you cannot determine which part of the connection has failed, PcRiot provides Wi-Fi and internet help in Perth to diagnose the local network and establish whether the problem is inside the home or needs to be handed over to your internet provider.
Connected to Wi-Fi does not mean the internet is working
Your Wi-Fi network and your internet connection are related, but they are not the same thing.
When a phone or laptop says it is connected to Wi-Fi, it usually means this part is working:
Device -> Wi-Fi -> Router
The router still needs a working connection beyond the home:
Router -> NBN or ISP -> Internet
If that second part fails, the router can continue broadcasting Wi-Fi normally. Your devices may still show a strong Wi-Fi signal and remain connected to the network even though none of them can get online.
That is why restarting Wi-Fi on one laptop, forgetting the network or reinstalling a computer’s wireless adapter makes little sense when every other device has exactly the same problem.
First confirm that every device really has no internet
Before moving toward the modem or internet provider, confirm that the problem genuinely affects the whole network.
- π± Test at least two different devices. Try a phone and a computer, rather than testing the same laptop repeatedly.
- πΆ Make sure they are using the same home network. A phone connected to a guest network, extender or different access point can give you a misleading result.
- π‘ Temporarily turn off mobile data on the phone. Some phones quietly switch to 4G or 5G when Wi-Fi has no internet, making it appear that the home connection is still working.
- π Try more than one online service. One website or app being unavailable is not the same as the entire internet connection being down.
- π Test a wired connection if practical. If Ethernet works but Wi-Fi devices do not, the internet connection itself may still be available and the problem may instead be on the wireless side of the router.
If multiple unrelated devices all fail through the same router, the common parts of the network become the logical place to investigate.
What can cause no internet on every device?
Once the problem is confirmed across the whole network, several causes become much more likely.
- π An ISP or NBN service problem. The fault may be outside your home and affect the internet connection before it reaches your router.
- π The router has lost its WAN connection. Wi-Fi can continue working locally even when the router no longer has a usable external connection.
- π¦ NBN connection equipment has lost service. Where your connection uses separate NBN equipment, a fault or loss of synchronisation there can leave the Wi-Fi network operating without internet access.
- π A cable has become loose or failed. The connection between NBN equipment and the router can be interrupted while the router continues broadcasting Wi-Fi.
- βοΈ The modem/router has partly crashed. Its wireless functions may remain active while routing, DNS or the external connection has stopped working correctly.
- π A DNS problem is affecting the whole network. If the router or provider is supplying unusable DNS information, many devices can appear to have no internet even though some underlying connectivity remains.
- π οΈ The modem/router is faulty. Hardware problems, unstable firmware or a failing power supply can sometimes affect the shared connection rather than one individual device.
- π The service is not correctly configured or provisioned. This is particularly relevant after a service change, modem replacement or ISP account change.
The important point is that none of these faults is likely to be fixed by repeatedly changing settings on one computer.
Check the modem, router and NBN equipment
Look at the equipment that every device depends on.
The exact lights and labels vary between providers and hardware, so there is no universal combination that proves everything is working. However, an unexpected red light, missing internet or WAN light, flashing connection indicator or unusual status on NBN equipment can provide an important clue.
If you have a separate NBN connection device and router, also check the cable between them. A router can create a perfectly normal Wi-Fi network with that cable disconnected.
Do not assume that an NBN connection light proves the internet is fully working either. The physical NBN connection may be established while the ISP service, router configuration or WAN connection still has a problem.
A controlled restart is reasonable before changing settings
If the connection stopped unexpectedly, restarting the equipment is a sensible low-risk test.
Where there is separate NBN equipment, a useful sequence is:
- 1οΈβ£ Turn off the router and the separate NBN connection equipment.
- 2οΈβ£ Turn the NBN equipment back on first and allow it time to reconnect and settle.
- 3οΈβ£ Then turn the modem/router back on and allow it to establish its external connection.
- 4οΈβ£ Test the internet again from more than one device.
If your connection uses a single modem-router without separate NBN equipment, restart that device normally instead.
A restart and a factory reset are not the same thing. Restarting simply reboots the equipment. A factory reset can erase configuration and create additional problems, so it should not be the automatic next step.
If restarting the modem does not fix it
If you have already restarted the modem/router and every device still has no internet, repeating the restart usually stops providing useful information.
The next question is whether the router has actually regained its external connection. That may require checking its status page, the NBN equipment, physical cabling, the provider’s service status or the WAN configuration rather than continuing to reboot devices.
A modem that repeatedly needs restarting before the internet returns can also indicate a different problem from a one-off outage. The restart may be temporarily recovering the connection without explaining why it failed.
If the problem started after a new modem or router
A whole-house failure immediately after replacing the modem or router is a particularly useful clue.
The new device may be broadcasting Wi-Fi correctly while its internet-facing connection has not been configured or established properly.
Possible causes include the WAN cable being connected to the wrong port, required provider configuration not being complete, the service not being provisioned correctly, or the replacement equipment not being set up for the type of connection in use.
In that situation, reconnecting every phone and computer to Wi-Fi proves only that the new wireless network is working. It does not prove that the router itself has successfully reached the internet.
Could DNS cause every device to lose internet?
Yes. DNS converts names such as website addresses into the numerical addresses computers use to reach services online.
If every device receives the same unusable DNS information from the router or provider, the failure can appear across the entire household.
However, changing DNS should not be the first response to any whole-house outage. An NBN fault, lost WAN connection or disconnected cable can produce similar symptoms, and changing several settings at once makes the original fault harder to identify.
A useful diagnosis establishes whether the connection itself is down or whether the connection works but name resolution is failing.
Check whether your provider is reporting an outage
If you have mobile data available, use it separately from the home Wi-Fi to check whether your internet provider is reporting a service problem in your area.
A confirmed outage affecting your service changes the troubleshooting path considerably. There is little value rebuilding the home network while the upstream service is unavailable.
An absence of a reported outage does not prove the provider side is working, however. Individual line faults, provisioning issues and faults affecting only a small number of customers may not appear on a general outage notice.
When should you call your internet provider?
Your ISP is the appropriate next contact when the evidence points beyond your local network.
- π There is a confirmed outage affecting your service.
- π‘ NBN or connection equipment is showing that the upstream service is unavailable.
- π The service has an account, authentication or provisioning problem.
- π£οΈ Testing has established that your local router and network are operating correctly but the external connection is not.
NBN infrastructure faults, carrier outages and provider-side service problems ultimately need to be repaired by the organisation responsible for that service.
When the fault may still be inside your home
An all-device failure does not automatically mean the ISP is responsible.
Your router, WAN connection, local cabling, DNS configuration, mesh system or other shared network equipment can also take every device offline at once.
That overlap is why these problems can become frustrating. The provider may see an apparently active service while the household still cannot get online, or the router may appear normal because its Wi-Fi network continues to exist.
The useful question is not simply whether the Wi-Fi symbol is showing. It is where the working connection stops.
Avoid turning one fault into several
When every device loses internet access, changing unrelated settings on individual computers usually adds noise rather than helping the diagnosis.
- β οΈ Do not factory-reset the modem or router simply because restarting it did not restore internet access.
- β οΈ Do not change DNS, DHCP, IP addressing and firewall settings all at once.
- β οΈ Do not reinstall Wi-Fi adapters or reset networking on several computers when they all failed simultaneously.
- β οΈ Do not replace a modem or router until there is some evidence that the hardware itself is the problem.
The fact that every device failed together is already valuable diagnostic information. Preserve that clue and work outward through the parts of the network that all of those devices share.
Get help finding the whole-network fault
If all of your devices are connected to Wi-Fi but none has internet access, PcRiot can diagnose the local side of the connection rather than treating each phone or computer as a separate problem.
This can include checking the modem/router, WAN connection, NBN equipment where applicable, local cabling, DNS and network configuration, mesh or extender equipment and the connection path through the home network.
If the local equipment is working and the fault belongs with the ISP or NBN service, the diagnosis can also establish that boundary so you know which provider needs to take over.
PcRiot provides onsite Wi-Fi and internet troubleshooting in Perth for homes and small businesses.