1. Is it one laptop or the whole network?
Try the same Wi-Fi network on another device. If several devices cannot get online, check your router or internet provider before arranging laptop hardware repair. If only the laptop fails, note whether it can see the network, rejects the password or connects without internet. These are different symptoms.
2. Check the connection basics
Move within range of the router, check that Wi-Fi is enabled and confirm the correct network and password. Restart the laptop. If you control the router, follow its restart instructions and allow it to reconnect. On an office network or a managed work laptop, ask the responsible IT team before changing network profiles or VPN settings.
3. Windows laptop: use the built-in help
On Windows 11, Microsoft provides a Network and Internet troubleshooter through Get Help. Follow the current official instructions linked below. Record the result and any error message. If you can safely try a different trusted Wi-Fi network, note whether the laptop works there. This helps separate a network-specific issue from a laptop-specific one.
4. MacBook: check the Wi-Fi diagnosis
Apple provides Wi-Fi recommendations and Wireless Diagnostics for connection problems. Follow Apple’s current instructions linked below. A MacBook can be connected to a wireless network while that network has no working internet connection, so check both the Wi-Fi connection and internet access.
5. When hardware assessment may be useful
If the laptop fails on more than one known working network, the Wi-Fi option disappears, or the problem started after a drop, liquid damage or internal repair, tell us those details. Software, drivers, antenna connections and hardware may need different checks. These symptoms are clues for assessment, not proof that a particular part must be replaced.
6. What to send Fix My Gadget
Send the laptop or MacBook model, the exact message, when the problem began and which networks you tested. Explain whether other devices work on the same network, whether a cable connection works when available and whether the issue is intermittent. Photos of the settings or an error message can help; keep passwords and private account details out of the enquiry.
Repair quote and workshop arrangements
For an unresolved laptop fault, Fix My Gadget can discuss the next assessment step from its Kibler Park workshop in Johannesburg South. The diagnostic fee is R400 and is waived when the approved repair proceeds. Repair work and any paid pickup are quoted before approval. If several devices fail on the same network, contact the network administrator or provider first.