Routers and modems are already fickle pieces of hardware in the first place, and when hit by a power outage, practically anything can happen to your network connection. However, try these basic solutions if you find your network connection not working after a power outages. Chances are your connection will magically start working again.

Reset your router

This renews your IP address and restarts your router, which gets rid of most system errors within the router. Since the router is like a mini-computer, restarting it will solve data corruption and memory leak problems just like how restarting your computer solves many common system errors. This is a quick catch-all method that usually solves most networking problems.

Connect directly to your modem

Wireless connections in general are unstable, and your problems may be fixed by simply connecting directly to the modem through an Ethernet cable. Even if using an Ethernet cable may not be plausible in the future, use this method to determine the location of the problem. If your internet works when connected to the modem but not to your router, the problem lies within your router.

Reinstall your network adapter drivers

Go to the drivers and devices page of your computer manufacturer and find the newest network adaptor driver for your computer model. You may have to provide the serial number of your computer in order to download the driver. If your computer does not have internet, download the driver from a computer that does and transfer the file to the problem computer through a USB drive. Double click on the driver and install.

Buy an external network adapter

There’s a chance that the power surge blew the internal network adapter, but you’ll still be able to access the internet through an external network adapter. They’re relatively cheap, starting from around $15 online.

Networking issues are common even without a power outage thrown into the mix, so they can be very complicated. It’s best to consult a professional technician if you find your network connection not working. Use TalkLocal for no additional charge to find one now!

This entry was updated on Wednesday, July 1st, 2015 at 1:29 pm. This entry was originally posted on Wednesday, November 28th, 2012 at 6:00 am and is filed under Computer Repair. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.