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What to do when the internet goes down

Tip 5017, filed under wi-fi and broadband tips.

The short answer

Check whether it is your line or the provider, restart the router, and check the master socket. Most faults are one of those three and none of them need an engineer.

  1. Check the provider's status page on your phone using mobile data.
  2. Look at the router lights. A red or flashing broadband light points at the line rather than at your equipment.
  3. Restart the router: off, thirty seconds, on. Wait several minutes for it to resynchronise.
  4. Try the master socket. Plug the router directly into the main socket where the line enters the house, removing extensions and splitters.
  5. Test with a cable to rule out Wi-Fi.
  6. Then report it, with what you have already tried, which usually skips the first stage of the script.
What will ruin it

Keep some mobile data available for exactly this situation. A home that depends entirely on broadband for calls loses the ability to report the fault when the broadband fails.

Why it works

The fault is either in the provider's network, in the line to the house, or in your own equipment. Those five steps eliminate them in order, which is also the order the support line will ask you about.

Tipking is general household information, not professional advice. Test anything on a hidden patch first. Full disclaimer.

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