Troubleshooting Wifi – TAF Help Desk

This article will go over different methods of troubleshooting wifi.

NOTE: Ensure you have done the following before moving on to the methods below

Restarted the computer
Ensure your wifi is turned on
Ensure you are connected to the correct wifi network
- BCLS is the wifi network you will want to be connected to

Method 1: Execute a gpupdate /force command prompt

Left click on the start button located on the bottom left of the screen
Type cmd
A black window will appear, this is the command prompt window
Type in gpupdate /force
The group policy will update
You will get one of two messages
- Message 1: The group policy has been updated
- Message 2: A rather lengthy message stating that the group policy was not able to update

Method 2: Perform a DNS flush

Left click on the start button located on the bottom left of the screen
Type cmd
A black window will appear, this is the command prompt window
Type in ipconfig /flushdns
If successful you will receive the following message below

Method 3: Ping a website to ensure you have network connectivity

Left click on the start button located on the bottom left of the screen
Type cmd
A black window will appear, this is the command prompt window
Type in ping followed with a website address such as google.com
- Example: ping google.com

If you have received 4 packets you have network connectivity

Method 4: Open network diagnostics

Windows has a tool called Windows Network Diagnostics that lets users troubleshoot connection issues.

Go to Windows Settings > Network & Internet > Status. Under Change Your Network Settings, click Network Troubleshooter.

Windows Network Diagnostics will run a couple of tests to see what’s possibly causing your Wi-Fi issues.

Windows will let you know if it does not find any issue. Otherwise, you will be given a list of possible actions to take to resolve the problem.

This tool, or a version of it, should be available in Windows 7 to Windows 10.

Method 5: Update windows

Your network problems could be caused by your system. If that is the case, Windows could have possibly released a fix. Try updating your Windows machine to the latest release.

Go to Windows Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update. Click Check for Updates. If there are updates available, Windows will download and install them.

Method 6:

Should none of these methods work, contact your IT admin.