HP laptop not connecting to internet

[John Roberts]

'Troubleshooting' function is telling me that the wifi connection is OK: "Your device is connected but you might not be able to access anything on the network". ('Network' just means the internet, right?) It says that it was unable to fix the issues found, and that "WiFi doesn't have a valid IP configuration"

What does that mean?

My iPad works fine- I'm writing this on it- is that relevant?

 

[(RIP) Mark H]

Shutdown and start up again

 

[John Roberts]

You don't mean just switch it off and then on? 'Cos I have- well, both the laptop and the WiFi.

 

[squibb34]

Not sure whether the OS matters?

Mine is on W 8.1 & will not connect if Bluetooth is left 'ON'. Switch Bluetooth/NFC to 'OFF' in Control Panel & mine connects to WiFi instantly.

 

[wessie]

there's an icon by the clock that tells you if connected to a network - click it and make sure you are connected to your wifi router, not your neighbour's router or your GoPro camera etc.

tick the box to say connect automatically and make sure it has the password for this connection

 

[leedude03]

check the correct day and date is displayed.

 

[John Roberts]

Sorry for having gone quiet, I'm back now.

Not sure whether the OS matters?

Mine is on W 8.1 & will not connect if Bluetooth is left 'ON'. Switch Bluetooth/NFC to 'OFF' in Control Panel & mine connects to WiFi instantly.

Bluetooth is 'OFF'. As for operating system, well, it's 4 months, so pretty new.

 

[John Roberts]

there's an icon by the clock that tells you if connected to a network - click it and make sure you are connected to your wifi router, not your neighbour's router or your GoPro camera etc.

tick the box to say connect automatically and make sure it has the password for this connection

Ah, got that, there's a symbol, three little arcs but with an exclamation mark (!) over it. Hang on, I'll click on that .....
A panel opens up saying 'No Internet, secured." At the bottom of the panel, under the heading of "Network settings" the box labelled WiFi on is blue, the other box next to it labeled Flight mode is grey (and so not active.)

STOP PRESS: nowthisminute another heading has appeared at the top of the panel beneath "No Internet, secured", with another WiFi symbol with only the inner dot bright and the three arcs pale (showing a very weak signal?) saying something like TalkTalk E-7EC** and, bugger me, the bastard's disappeared by now. Seems like the signal is even weaker than a very weak signal. Oh bother. I'll keep an eye on it in case it reappears.

PS, just read your post again, yes; it appears that it is (or is trying to be) connected to my router, the TalkTalk E- etc etc is the Wireless Router Name. Easy for you, I'm sure, but not for dumbo here!

So does it seem to you people that the problem is a weak WiFi signal from my router to the laptop? Well the two are less than a metre apart with nothing at all in between them. Harrumph.

So, where to now?

 

[John Roberts]

check the correct day and date is displayed.

Yes, both correct.

 

[wessie]

Ah, got that, there's a symbol, three little arcs but with an exclamation mark (!) over it. Hang on, I'll click on that .....
A panel opens up saying 'No Internet, secured." At the bottom of the panel, under the heading of "Network settings" the box labelled WiFi on is blue, the other box next to it labeled Flight mode is grey (and so not active.)

STOP PRESS: nowthisminute another heading has appeared at the top of the panel beneath "No Internet, secured", with another WiFi symbol with only the inner dot bright and the three arcs pale (showing a very weak signal?) saying something like TalkTalk E-7EC** and, bugger me, the bastard's disappeared by now. Seems like the signal is even weaker than a very weak signal. Oh bother. I'll keep an eye on it in case it reappears.

PS, just read your post again, yes; it appears that it is (or is trying to be) connected to my router, the TalkTalk E- etc etc is the Wireless Router Name. Easy for you, I'm sure, but not for dumbo here!

So does it seem to you people that the problem is a weak WiFi signal from my router to the laptop? Well the two are less than a metre apart with nothing at all in between them. Harrumph.

So, where to now?

If your other devices connect to the router then the wifi signal from the router is probably okay.

As this is a HP laptop, it would not surprise me if the wifi receiver is knackered. I bought a HP laptop and it worked for about 3 days.

I would take the laptop to a friend's place or somewhere that has free wifi and see if it connects to their network. This will tell you if the problem is within the laptop. If the HP laptop connects to the wifi in Tesco etc then your router may be broken or have the wrong settings (you could try pressing the master reset button).

 

[John Roberts]

If your other devices connect to the router then the wifi signal from the router is probably okay.

As this is a HP laptop, it would not surprise me if the wifi receiver is knackered. I bought a HP laptop and it worked for about 3 days.

I would take the laptop to a friend's place or somewhere that has free wifi and see if it connects to their network. This will tell you if the problem is within the laptop. If the HP laptop connects to the wifi in Tesco etc then your router may be broken or have the wrong settings (you could try pressing the master reset button).

Yes, signal from the router is prob OK, two iPads and an iPhone work, albeit slowly when my duff laptop is on.

Good idea about trying it at my mate's. ('Course, I knew that all along... )

Now, about this Master Reset thingy, where's that, it won't zap all my stored stuff, nothing like that, will it?

And thanks.

 

[AA388]

If its windows 10 it's the last update that has screwed it up, It's a know issue with the update and there's been a lot of talk on the web since late Dec. This works most of the time, Go to the search bar and type "cmd" when you get the option of running the command prompt right click onto it and run it as administrator. At the command prompt type "ipconfig /release" and after it's done that type "ipconfig /renew" and try that.

 

[stevelup]

Hi

You need to reset the network stack. Follow AA388's instructions above to get an admin command prompt, then type...

netsh int ip reset

... and ...

netsh winsock reset

...then reboot your machine. You should be back up and running.