topic Re: Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection in My Router

Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection

visionfields — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 10:55:27 GMT

Since Thursday (26th Oct) no Windows laptops will connect to the internet. Both wifi and ethernet cable direct into router won't connect (shows as "no internet, secured" and Unidentified network, no internet" respectively).

Apple devices seem unaffected, with both iPhones and Macbooks connecting via wifi with no problems.

Any suggestions of where to look would be gratefully received!

Thanks,

Re: Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection

Baldrick1 — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 11:27:19 GMT

Moderator's note:
Post moved from Broadband to My Router

Re: Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection

RichardB — Sat, 28 Oct 2023 07:35:31 GMT

Hi @visionfields
I can only guess but could it be DNS related?
The apple devices could be using Apples secure DNS whereas Windows will be using the DNS provided by the router.
Regards
Richard

Re: Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection

Champnet — Sat, 28 Oct 2023 07:41:35 GMT

Worth checking the IP addresses of the windows devices. They should be in the range 192.168.x.x either fixed or obtained via DHCP. If they're in the 169.254.x.x then there's a communication problem between computers and router.

Re: Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection

visionfields — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 19:39:22 GMT

Thanks Richard. Any suggestions how I meant be able to check for DNS issues please?
What’s also strange I can’t even connect to the Hub via it’s up address from any Windows laptop anymore. iPhone can though

Re: Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection

visionfields — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 19:44:01 GMT

Thanks for replying. I’ve checked and can see the laptops are being assigned an IP address in the range 192.168.x.x
But not getting through to the internet.
It’s strange the problem happened overnight, almost as if the router had a separate update that’s caused the problem but I’m not sure how to check it that took place…..

Re: Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection

Dan_the_Van — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 21:18:07 GMT

@visionfields

It will be helpful to see the print out for ipconfig /all when typed in a command window. What result do you get when you use command nslookup www.bbc.co.uk ?

There is no need to hide the devices IP address as they are private to your LAN.

Re: Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection

James30 — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 08:46:43 GMT

@visionfields - Hi like @Dan_the_Van said, ipconfig /all will help, the Default Gateway and DNS needs to be 192.168.1.254. I suspect you have other networking tech giving out DHCP addresses or the laptops have Ip addresses manually set.

Is it just the router you have or are there any, boosters, extenders, powerline adapters, switches in the mix?

Re: Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection

visionfields — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 12:34:19 GMT

Thanks @James30 and @Dan_the_Van for the pointers, and yes I do have a powerline extender (BT hotspot 500).

With ip assignment set to Automatic (DHCP) I've discovered that the laptops are being assigned ip addresses in the 192.168.10.xxx range. This still happens with range extender disconnected and laptop plugged directly into router via ethernet cable. Screenshot from ipconfig attached.

If I give the laptop a fixed ip address in the 192.168.1.xxx range it connects to the internet fine both over wi-fi and ethernet, and via the BT hotspots as well.

I've also connected to the Hotspot directly via its ip address and settings say it is getting its ip address from the router (and it is also being given an ip address in the 192.168.10.xxx range)

Any ideas why the router maybe giving out ip addresses in the 192.168.10.xxx range please?

Re: Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection

Dan_the_Van — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 11:51:16 GMT

@visionfields

It suspect you have a DHCP server running on BT Hotspot, so devices connected to it will be off network to the Hub.

Are you able to turn off the DHCP server on the Hot spot. If you're not sure what model is it and I'll check.

Edit: sorry missed it's a BT hotspot 500

Re: Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection

visionfields — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 12:00:09 GMT

Thanks for getting back to me. I can't see anything when I log in to the Hotspot that it has a DHCP server feature. They are old and been part of the set-up for over 5 years without any issues.

Also I still get the problem if I disconnect them and just plug my laptop directly into the back of the Hub 2 router.

And it's only effecting windows laptops. The iphone, macbook all still connect fine. Pulling my hair out......

Re: Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection

James30 — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 12:06:00 GMT

@visionfields - I'd just factory reset them because there must be something not right in the first place assuming that you haven't played with any DHCP setting yourself. I've seen it a few time even from the least likely customers where randomly powerline adapters randomly start giving out DHCP.

There are other ways of setting it up such as having multiple DHCP servers giving out separate ranges of IP addresses but I wouldn't bother and just use the routers DHCP.

Re: Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection

Dan_the_Van — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 12:10:00 GMT

I would follow James advice to see if that helps.

Looking at the screen shot you attached, you appear to have both a wired and wireless connection, is this something you always do? It is advised only to use either not both.

For the Hub two the DHCP server is found here >Advanced Settings >My Network >IPv4 configuration, make sure everything is in the same address range 192.168.1.0/24 (mask 255.255.255.0)

Re: Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection

Baldrick1 — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 12:30:30 GMT

@visionfields wrote:
With ip assignment set to Automatic (DHCP) I've discovered that the laptops are being assigned ip addresses in the 192.168.10.xxx range. This still happens with range extender disconnected and laptop plugged directly into router via ethernet cable. Screenshot from ipconfig attached.

Any ideas why the router maybe giving out ip addresses in the 192.168.10.xxx range please?

In the command mode enter:

ipconfig /release

ipconfig /renew

Rather than the hub issuing the wrong ip address it is probably the computer hanging on to the old one.

Re: Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection

MisterW — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 13:05:28 GMT

@visionfields if that still gives an ip in the 192.168.10.x subnet, then from a cmd window issue the command arp -a and post the results. That will give us the physical (MAC) address of the rogue dhcp server ( assuming 192.168.10.1 ). From the MAC we can deduce the manufacturer and hopefully then guess what device it is...

Re: Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection

Dan_the_Van — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 16:54:24 GMT

@visionfields

with ipconfig /all it should detail the DHCP server IP Address being used to issue that IP Address; see below.

IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.10.100(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 31 October 2023 14:32:28
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 02 November 2023 07:36:56
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.10.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.10.1

Mine is intentionally 192.168.10.1 but the default for a plusnet hub this would be expected to be the same as the default gateway 192.168.1.254 the Hub's IP Address

A screen shot of >Advanced Settings >My Network >IPv4 configuration from the Hub would help, do you use 192.168.1.254 to access the Home page.

Re: Apple devices connecting to Internet okay but Windows Laptops have lost connection

visionfields — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 16:10:26 GMT

Thanks everyone for the guidance with this problem.

After many attempts I finally managed a factory reset on the powerline adapters and cloned them back to the router ssid/password. However, this then revealed the problem.

One of the 2 adapters cloned to the router ssid but wouldn't provide an internet connection.

I periodically had laptops dropping off the network and re-joining with a 192.168.10.xx ip adress which prevented connection to the internet (router is 192.168.1.254). When this happened the "rogue" adapter had managed to connect to the router (and could be used for an internet connection), but in doing so "kicked-off" any device connected to the other adapter. Unplug the "rogue" adaptor and connections are stable again.

Looks like I may have to invest in some new powerline kit (the old BT hotspots have lasted 8 years so not too bad I guess).

Thanks All,