BASIC NETWORK TROUBLESHOOTING STEPS
We’ve all experienced it before. Your websites not functioning properly, your
apps failing to load properly. And all of this most of the times is caused by a
likely culprit; your internet connection cutting out. As a regular user, you
might be wondering, “What do I do when this happens?”
Before you start trying to troubleshoot any issue, you want to have a clear
understanding of what the problem is, how it came up, and how long it’s
been going on. By gathering the right information and clarifying the problem,
you’ll have a much better chance of resolving the issue quickly, without
wasting time trying unnecessary fixes. Fortunately, there are some simple
steps to go through when troubleshooting an internet problem.
Step 1. Check Your Hardware
When you’re beginning the troubleshooting process, check all your hardware
to make sure it’s connected properly, turned on, and working. If a network
cable has come loose, this could be the problem behind your internet issues.
Unplug and replug your network cable to ensure that it is properly
connected. On various computers, the network cable port usually has a
status indicator light (Also known as an LED) that will tell you whether the
cable and/or port is working at all. Just check for an orange or white light and
if it is blinking, then your cable and port are working correctly.
Step 2. Power cycling.
Next, turn the hardware off and back on again. This is called Power Cycling
and while it might sound simplistic, often it really does solve the problem.
Power cycling your modem, router, and computer can solve simple issues—
just be sure to leave each device off for at least 60 seconds before you turn
it back on.
Step 3. Check Your IP Address
Put simply, an Internet Protocol address, is a series of numbers that
identifies any device on a network. Computers use IP addresses to
communicate with each other both over the internet as well as on other
networks. You may have commonly seen it as 172.16._._
So, how do you check for your IP address? First, you open the command
prompt and type “ipconfig” (without the quotes) into the command prompt.
The Default Gateway (listed last) is your router’s IP. Your computer’s IP
address is the number next to “IP Address.” If your computer’s IP address
starts with 169, the computer is not receiving a valid IP address and internet
connection will likely not work. If it starts with anything other than 169, your
computer is receiving a valid IP address to connect it to the network. If the IP
address entry is blank, then your computer is simply not connected to any
network.
Step 4. Check the WiFi name and password.
If you’re connected by a network cable, you can skip this step. This applies
only to WiFi users. If you’re no longer able to connect to the WiFi
automatically, changes may have been made to the network while you were
away so be sure to contact your ICT department to confirm any changes
made to the network.
Step 5. Contact your internet service provider.
If all of the above turn up no solutions, try contacting your internet service
provider (Like Safaricom or Zuku) to see if they’re having issues. You can
also look up outage maps and related information on a smartphone to see if
others in your area are having the same problem.
