All of a sudden our Internet line stopped working, preventing us from continuing our work or blocking the viewing of the movie or TV series that we were enjoying streaming. Many times understanding where the problem is could prove to be a difficult task, especially if the modem we use to establish the connection breaks. Even if modern modems / routers are robust enough to cope with the most disparate situations, a blackout, a violent storm or other external factors (not least continuous downloads and uploads) can suffice to damage the logic board contained in the modem.
In this guide we will show you how to notice that the modem in use is broken by some signals (some easy to understand, others less easy) and in case what to do to solve .
READ ALSO: Solve Internet and network connection problems on your PC
1) Check the LED lights
The modem can immediately provide us with information on the connection and its health by the LED indication lights, present on the front or top of the same. The lights change according to the model, but you can still find indications by checking these 3 elements:- Power light : shows that the modem is correctly switched on and is receiving electricity; this light must be steady and not flashing.
- Connection light (ADSL, VDSL or Fibra) : indicates that there is an effective connection between the modem and the telephone exchange (in jargon called carrier); this light must be fixed, otherwise there is a problem between the modem and the control unit (telephone cable or fiber cable, telephone socket, cabinet, etc.).
- Line light (Internet) : this light (not always present) indicates that we are able to connect to the Internet correctly; it must also be fixed.
To avoid confusion in modern modems it is combined with the connection one, becoming a single LED light for Internet connectivity. This concept is wrong, however, since it can be important but not surf the Internet, running the risk of not understanding well what does not work in the modem.
If we have to choose a new modem, then choose one that has a light for the connection and a light for the Internet, so as to understand immediately where the problem is.
READ ALSO: Red modem LED (no Internet): what to do before calling for assistance
2) Check connection cable
After checking the modem lights the problem is the carrier ">We try to remove the cable and reinsert it, also eliminating any ADSL filters and connecting the cable directly; if you use VDSL connections, the filter is completely useless so we can remove it without problems.
If the modem is not surfing or still has problems, we can try to buy a new RJ11 telephone cable (€ 6) or a new ADSL filter (€ 3), if we still use this connection technology.
We don't know the difference between ADSL, VDSL and optical fiber?
We advise you to deepen these terms in our detailed guide present here -> VDSL, FTTC and FTTH fiber: which differences and which is better?
3) Check DNS parameters
The carrier is present but the devices are not surfing or the Internet light is off?
In this case the problem does not concern the telephone exchange and the connection of our modem, but it could concern the network infrastructure of our operator (problems on the distribution lines or on the backbones). In this case there is little we can do except report the problem to telephone support; as a last resort, however, we can change the DNS servers, one of the infrastructures used to surf the Internet correctly.
To change the DNS on a PC, please read our dedicated guide -> If the DNS does not respond, how to solve it .
If instead we wanted to change the DNS on our smartphones or tablets, we refer you to reading the guide here -> How to change DNS on Android and iPhone .
4) Check the Ethernet or wireless connection
The Internet works correctly on another device on the network ">If the other ports are busy and we don't know how to connect the device, we can always increase the number of ports by using a working LAN port and connecting an Ethernet switch (€ 18).
If the device is connected via wireless, we must enter the configuration panel of the modem, go to the Wireless menu and change the transmission channel for the 2.4 GHz frequency.
We choose one of the least crowded wireless channels, so we can minimize interference with nearby networks and other wireless devices. If our modem has a 5 GHz wireless connection, the time has come to configure it and use it on devices that have the dual Wi-Fi module, so you can surf the Internet using a faster and less prone to interference network.
To deepen the discussion on the differences between the two types of network, we refer you to reading our dedicated guide -> Differences between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi networks; which is better "> Best WiFi Routers to connect your home wireless devices .
