What should I do if I can access my NETGEAR router but can’t connect to the Internet? (2025)

If you can access your router but not the Internet, you can check to see if the problem is with your router or modem, your Internet service provider (ISP), or another configuration issue.

Use the following troubleshooting tips to determine why you cannot access the Internet:

Check to see if your router has a WAN IP address from your ISP

Unless your ISP provides a fixed IP address, your router requests a wide area network (WAN) IP address from the ISP. You can determine whether the request was successful from the Router Status screen in the router web interface:

1. Launch a web browser from a device that is connected to your router's network.
2. Enterrouterlogin.net.
   A login window displays.
3. Enter your user name and password.
   The default user name isadmin. The password is the one that you specified the first time that you logged in. The user name and password are case-sensitive.
4. The BASIC Home page or Dashboard displays.
5. SelectAdministration > Router Status.
6. Check that an IP address is shown for the Internet port. If 0.0.0.0 is shown, your router has not obtained an IP address from your ISP.

If your router cannot obtain an IP address from the ISP, you might need to force your cable or DSL modem to recognize your new router by restarting your network. For more information, see How do I power cycle my home network?

Make sure that your ISP doesn’t require special configuration

If your router is still unable to obtain an IP address from the ISP, you might have one of the following configuration problems:

• Your ISP might require a login program. Ask your ISP whether they require PPP over Ethernet (PPPoE) or some other type of login.
• You might be using login software that is no longer needed. If your ISP provided a program to log you in to the Internet (such as WinPoET), you typically do not need to run that software after installing your router.
• If your ISP requires a login, the login name and password might be set incorrectly.
• Your ISP might check for your computer's host name. Assign the computer host name of your ISP account as the account name on your router’s Internet Setup page.
• Your ISP might allow only one Ethernet MAC address to connect to the Internet and might check for your computer's MAC address. In this case, do one of the following:
  • Inform your ISP that you purchased a new network device and ask them to use the router's MAC address. For more information, see What is a media access control (MAC) address?
  • Configure your router to clone your computer's MAC address. For more information, see What are cable ISP authentication and MAC cloning?
    

Check your DNS settings

If your router has an IP address, but your computer does not load any web pages from the Internet, your computer might not recognize any Domain Name System (DNS) server addresses.

A DNS server matches domain names (like www.netgear.com) to their IP addresses. For more information, see What is a Domain Name System (DNS) server?

Depending on your ISP’s requirements, you might not need to do any DNS configuration, or your ISP might provide the addresses of one or two DNS servers for you to use. If you entered a DNS address during the router's configuration, verify that the DNS address matches the information your ISP gave you. You can also configure your computer manually with DNS addresses; check the documentation for your computer’s operating system for instructions. For more information, see Troubleshooting DNS resolution problems.