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Is It Just Me?” How to Diagnose an Internet Outage in 5 Minutes

Spinning wheel of doom? Diagnose if it’s a local glitch or major internet outage in 5 minutes with our expert checklist.

By Top Providers Published

That sudden silence is deafening. No email pings, no streaming soundtrack, just a spinning loading wheel where your digital life should be. Before you panic, reboot everything, or angrily tweet your internet provider, take a breath. Most internet outage can be diagnosed in less time than it takes to brew coffee.

Follow this 5-Minute Diagnostic Checklist to go from confused to certain.

Minute 1: Check the Obvious – Your Hardware

Start at the source: your modem and router.

  • Look at the lights. This is your first clue. A solid green or blue light on the “Internet” or “WAN” port is good. A flashing orange or red light, or no light at all, indicates a problem with the connection from your ISP.

  • The “Turn It Off and On Again” Classic: Unplug both your modem and router from power. Wait 30 seconds—this is crucial to clear the cache. Plug the modem back in, wait for its lights to stabilize (about 1 minute), then plug the router back in. This solves a surprising number of issues.

Minute 2: Isolate the Problem – Device or Network?

Grab another device—your phone, a tablet, or a different laptop.

  • Try to connect. Can your phone load a website on Wi-Fi? If none of your devices can get online, the problem is almost certainly with your network. If one device is failing but others work, the issue is with that specific device (check its Wi-Fi settings, airplane mode, or restart it).

Minute 3: Check the Wider World – Is It Your Area?

Time to see if you’re alone. Open your phone (using cellular data, not Wi-Fi) and visit these sites:

  1. Downdetector (downdetector.com): This aggregator shows real-time user reports. Search for your Internet Service Provider (e.g., Virgin Media, BT, Comcast). A huge spike in reports confirms a widespread outage.

  2. Your ISP’s Status Page: Go directly to your provider’s website (e.g., status.virginmedia.com). They often post official outage updates and estimated repair times here.

  3. Check a Different Service: Can you access google.com but not netflix.com? Then the problem is with a specific service, not your internet outage. Try a few different major sites.

📱 Pro Tip: Bookmark these status pages on your phone before you have an outage.

Minute 4: Run a Quick Technical Test (The Ping)

This sounds technical but is simple. On a computer (if you can connect via Ethernet, use it for this test):

  • Windows: Press Windows Key + R, type cmd, and press Enter. Type ping 8.8.8.8 and press Enter.

  • Mac: Open Spotlight (Cmd+Space), type Terminal, and press Enter. Type ping 8.8.8.8 and press Enter.

What you’re looking for: A reply that says something like “Reply from 8.8.8.8.” If you get “Request timed out” repeatedly, your connection isn’t reaching the wider internet outage, confirming an outage.

Minute 5: Final Checks & Your Action Plan

Based on your detective work, here’s your next move:

  • ✅ Spotted a Widespread Outage? You’ve confirmed it’s not you. Check your ISP’s status page for updates. There’s little to do but wait, or use your mobile data as a hotspot for critical tasks.

  • ❌ Only Your House is Down?

    • Check all cables from the wall to your modem. Are they securely plugged in?

    • Log into your router’s admin panel (usually via 192.168.1.1 in a browser) to see if it reports a connection issue.

    • It’s time to call your ISP. You now have valuable information: “My modem’s internet outage light is red, I’ve rebooted, and I can see other users in my area are fine.” This gets you past basic troubleshooting and straight to a potential line fault.

Your 5-Minute Diagnosis Cheat Sheet

Symptom Likely Culprit Your Next Step
All devices dead, modem light is red ISP Outage or Line Fault Check Downdetector ➡ Call ISP
All devices dead, modem light is green Router Failure Factory reset router or test direct modem connect
One device dead Device-Specific Issue Restart device, forget/rejoin Wi-Fi network
Specific site/app down That Service is Down Check DownDetector for that service (e.g., AWS)
Intermittent drops Wi-Fi interference or weak signal Try an Ethernet cable, relocate router

The Bottom Line: Before you lose an hour to frustration, invest five minutes in diagnosis. You’ll either find a quick fix, gain peace of mind that a fix is in progress, or arm yourself with the facts needed for a much more effective support call. Now, go make that coffee while you wait for the internet to return.