11 Ways to Fix ‘No Internet, Secured’ in Windows 10 and 11

• The “No Internet, secured” message on Windows computers means that you’re connected to an internet signal, but it’s not transferring data.
• There are a few ways to fix the “No internet, secured” message, including resetting your router.
• You should also try running Windows’ built-in internet troubleshooter, which can fix some more advanced issues.
• Visit Insider’s Tech Reference library for more stories.

It doesn’t matter how much of a computer whiz you are — at some point in your life, you’re going to run into internet issues. And if you have a Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer, you might be familiar with the most common internet issue of them all: The “No Internet, secured” message.

If you haven’t dealt with it before, this status can be confusing. “No Internet, secured” means that your computer is connected to a private internet network, but there’s a problem with the connection, so you can’t receive any data. You’ll usually see this message when you try to connect to a Wi-Fi signal that’s too far away, but it can appear with almost any network.

Luckily, there are just as many ways to fix the issue as there are ways to cause it. Here are eleven ways to fix the “No Internet, secured” error in both Windows 11 and Windows 10.

Get closer to the internet router

As mentioned, the most common reason that you’ll see the “No Internet, secured” status is that you’re too far away from the source of your internet connection. This makes it so your computer can sense the Wi-Fi network and “connect” to it, but the signal will be too weak to actually transfer any data.

Move your PC closer to the internet router, or move your router closer to your PC. In general, you should keep your home’s internet router in a central location, high off the ground, away from any objects or barriers to block the signal.

If your home is big enough that one internet router isn’t enough to get a strong signal everywhere, consider investing in a Wi-Fi extender, or even a mesh network. Both of these options will help carry a strong Wi-Fi signal throughout your home.

Restart your router and computer

Restarting your router will refresh its connection to your internet service provider (ISP), and all your devices. It might sound too simple to be true, but a quick restart can fix all sorts of internet problems.

You don’t need to do anything fancy to restart an internet router. Just unplug its power cable for at least ten seconds, then plug it back in and give the router a few minutes to start up. Once it’s ready, try connecting to the network again.

And of course, consider restarting your computer alongside it. This can help fix a surprising number of glitches too.

Disable your VPN

While VPNs are great for protecting your privacy online, they can also occasionally screw with your internet signal. It’s not uncommon for VPNs to slow down your internet connection, which can lead to “No Internet” errors.

If you find your internet cutting out while you’re using a

VPN

, try disabling it. If the connection suddenly starts working, it means there’s an issue with that VPN. You can change its settings, or try a different VPN program.

Use Windows’ internet troubleshooters

Windows 10 and Windows 11 are incredibly complex operating systems. Even the simplest PC has dozens of different processes — some of which were developed two decades ago — running at the same time. This makes it almost inevitable that you’ll run into an error or glitch at some point.

Microsoft knows this, so both versions of Windows include a suite of automatic troubleshooting tools. And internet issues are so common that Windows actually includes two separate troubleshooters dedicated to fixing them. These tools will go through a checklist of basic issues and try to fix whatever bugs you’re facing.

To find both of Windows’ internet troubleshooters:

1. Open the Settings app on your PC.

2. In Windows 10, select Update & Security. In Windows 11, select System.

3. Scroll down the list of options and click Troubleshoot, then select Additional troubleshooters (10) or Other troubleshooters (11).

4. Click and go through both of the internet troubleshooting tools on this page. They’re called Internet Connections and Network Adapter.

These tools should identify the issue and fix it right away. But if it says that it can’t find any issues, or that it found an issue but can’t fix it, continue reading.

‘Forget’ the internet connection

When your PC connects to a Wi-Fi signal, it records and remembers a wealth of information about that signal. This makes it easier for your PC to use it in the future, but can also trip you up. If anything about that Wi-Fi connection changes — for example, its name or signal type — and Windows is still using outdated information, you might encounter the “No Internet” error.

You can fix this by erasing the information that Windows has saved, and then reconnecting to the Wi-Fi signal. This will refresh your PC’s records and update old data.

To forget a Wi-Fi network:

1. Open the Settings app on your PC and select Network & Internet.

2. Click Wi-Fi, and then Manage known networks.

3. Select the Wi-Fi network you’re trying to fix, then click Forget.

Once you’ve forgotten the network, connect to it again.

Reinstall the network drivers

Nearly all of the hardware on your Windows computer runs using “drivers,” small pieces of software that tell the computer how to function. As time goes on, some drivers can malfunction, and the hardware that they run will stop working. In this case, you can reset the driver by uninstalling it, and then reinstalling it.

To do this:

1. Right-click the Windows icon in your taskbar and select Device Manager from the list that appears.

2. In the Device Manager window, open the Network adapters menu and find your computer’s Wi-Fi driver. Its name will change from computer-to-computer, but look for phrases like Wi-Fi 6 and Wireless Network Adapter.

3. Right-click the driver and select Uninstall device. 

4. In the pop-up that appears, check the box that asks if you want to Delete the driver software (Windows 10) or Attempt to remove the driver (Windows 11), then click Uninstall.

5. Restart your PC.

As the computer turns back on, it’ll reinstall the Wi-Fi driver. This will (hopefully) fix any issues it’s having.

Refresh your connection using the Command Prompt

The Command Prompt is a powerful but hard-to-master program that lets you control nearly every aspect of your PC. Its blank black screen can look intimidating, but if you know the commands to enter, there’s nothing to fear.

Search for the Command Prompt on your computer, and when it appears in the results, right-click on it and select Run as administrator.

Once it’s open, there are five separate commands that you’ll want to run. Type in a command and press Enter, then move onto the next.

• netsh winsock reset
• netsh int ip reset
• ipconfig /release
• ipconfig /renew
• ipconfig /flushdns

Then restart your computer.

Change your Wi-Fi properties

This is a rare problem, but you’ll also want to make sure that the Wi-Fi network is communicating with your PC in the right way. If the PC thinks that your Wi-Fi doesn’t support full connectivity, it won’t work.

1. While you’re connected to the network that you’re trying to fix, open the Control Panel app and click Network and Internet, then Network and Sharing Center, and then Change adapter settings.

2. Right-click the Wi-Fi network you’re connected to and select Properties.

3. In the Networking tab, make sure that these seven options have checkmarks next to them:

• Client for Microsoft Networks
• File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks
• QoS Packet Scheduler
• Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)
• Microsoft LLDP Protocol Driver
• Link-Layer Topology Discovery Responder
• Link-Layer Topology Discovery Mapper I/O Driver

4. If Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) has a checkmark, click the checkbox to remove it.

Test your internet connection again. If nothing changes, come back here and check off Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) again.

Change your DNS server

Your Wi-Fi connection’s DNS server — short for Domain Name System — is what allows you to connect to websites and other computers. If the DNS server that you’re using is faulty, it’ll cut you off from the internet.

In most cases, your PC will just use whatever DNS server your ISP provides. But you can also set your DNS server manually, which can fix “No Internet” errors.

1. Follow the steps in the Change your Wi-Fi properties section above to open your connection’s Properties window.

2. Double-click on the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) option to open a new window.

3. In the General tab, click the Use the following DNS server addresses option.

4. Enter in the new DNS servers that you want to use. If you aren’t sure, try 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 — these are the addresses for Google’s Public DNS project. You can also try 9.9.9.9 and 1.1.1.1, which belong to the DNS provider Quad9.

5. Click OK to save your changes.

Perform a network reset

If nothing else has worked, this is the only other thing that you can do right from your computer. 

Just like a factory reset will erase everything on your device and return it to its original state, a “network reset” will wipe out all of your Wi-Fi settings. It’ll be like you’ve never connected to the internet on your PC at all.

Note that doing this will erase any saved Wi-Fi passwords. And if your PC is connected to a wider network of computers, you’ll lose that connection too.

1. Open the Settings app and click Network and Internet.

2. In Windows 10, click Status. In Windows 11, scroll down and click Advanced network settings.

3. Click Network reset, and then Reset now.

Your computer will restart. Once it turns back on, all your internet settings will be erased.

Contact your ISP or a repair shop

If you’ve gone through every method and you’re still getting the “No Internet, secured” message, there’s a deeper problem at play. And chances are that you can’t fix it yourself.

First, you should contact your internet service provider. Depending on where you live, this might be Verizon, Spectrum, Optimum, Comcast, or another company.

There’s a chance that the problem is coming from their end — maybe there’s an outage in your area, or a bug that’s blocking service. If you’re behind on paying bills, they might be cutting you off too. As a last resort, they might even replace your internet router.

If they can’t help, bring your PC to a repair shop. They can tell you if your computer’s Wi-Fi components are faulty, and fix them for you. Depending on the shop, they might be able to look at your internet router too.