Find Out Whether Your Internet, Router or Device Is Down
Matthew Leo · Published September 5, 2026 · Guides
When the internet stops working, a factory reset is the most dramatic button and usually the worst first test. It erases useful settings before revealing whether the fault is the phone, Wi-Fi, router, provider or one broken website.
Test the connection from the smallest scope to the largest. Each result should remove possibilities.
Start with the size of the failure
Try a second website or app. Then try a second device connected to the same home network. Finally, turn Wi-Fi off on a phone and test through cellular data.
| What fails? | Most useful next check |
|---|---|
| One website or app | Check that service’s status; the home connection may be fine |
| One device | Restart it, disable VPN software, and reconnect to Wi-Fi |
| Every Wi-Fi device | Check router, modem and provider status |
| Wi-Fi but not Ethernet | Focus on wireless settings, coverage or the access point |
| Every device, including Ethernet | Check modem link and provider outage information |
Turn cellular data off while testing a phone on Wi-Fi. Otherwise the phone may silently use its mobile connection and make a dead home network look healthy.
Separate Wi-Fi from internet access
Wi-Fi is the local radio link between a device and the router. The internet connection begins beyond that router. A phone can show full Wi-Fi bars while the modem has no working connection to the provider.
If possible, connect one computer to the router with a known-good Ethernet cable. If Ethernet works and Wi-Fi does not, the provider link is alive. Investigate wireless settings, distance, interference or an access point. If neither works, move toward the modem and provider.
Do not connect a computer directly to an unfamiliar modem or fibre terminal unless the provider’s instructions support it. Some connections require authentication or specific equipment, and bypassing the router can expose the computer directly.
Check cables and status lights
Confirm that power, coaxial, fibre and Ethernet connections are seated without forcing them. Look for a damaged cable, a loose power adapter or a modem light that differs from its normal state.
Router lights are not standardized. Use the model’s manual or the provider’s support page rather than assuming red, amber or blinking always means the same thing. Rogers’ current troubleshooting guidance, for example, tells customers to inspect power, coaxial and Ethernet connections and check its outage page before deeper changes.
Check for a provider outage using cellular data
Visit the provider’s authenticated app or outage page from a phone using mobile data. Rogers says account holders can look for an outage alert in MyRogers. Other Canadian providers use their own tools, and some only show incidents after sign-in.
A crowd-sourced outage site can be an early clue, but it is not confirmation. A spike may represent one app failure or people in several cities reporting unrelated problems. Prefer the provider’s status, a support ticket and evidence from your own connection.
Restart in a controlled order
If no area outage is reported, use the provider’s restart instructions. For a combined gateway, that may mean unplugging the power briefly, reconnecting it, and waiting for the normal online lights. With a separate modem and router, allow the modem to come fully online before restarting the router.
Do not press the recessed reset button. A restart preserves the network name, password and provider configuration. A factory reset can remove them and disconnect every smart-home device.
After the restart, test the same website on the same device. Changing several things at once makes the successful fix impossible to identify.
Know when DNS is the likely fault
DNS translates a domain name into the address a device needs. Suspect it when multiple websites fail by name across several devices even though the router reports a live connection and other internet functions still work.
First remove simpler causes. Disable a VPN or filtering app temporarily, try another browser, and check whether only one service is affected. Custom DNS, proxy and security settings can also interfere with browsing.
Do not replace DNS settings blindly or leave a random resolver configured because a forum comment supplied an address. Record the existing values and use a reputable service. If the router receives DNS automatically from the provider, confirm with the ISP before making a permanent change.
Measure performance after service returns
The CIRA Internet Performance Test can measure a Canadian connection. CIRA advises connecting directly to the home network and turning off a VPN for a more accurate result.
Run one wired test and one Wi-Fi test near the router. If wired performance is normal but Wi-Fi is poor, buying a faster plan will not repair the local wireless problem. If both are consistently far below the plan, record the results at several times and contact the provider.
Mapletechie’s Wi-Fi extender versus mesh guide helps when the fault is coverage. Its router security checklist covers settings worth reviewing once the connection is stable.
Save the destructive fixes for last
On Windows 11, Microsoft’s network reset removes and reinstalls network adapters and restores their settings to defaults. It can require VPN clients or virtual networking software to be set up again. Use the built-in troubleshooter and ordinary restart steps first.
Before resetting a router, save its model, provider login, Wi-Fi names, passwords, custom DNS, port rules and any bridge-mode details. If the device belongs to the provider, contact support and ask whether a remote test can see the line or gateway.
Give support evidence, not only “it is down”
- the time the failure started;
- whether every device is affected;
- whether Ethernet works;
- the modem and router light states;
- the outage-page result;
- restart steps already completed;
- wired and Wi-Fi test results;
- the support ticket number.
If outages repeat, that record also helps when deciding whether to follow Mapletechie’s checklist for switching internet providers without double billing.
Good troubleshooting is not about trying more fixes. It is about finding the first point where a working connection becomes a broken one.
Tags: internet outage, Wi-Fi, router troubleshooting, CIRA, Canadian internet