This symptom has a distinctive shape: the network says "Connected", the signal bars are full, and beside them sits a small exclamation mark. Nothing loads.
The confusion is reasonable, and it comes from one mistaken assumption: that being connected to Wi-Fi is the same as being connected to the internet.
Two different things
Connecting to Wi-Fi means exactly one thing, your device successfully talked to the router. At that point the internet hasn't been touched at all.
Three stages follow, and each can fail on its own:
- Getting an address. The router gives your device a house number on the local network, see the guide to local IP and DHCP.
- A route out. The router needs a live connection to the provider.
- Name translation. An address like giakreasi.com must become a number, that's DNS, explained in the guide to DNS.
The exclamation mark appears when one of the three fails. Helpfully, each leaves a different trace, so none of this needs guessing.
1. Check whether it's only one device
This is the first question, and it splits the search into two entirely different paths.
Try loading any page from another device on the same network.
- Only one device affected: the network is healthy. Skip to the device section below.
- Every device affected: the problem is the router or the provider. Continue in order.
2. Read the device's IP address
This single number narrows things more than any other step. You'll find it in the device's Wi-Fi settings, under the details of the connected network.
| Address starts with | What it means |
|---|---|
| 169.254. | The router isn't answering. The device invented its own address. |
| 192.168. or 10. | The router answered correctly. The problem is further out. |
| Empty or absent | The connection never actually completed. |
A 169.254 address eliminates half the possibilities at once: the problem sits between device and router, and the provider has nothing to do with it. The usual cause is the router's DHCP being full or switched off, details in the guide to local IP, DHCP, and address clashes.
3. Read the modem's lights, not the router's
If every device is affected and addresses look normal, it's time to check the route out.
Look at the light marked internet, PON, or WAN, not the Wi-Fi light. The Wi-Fi light stays perfectly normal as long as the router is transmitting, even when the connection to the provider is completely dead. That's exactly why this symptom confuses: everything looks lit.
What each colour and blink pattern means varies by manufacturer, and is covered in the guide to router indicator lights.
4. Test DNS with one attempt
If addresses and modem lights are normal, the next suspect is name translation.
The test is simple: open 1.1.1.1 in a browser. That's a numeric address, not a name,
so it needs no DNS at all.
- Numbers load, names don't: it's DNS. Change it using the guide to changing DNS, and the guide to DNS not responding covers the causes in more depth.
- Neither loads: not DNS. Move on.
5. Restart in the right order
Restarting is a cliché, but the order is rarely observed, and the wrong order fails where the right one works.
- Switch off both modem and router. Unplug from power, not just the button.
- Wait a full minute. This isn't superstition: some modems hold the old session for tens of seconds, and powering up too soon reconnects them to a session that's already broken.
- Power up the modem first, and wait for its lights to settle.
- Only then power up the router.
A router that starts before the modem is ready looks for a route that doesn't exist yet, gives up, and won't try again until it's restarted.
If it's only one device
The network is healthy, so different things need checking. Three causes cover nearly every case:
- A clashing fixed IP address. A device once configured manually will use that same address on any network, including ones that don't recognise it. Set it back to automatic.
- A manual DNS that no longer works. A DNS address set long ago may simply have been shut down.
- A VPN still active. A half-disconnected VPN leaves the device sending data down a route that isn't there, see the guide to VPNs on public Wi-Fi.
If all three are fine, further device-specific steps are in the guide to Wi-Fi problems on a single device.
One case that's often misread
In cafés, hotels, and public places, exactly this symptom often isn't a fault at all, it's a login page that hasn't been opened. The device really is connected to Wi-Fi, but the route is held until the terms are accepted.
If that page doesn't appear by itself, the guide to a missing Wi-Fi login page explains how to summon it, and the guide to captive portals explains how they work.
What won't help
- Forgetting the network and reconnecting as a first step. It destroys the evidence, the IP address you could have read, without fixing anything.
- Factory resetting the router. Far too drastic for this symptom, and it erases settings you may not remember how to rebuild.
- Replacing the router. In most cases the router is fine.
Connected to Wi-Fi means the device is talking to the router. The internet needs three more things, and the exclamation mark only tells you one of them failed, not which.
Two checks find which one in nearly every case: whether other devices are affected, and whether the IP address starts with 169.254. After those two answers, there's only one path left to follow.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Wi-Fi connected but the internet doesn't work?
Because they are two separate stages. Connecting to Wi-Fi means your device successfully talked to the router. Getting internet needs three further things: an IP address from the router, a working route out to the provider, and a name translator. Any one of the three failing is enough to leave the connection looking full but useless.
What does an IP address starting 169.254 mean?
That's an address the device invented for itself after getting no reply from the router. The meaning is clear and narrows the search: the problem lies between device and router, not between router and provider.
Why is only one device affected while the others are fine?
Then the problem is almost certainly on that device rather than the network. Most commonly: a fixed IP address that clashes, a manually set DNS that no longer works, or a VPN still active without you realising.
