General
Join or sign in
Sign in to save your progress and earn a certificate
Welcome to the 'What to do when your home internet drops out' video course. In this video, you'll learn some simple steps to help you get your home internet connection back up and running if it stops working.
When your home internet is not working, devices and websites will report that you are not connected to the internet, and the Wi-Fi symbol on devices may appear with an exclamation mark or be greyed out. This demonstration uses a typical home setup with a router and an NBN, or National Broadband Network, connection. The steps will be similar for other internet connections such as ADSL or fibre.
The first thing you should check is your modem router, or router for short. This connects your home to the internet and uses Wi-Fi to broadcast the signal to other devices around your home. Look at the lights on the front of your router. If the lights are off, check that it is plugged into a power source. If it isn't, plug it in. If the lights are flashing or red, there may be a problem with the connection to the internet and you should restart your router.
Restarting your router involves turning it off and on again. A restart is also called a power cycle. Unplug the power cord from the router, wait for about 30 seconds to one minute, then plug it back in. Wait for the lights to come back on, then check your internet connection again to see if it's working.
If the internet is still not working, the issue could be with your Wi-Fi connection, rather than the internet itself. On your phone or computer, check that you're still connected to your home Wi-Fi network. If you are connected to Wi-Fi, but there's no internet, try disconnecting from the Wi-Fi network and reconnecting. If, however, you can't connect to your Wi-Fi network, the router might be having trouble broadcasting the internet signal. Try restarting the router.
If you've tried following these steps on your computer, but Wi-Fi still isn't working, you can try connecting it directly to the router using a cable. This is called a wired connection. If your internet works, the problem might be with your Wi-Fi signal. You may need to move the router closer to your Wi-Fi device or use a Wi-Fi extender or booster to improve the signal.
Sometimes, internet outages can happen due to issues outside your home, like maintenance or technical problems with your internet service provider. You can check for an outage in your area by visiting your provider's website, using their app, or calling their customer service line. If there is an outage, your provider should let you know when the service will be restored.
If nothing you've tried has fixed your internet, report the issue to your internet service provider, either by calling their customer support line or using their online chat service. Your provider may be able to detect problems remotely or provide more troubleshooting steps, including helping you with advanced settings in your router.