Tip of the Week: How To Troubleshoot a Faulty Internet Connection

An Internet connection is one of the most crucial parts of running a modern business. However, this type of reliance can be crippling in the event that the Internet goes down. What can you do to make sure that downtime is limited to a minimum?

Here are three things that you can do to troubleshoot your Internet connection should it be down for some reason.

Make Sure Everything is Plugged In
The device that gives your organization a connection in the first place is your modem. This is the little box that plugs into the telephone jack in your office. With so many wires in your office, it’s easy for something to get unplugged without anyone realizing it. Investigate the problem at its source by making sure that the modem is properly plugged into the outlet, and that the router is plugged into the modem. Be sure to check that no wires are loose, as even something as simple as this could be a problem.

Give it a Restart
Depending on what the nature of your Internet connection’s issue is, restarting the modem is probably one of the more simple ways to fix it. Just unplug it from the outlet and wait a couple of minutes before plugging it back in. Worst case scenario, you’ll need to reach out to the Internet service provider and request a new one, as they are often the ones responsible for doing so.

Another option that you can try is to restart the router. This is something that you have a bit more control over, as your organization is responsible for procuring the wireless router itself. Simply unplug the router and wait for a couple of minutes before plugging it back in. Once you’ve done so, give it another go.

Contact Your Internet Service Provider
If all of this doesn’t help, the best thing that you can do is to reach out to your Internet service provider and make sure that nothing is faulty on their end. Since your ISP’s hardware is something that you can’t really do anything about (besides calling them, of course), you’ll just have to wait and see if they can resolve the problem. At the very least, you’ll confirm that the issue isn’t related to their services, so you’ll have a better idea of what to look for on your end.

If none of these methods yield any results, perhaps there is a network configuration issue that’s causing you trouble. If this is the case, it helps to have professional IT technicians around who know how to troubleshoot the problem. Macro Systems can offer the technical assistance needed to troubleshoot and resolve all connectivity issues within your network. To learn more, reach out to us at 703-359-9211.