When connecting to open Wi-Fi, the Internet does not work, or why you cannot connect to a free (unsecured) Wi-Fi network. Why doesn't my laptop connect to wifi?

A laptop today is an excellent alternative to a desktop computer. It has smaller dimensions and, most importantly, mobility. Long gone are the days when you had to carry an Internet cable with you to move around your apartment with a laptop. Wireless networks have made life easier for users around the world. But it is not always easy to get them working. When a laptop does not connect to wifi, it turns from a mobile computer back into a stationary one due to its constant connection to the cable.

Let's try to find out together the reasons for this problem and the main ways to solve it.

Let's start by listing the most common ones. In 90% of cases, the owner of a laptop experiencing difficulties with wifi is faced with the following:

• It is not possible to turn on wifi on the laptop at all (it does not see any available connection);
• The laptop refuses to connect to the desired network, but at the same time communicates with others without problems;
• The wireless network is detected, but the computer cannot connect to it (or has stopped connecting);
• The computer connects to the network, but web pages are still inaccessible.

This is the “bouquet” of the most common problems due to which a laptop may refuse to connect to the network. Next, we will look at each in more detail, with practical tips for eliminating them.

Complete lack of wifi

If you have a laptop in your hands, this does not mean that it can connect to wifi networks, or that it can see them at all. It was only a few years ago that having a wireless network module in laptop computers became the norm. Are you sure your laptop has it? If yes, it’s time to check whether this very module is enabled. This procedure is especially relevant if the laptop was previously connected to the network, but then stopped. You can do this in the following ways:

1. Using a wifi adapter switch

It is located in different ways: both on the sides of the laptop and on the back, near the keyboard (see Fig. 1).

Fig.1 Wi-Fi switch on the left side of the laptop.

2. Using a separate button that activates the module

In modern models it is found much more often than a switch. If your laptop suddenly stops connecting to the network, but it didn't cause problems before, it's possible that you accidentally pressed this button. Finding it is generally not difficult, but if you have problems finding it, open the device’s instructions, where on the very first pages the solution to this simple “puzzle” will be waiting for you. A hint can be a schematic image of the antenna drawn next to the button or directly on it (see Fig. 2).

Fig.2 Key that activates wifi in a laptop (using the example of HP Probook 4540s)

3. Using a keyboard shortcut

Sometimes manufacturers refuse to provide space for a separate button responsible for wifi operation. Then the function key combination takes over its task. Usually, this is “Fn+F2” (see Fig. 3). The first is located near the left “Ctrl”, the second is above the numeric area of ​​the keyboard (in the row of the so-called “F” function keys).

Fig.3 Key combination used to connect wifi.

• Not on all laptops this role is performed by F2 (this is a basic setting that can be changed by user settings);
• Additionally, if you recently reinstalled Windows but haven't yet taken care to install all the basic device drivers, the function keys may not work.

4. Through the operating system (using Windows 7 as an example)

In addition to activating the wifi adapter using buttons, there is also a software method.

To do this, go to the “Network and Sharing Center” (for example, from the Control Panel). Then select “Change adapter settings” (menu item in the left panel). A list of all available connections that your laptop sees will open. Among them there should be a “wireless network” (if it is missing, immediately skip this chapter and go to the next one, which describes in detail the process of installing drivers). The network icon can be gray (“Disabled”) or blue (“Active”). If you see a gray icon, right-click on it and then select “Enable” (see Fig. 4).

Fig.4 Enabling wifi through Network Control Center in Windows 7.

We looked at the main reasons for the lack of wifi connection on a laptop. There is only one nuance left:

If you recently reinstalled Windows, but did not bother to download drivers from the official website of the laptop manufacturer, many of its functions may not work. The operation of the wifi module will not be an exception. And, even if there are no comments in the “Device Manager” next to the adapter, its correct operation is not guaranteed. Therefore, go to the official website and get drivers for your laptop. Quite often this can be the only correct solution to a connection problem.

Now that we have made sure that the computer has a working wifi module, we move on to the next two chapters of the article.

The network is detected, but the laptop does not connect to it

In most cases, this behavior of the laptop is due to the lack of necessary drivers for wifi. This mainly happens as a result of incorrect completion of Windows reinstallation, when not all equipment “receives” its software.

And do not rush to consult the “Device Manager”. Often he does not even see the slightest deficiency in the installed software or any malfunction. Therefore, to fix this problem, you should make sure that you have the latest drivers for the wifi module. You can get them for free from the manufacturer’s official website, where they are always available.

Where to see which wifi driver is currently installed

Regardless of the Windows version, hold down the Win and R keys at the same time, then (in the window that opens) type devmgmt.msc and press Enter. This will launch the device manager (see Figure 5).

Fig.5 Wifi module in Device Manager.

If this is your first time here, you may find that all devices are divided into groups. The module we are interested in, with which the laptop connects to wifi, will be in “Network adapters”, where we go. Then we find it and right-click, then left-click on “Properties”.

In the next window, find the “Driver” tab and go to it. Look at the lines “Driver Supplier” and its “Development Date” (see Fig. 6).

Fig.6 Information about the module driver.

And if the supplier is not “native” for the laptop (does not match the name of the laptop brand), and the date is several years out of date, run to the manufacturer’s official website. There, as mentioned above, you can easily find the current version of drivers and download it.

After successful driver installation, you may need to start the wireless network. All the nuances of performing the driver update procedure were described in the first chapter.

The network is connected, but the sites are still unavailable

In this case, instead of the normal network icon on the taskbar, you can find this:

rice. 7. Restricted connection.

All the reasons why the user sees this icon can be divided into 3 groups:

• Malfunction or incorrect settings of the router;
• Incorrect settings in the laptop, or its hardware malfunction (which happens much less frequently), due to which it does not connect;
• Problems are on the side of the provider, which temporarily stopped supplying the signal in full (for example, due to repairs to equipment on the line).

Let's first try to figure out why the network has limited access in your case. In other words, who should you suspect of the problem: the router or the laptop?

If the router is at fault

Try connecting to the network using another device (tablet, mobile phone). If they cannot establish contact with the router, either it or the work of the provider is to blame. To eliminate the last option, we call the service provider and find out how things are going on your line. If everything is in order, we continue to “interrogate” the router. You need to go into its settings (you can use the web interface, the entrance to which was described in detail in the corresponding article) and find out if everything is in order there.

You can also call specialists, but often their arrival takes longer than setting it up yourself.

Option two - laptop malfunction

If at least one other device connects to the network, then incorrect laptop settings are limiting access to wifi.

There are a number of explanations for this, some of which we will consider below.

1. Blocking the network with a standard program in a laptop

If you use a laptop with a pre-installed operating system, in the vast majority of cases it may have a system utility installed on it that is responsible for the operation of the wireless network. You can find this application either in the Start menu, in All Programs, or in Accessories.

Fig.8 Wireless network manager window (standard utility in most laptop models).

And, if wifi is turned off here, then you are unlikely to be able to fully connect to it, even if the laptop sees the necessary network and connects to it.

2. Outdated drivers

The most common problem due to which the network does not connect. We discussed in detail the actions that need to be taken to eliminate it in chapter “2.3” of this article.

3. Incorrect wireless connection settings

These settings could have been lost due to an incorrect exit from Windows, or they were simply forgotten when creating the connection.

Go to “Change adapter settings” (this item is located in the “Network and Sharing Center”, and the last one is in the Control Panel). Then find the wireless connection among the available connections and right-click on it. In the drop-down list, select the bottom item “Properties” (see Fig. 9).

Fig.9 Network connections.

Here select “Internet Protocol Version 4”, then go to its “Properties” (see Fig. 10)

rice. 10 Select the desired protocol for setting up the network.

In the next window, you need to set automatic IP selection by placing black circles opposite the corresponding items (see Fig. 11)

Fig. 11 Automatic IP selection.

In most cases, this should solve the problem (especially if the addresses were entered manually). If, after doing all of the above, the laptop does not see the network as it should, we recommend contacting specialists (preferably from your provider).

Other reasons

While you wait for the technician, you can try some more manipulations that can solve the problem:

• Check the router settings to see if the network name (SSID) contains Cyrillic characters. It’s better to set a new name using only numbers and Latin characters.
• Set (in the settings) USA as the network region.
• Bring your laptop closer to the router. Perhaps the problem is only in the long distance to the router, due to which the laptop does not see the network.

We hope the tips from this article will be useful in quickly finding the reason why the laptop stopped seeing wifi and no longer connects to it.

The Internet and the latest electronic technologies are very closely intertwined in our lives. And sometimes problems with Internet access can ruin all our plans and interfere with our work or leisure. The phone not only helps you stay in touch, but also opens the door from anywhere to the World Wide Web, to the Internet. At the same time, no one is immune from sudden problems, so the question arises: why doesn’t the phone connect to the WiFi router? This information also applies to those users who do not know why the tablet does not connect to WiFi.

Let's look at the typical reasons below. It must be said right away that the solution may lie in simple manipulations with the phone. Therefore, apply all the methods described below, without thinking that this will not help in your situation.

What could be the reasons for WiFi not working on a phone or tablet?

First you need to restart your phone and turn off/on the Wi-Fi network on your phone. Then reboot your router(s). If there is still no network, then the problem is different. Another thing that might help is to remove the battery and connect it again, then restart the phone.

The causes of this problem may be the presence of incorrect network or router security settings, as well as the channel operating mode. What errors can we most often see on our device?

• In the connection status we see: “Obtaining an IP address...”, or simply “Connecting...”. But the phone does not connect to the network. That is, you specify the network where you want to connect, but the phone cannot do this.
• There is an authentication problem (authentication error), or simply the status “Authentication...” Usually in this case the message “Disabled” appears, and the phone is never connected to Wi-Fi.
• The message in the device is “Saved, WPA\WPA2 protected.”
• The phone connects to the router via Wi-Fi, but the Internet does not work and sites do not open in the browser.

What solutions could there be to get your phone or tablet to connect to WiFi?

So, possible solutions to your problem.

Removing WiFi connection

After that, try connecting to this network again.

Reboot the router

Sometimes, if there is a problem connecting not only your phone, but also other devices, you just need to reboot the router. A small note: you don’t just need to unplug and plug in the socket after a second, but unplug the router’s power cable for 10 seconds and only then plug it in again.

You must wait for some time so that there is no power left in the router. Such a circuit is often needed with other devices that are powered by energy. By the way, you can use the button that is on the router itself using the same procedure described above.

Changing the channel in the router

If you haven’t changed any settings and the connection with your router has always been without problems, then you should try changing the Wireless channel. This happens very rarely, but there is a small percentage that this setting can help you.

Where can you change the channel for your Wi-Fi? To do this, you need to go to your router’s settings in the “Wireless” tab and change the channel (Channel), then save the settings, reboot the router and try to connect. If it doesn’t work the first time, repeat the same scheme with other channels.

Check the password you enter when connecting to WiFi

If your phone displays an “Authentication” error, the problem may be an incorrect password or incorrect security settings.

The first step is to check that the password you have set is correct. How to do this, since some users may not be prompted to enter a password? You need to delete your connection and re-enter your password by clicking on your network. Always be careful when entering your password. If you have forgotten your password, you can look it up in the router settings.

Here are articles that will help you with this procedure:

If it's not a password issue, then you need to check your security settings. To do this, set the security type to WPA2. The password must be more than 8 characters and you can try use only numbers.

Saved, WPA\WPA2 protection and changing the password in the router

One of the most common problems is when the phone displays the message “Saved, WPA\WPA2 protected” and at the same time the connection icon may show the presence of a connection, but there is still no Internet in the device.

If the options described above do not help, then you need to check the Wireless operating mode/speed in the router settings, since the phone may not always support the router operating mode. To do this, you need to set the network operating mode to automatic or mixed instead of b, g or n.

If you couldn't fix the problem and you are still faced with the dilemma of why your phone won't connect to WiFi, try changing the encryption/security type that I already mentioned:

• WPA/WPA2
• WPA-PSK

These are the settings on my router:

Enter a new password (key) of 8 characters or more. It is advisable to change the password, as you may have forgotten the password and are entering a non-existent one.

Next - the same scheme: save the settings, reboot the router, delete the connection on the phone and connect, entering a new password when prompted. It should be remembered that the new password will need to be specified in other devices that use this router. For example, if you have a laptop or computer at home, you need to reconnect to WiFi by entering the new password that you specified in the router.

Channel width

Change the Channel Width in the router settings. Usually there are several options: Auto, 20MHz and 40MHz. After the change, save and reboot the router.

If there are other options, try using them.

MAC and IP address filter

Make sure the MAC or IP address filter is disabled. If you have activated this function in your router and have not specified which MAC and IP addresses can connect to the routers, then the problem may be in this particular router setting.

Here are the most common reasons why a tablet or phone does not connect to WiFi. I hope one of my tips helps you.

By the way, if you have a problem with WiFi itself, then read the article “”:

Here is an example when a user could not connect to WiFi from an iPad:

Hello, dear friends. As you probably already understood from the title, today I decided to touch on a very serious and painful topic, and try to figure out what to do when Wi-Fi on a laptop or netbook does not work and how to still connect a laptop to a Wi-Fi router. By the way, this can be not only a laptop or netbook, it can also be an ordinary desktop computer with a Wi-Fi receiver. A lot of similar questions have been popping up lately, mostly related to the article.

Now we will try to figure out step by step what and why problems may arise when connecting a laptop to a wireless Wi-Fi network. We will also try to find a solution to this very popular and unpleasant problem with connecting to Wi-Fi, or rather, an unsuccessful connection.

Most often, problems arise when it is not possible to turn on the Wi-Fi module itself on the laptop. And when Wi-Fi turns on, the laptop finds all available networks, but when trying to connect it writes . You need to check whether the drivers are installed on the Wi-Fi adapter, whether Wi-Fi is turned on on the laptop, etc. Now we will do this.

I noticed that most often problems with connecting to Wi-Fi occur in Windows 7. It is on this OS that the network without Internet access error very often appears; I wrote how to solve this problem in the article linked above. In fact, as practice shows, there can be many reasons for this problem. And if there are many reasons, then there are many ways in which you can force a laptop to connect to a Wi-Fi router.

But it’s not always the laptop, netbook, etc. that is to blame. There may also be a problem with the access point, that is, with the Wi-Fi router. And the first thing we need to do when a problem arises with connecting to Wi-Fi is to determine what the reason is, in the laptop or in the Wi-Fi router. Now I will consider the problem with connecting to my own router. Because if you can’t establish a connection with someone else’s Wi-Fi, then all the complaints are against your neighbor, it’s most likely his problem :).

Who is to blame, the laptop or the Wi-Fi router?

As I wrote above, you first need to find the culprit. Before you make any settings on your laptop or Wi-Fi router, you need to understand what the problem is, which is why you can’t connect your laptop to Wi-Fi. You can just set it up in such a way that then you have to do it and set everything up again. The best way to determine which device is hiding the problem is to try connecting another device to the router, for example another laptop, tablet, or phone. If you have a laptop that has problems connecting to Wi-Fi, you should try connecting it to a different wireless network.

I think that you understood my point. If there are other devices connected to your router (best with a similar operating system) will connect without problems, then the problem is in the laptop. Read this article further, now let’s try to solve it.

Well, if problems connecting to your network also occur on other devices, and the “problematic” laptop connects to other networks without problems, then the problem is in setting up the Wi-Fi router. See the article on, it might come in handy.

I will show the example of a laptop that runs on Windows 7. This is currently the most popular operating system.

I advise you to immediately pay attention to the icon that displays the status of your Internet connection. It's located in the notification panel.

If the Internet connection status looks like this:

First you need to check whether the drivers for Wi-Fi are installed and whether the Wi-Fi adapter is turned on.

Right click on “My computer” and select “Properties”. On the left select "Device Manager".

Open a tab in a new window “Network adapters” and see if there is a device like Wireless Network Adapter (You may have a different name for it). If you have such a device, then right-click on it and select “Properties”. Another window will open, make sure it says “The device is working normally.”

If everything is approximately the same as mine above in the screenshot, then everything is fine, the driver is installed. And if there is no Wireless Network Adapter device and you have unidentified devices, go to the website of your laptop manufacturer, download and install the Wireless Network Adapter driver for your model.

Learn more about installing and updating the driver for the wireless adapter.

We sorted out the drivers.

Checking whether Wi-Fi is turned on on the laptop

If the driver is installed, but the Wi-Fi module is disabled, the connection status will be the same:

Usually the wireless adapter on your laptop is turned on, but it doesn't hurt to check. Wi-Fi on laptops (netbooks) is usually turned on and off using a keyboard shortcut. On my ASUS K56cm, these are the keys FN+F2. But although when I press these keys I get a message that the wireless adapters are enabled/disabled, nothing happens. Look for the key on your laptop FN and a key with a picture of a wireless network. Press them at the same time.

Some laptops may have a special switch on the case that can be used to enable or disable Wi-Fi. For example on Toshiba Satellite L300 it looks like this:

Enable or disable the Wi-Fi wireless adapter in Windows 7

But the best way to check whether the wireless network adapter is working or not is to go to the network control center and take a look.

This means that in the notification panel, right-click on the Internet connection status icon and select “Network and Sharing Center”.

Then select on the left.

Among the connections we are looking for “Wireless network connection”. If everything is fine and the Wi-Fi adapter is turned on, then it should look like this:

If the adapter is disabled, it will look like the screenshot below. Right-click on it and select “Enable”.

Using the methods described above, we must make sure that the status of the Internet connection in the notification panel is like this:

This status means “No connection – There are connections available”- this means that the Wi-Fi adapter is turned on and there are available wireless networks to connect to.

If the connection status is like this:

This means that Wi-Fi is turned on, but the laptop simply does not see the networks available for connection.

Error “Windows could not connect to...”

We have sorted out the problem when the wireless network module is disabled or does not work at all. Now consider the case when the laptop finds available Wi-Fi networks, but when trying to connect to Wi-Fi it writes: “Windows was unable to connect to...”, where instead of dots is the name of the network you want to connect to.

If your network connection status is the same as in the screenshot above (via one, network with yellow icon), then click on it and you will see a list of networks available for connection.

Select the desired network, click on it, then click the “Connect” button.

If the set is password protected, Windows will ask you to provide the password. Enter your network password and click “Ok”.

And if everything is fine, then your laptop should connect to the Internet via a wireless connection. And the Internet connection status should look like this:

But it is at the moment of connection that the error “Windows could not connect to...” very often appears. She looks like this:

Unfortunately, friends, there is no definite solution to this problem. But I can download that very often the problem with such an error appears due to the settings of the Wi-Fi router. It may be through the type of security and encryption that is installed on the Wi-Fi router, read more about this in the article. There may also be a problem with the distribution of IP addresses.

If you notice that in the window with the error “Windows could not connect to...” you can run “Troubleshooting”, it would be a sin not to take advantage. Try running it, I heard somewhere that there are cases in which it helps :). But seriously, sometimes it really helps. Windows will check the readiness of the wireless adapter, check the settings, etc. And if it can, it will fix the problem that is preventing you from connecting to Wi-Fi.

Just reboot your router and then your laptop. Very often this helps.

Update

I noticed that in Windows this error appears when the settings that are saved on the computer for your network do not match the current network settings. I'll explain now.

For example, your laptop was connected to Wi-Fi, it automatically connected to the network. But you went and changed the password, or the type of network encryption. Now the laptop is trying to connect to the network, but the parameters no longer match, and that’s the error.

It is enough to simply delete the network on your computer and re-establish the connection. I wrote about this in an article

Conclusion

It’s a great article, and I hope it’s useful. I wrote it for half a day, with interruptions of course, there were still problems with adding screenshots to the site, but I seemed to have solved it.

I tried to collect all the necessary information that should help you solve the problem that arises when connecting a laptop or netbook to Wi-Fi. If I forgot to write something, I will definitely add to the article in the future, and I will also be very grateful if you share in the comments the information that helped you solve the problem with connecting to a wireless network.

If you have any questions, ask them in the comments, we will try to figure it out. Best wishes!

Also on the site:

Why doesn't Wi-Fi work on a laptop (netbook)? How to connect a laptop to a Wi-Fi router? Error “Windows could not connect to...” updated: February 7, 2018 by: admin

A very common situation: a user tries to connect to Wi-Fi from his phone, but nothing works. After reading the information below, you will learn why this is happening and how to solve the problem.

Initial phone check

1. Restart your device and try connecting to Wi-Fi again.

2. Evaluate the number of connection signal strength indicators. If there are less than 3, try moving closer to the router or other wireless Internet source you are using to improve the quality of the connection.

3. Make sure Battery Saver mode is turned off. If necessary, connect the network adapter.

4. Turn off Bluetooth. Wireless connections may operate in the same range, which causes interference.

5. Turn off Airplane mode, if active.

6. Try to activate access to information about your location and connect to Wi-Fi - the legislation of some countries blocks connections via wireless networks when this option is inactive.

If the WiFi connection worked previously

If all else fails, try connecting from your phone to any other available connection. Failure in this case will most likely indicate a breakdown of the radio module - only service center employees will help correct the situation.

Check if the connection is working. To do this, try connecting to it using any other device that has Wi-Fi functionality. If the connection does not work, change the router settings.

Important note! The procedure for entering the router settings varies depending on the manufacturer and model of the equipment. In most cases, to gain access you need to enter the address 192.168.0.0 or 192.168.0.1 into the browser's address bar. The standard login and password are admin. If this doesn’t work, check the manufacturer’s instructions for the information relevant to your router.

First, try simply rebooting the router - quite often they freeze, which is why access to the Internet is blocked.

The further procedure is as follows.

First, you must ensure that the security key you entered is correct. Try entering the password to connect to the selected access point again, but more carefully, with the “Display symbols” (show password) option activated.

If you don't remember the password, check it in the router settings.

As an example, the procedure for interacting with a D-Link router is shown. In your case, everything will be almost the same; minor changes may only affect the interface, menu item names and other little things.

Once on the router settings page, do the following:
click the “Advanced settings” button;
in the Wi-Fi window, open the “Security Settings” link;
in the “PSK encryption key” line, look at the password and make sure that this is the combination you enter when trying to connect to Wi-Fi from your phone.

Secondly, make sure your router settings are correct - you need to check if DHCP is enabled. If it is turned off, the phone will not be able to obtain an IP address, which is why the connection will not work.

On the router settings page, click “Advanced settings” again and in the “Network” window, find the “LAN” category.

Enable DHCP if the function is disabled by changing the “Mode” line to the “Allow” state.

Save the changes, restart the router and try connecting to Wi-Fi from your phone.

If this does not help, there are 3 options left:
call the provider’s support service and find out whether the Internet works at all and whether any changes have been made to the connection settings;
submit your phone for repair;
have your Internet router repaired/replaced.

If our instructions did not help solve the problem, then write in the comments and we will definitely look into your problem.

I was always a little surprised by questions like this, in which they wrote that when connected to an open (unprotected) Wi-Fi network, the Internet does not work. Or a phone, laptop, tablet and other devices generally refuse to connect to open Wi-Fi. They asked for some advice on what could be done to solve this problem.

And today, I saw on our forum a message that says that the phone catches an unprotected Wi-Fi, connects to it without problems, but the Internet does not work. Then I analyzed the comments on the site a little, and realized that the question was very popular, and I had not yet written an article on this issue. I will correct the situation now :)

Now, we will figure out why problems arise with connecting to other people’s, albeit open, wireless networks. We will try to find out if something can be done about this, and if so, what.

I would like to write right away that we will look at problems specifically with the connection and operation of the Internet connection, through other people’s wireless networks that are not password protected and with which a connection can be established.

Any problems that arise when connecting to your own networks are a different story. There will simply be more ways to solve this or that error, since you have access to the settings of the router itself.

No matter how sad it may sound, but if your smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc., does not want to connect to open Wi-Fi, or the Internet does not work after connecting, then most likely there is no way to correct this situation. it will work out. In about 90% of cases, you will have to deal with it. I wrote it somehow sadly :)

Why? Yes, because we don’t know what kind of access point there is, whose it is, how it’s configured, and most importantly, we don’t have access to the settings of this router, because it’s not ours, but a neighbor’s, some store, cafe, etc. etc. I think this is clear and logical.

Here, let’s take for example the question I wrote about at the beginning of the article:

It was posted on our forum, in this topic: .

It’s a good question, but do you think it’s possible to give something substantive to this question? I also think not. Maybe the Internet is simply not paid for there. There is a connection, but the Internet does not work. Standard situation. Maybe there is some kind of blocking enabled, or the phone didn’t like the channel it’s on.

I would highlight two main problems. We will divide the article into them. It will be easier and clearer this way.

Can't connect to an open Wi-Fi network

This is probably the most popular question. On laptops (and desktop computers), it could be an error " ", or something else.

On mobile devices (phones, tablets), it could be...” (by the way, laptops can also have this “Identification...” problem), " ". There may be other errors.

If you can’t connect, then you need to think about why this network is not protected. Yes, there are people who simply forget to do this, or they don’t need it. They just let everyone use their internet. (this is the case with home access points). But, I am sure that in most cases, there is no password because filtering by MAC addresses is enabled (read). Which protects even better than a password.

What can you try to do?

Typically, when connecting to unsecured networks, the signal strength is not very good. Make sure that the network level is at least two divisions high. Otherwise, connection problems may arise precisely because of a weak signal.

If you are connecting a laptop (regular computer with adapter), then make sure that in the properties of the wireless adapter, in the IPv4 protocol, it is set to receive IP automatically. Like this:

I showed the example of Windows 7. In Windows 8, everything will be exactly the same.

If the problem occurs on mobile devices that run on Android OS or iOS (iPhone, iPad), then I don’t even know what to advise. Except how to monitor the signal level. There don't seem to be any special settings that would interfere with the connection.

Internet does not work when connected to unsecured Wi-Fi

Well, the second problem is when everything is connected, but the Internet does not work.

On a laptop, there will be a status “No Internet access” and a yellow triangle next to the network status (in), but on mobile devices the Internet simply will not work, and the Wi-Fi icon will most likely be gray instead of blue (depends on OS, firmware version, etc.).

How to fix the problem?

If the problem is on the computer, then check the IP settings, as I showed in the screenshot above. Disable antiviruses and firewalls, they may block access to the Internet.

If the problem is on a mobile device, then check whether manual proxy settings are enabled. How to do this, I wrote in the article (after the heading “checking if the proxy server is disabled”).

In other cases, the problem is most likely on the side of the router itself. Or, your device cannot work with the parameters specified in the router settings.

Afterword

As I wrote above, if the phone does not connect to the network, then you are unlikely to be able to do anything. If it connects, but there is no Internet access, then the same thing. The network is not ours, we don’t know what’s wrong with it, we can’t change the settings. Almost all problems that arise with Wi-Fi are to blame for the access points themselves. And, if you try to fix something, then you need to change the settings in them. Provided that your device works normally with other networks.