When the internet drops, almost everyone moves in the same order: refresh a few times, restart the computer, and only then go look at the router.
Open Microsoft's own Wi-Fi troubleshooting document and count the steps, and that order is backwards.
⭐⭐⭐ Microsoft's list runs to 13 steps.
Restart the modem and router — step 4.
Restart your PC — step 12.
The thing we reach for first sits second from last.
⭐ The same thing happened in the slow-computer article — there too, restarting was 12th. Twelfth in both documents.
⭐⭐⭐ Microsoft's 13 steps, in the order given
| # | The step as written | ⭐ Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Check your network connection status | Wi-Fi on and showing “Connected” |
| 2 | Check Airplane Mode | Make sure it is off |
| 3 | Forget and reconnect to the Wi-Fi network | Remove it from known networks, reconnect |
| ⭐ 4 | ⭐ Restart your modem and wireless router | ⭐ Unplug the power cable, wait 30+ seconds |
| 5 | Adjust Wi-Fi channel and frequency | Try 2.4 GHz against 5 GHz |
| ⭐ 6 | ⭐ Try the same network on a different device | ⭐ Separates the PC from the line |
| 7 | Run network commands | TCP/IP reset from the command prompt |
| 8 | Uninstall the network adapter driver and restart | Drivers reinstall on reboot |
| 9 | Use a ping test to check the router connection | |
| 10 | Disable power saving for the Wi-Fi adapter | |
| 11 | Check for Windows updates | |
| ⚠️ 12 | ⚠️ Restart your PC | ⚠️⚠️ The thing we do first |
| ⚠️ 13 | ⚠️ Use network reset | ⚠️ The page: “Network reset should be the last step you try” |
⚠️ On Windows 11 the page suggests running the Network troubleshooter first; the 13 steps above are the general procedure that follows.
⭐⭐ Our order against the document's order
| Action | ⚠️ What people usually do | ⭐ Where the document puts it |
|---|---|---|
| Restart the PC | ⚠️ Usually 1st or 2nd | ⚠️ 12th of 13 |
| Restart the modem / router | After restarting the PC | ⭐ 4th |
| Try another device | ⚠️ Often skipped | ⭐ 6th |
| Network reset | Early, out of frustration | ⚠️ 13th — “the last step you try” |
| ⚠️ The middle column is convention, not survey data. Only the right-hand column was read from the document. | ||
⭐⭐ The widest gap is “try another device.” The document puts it in the first half; in practice it is the step most often skipped.
⭐⭐ The cheapest move is step 6
Of the 13, the one that costs almost nothing and tells you the most is connecting a different device to the same network.
| On the other device | ⭐ Then the problem is | Where to look next |
|---|---|---|
| It works | ⭐ Your PC | Steps 7–12 (drivers, power saving, updates, restart) |
| It fails too | ⭐ The router or the line | Step 4, then your provider |
⭐ One check erases about half the remaining steps. That it still sits sixth appears to be because the five before it are simply quicker to try.
⭐⭐ Why “turn everything off and on” works — Apple explains one reason
“If you're connected to a network using TCP/IP, and you are having problems connecting your Mac to other computers or services, there may be a conflict with your computer's IP address and the IP address of another device on the network.”
— Apple, Resolve IP address conflicts on Mac
⭐ A home router hands out addresses by DHCP. If the same address ends up on two devices, one of them cannot talk. ⭐⭐ Cutting the power makes the router hand the addresses out again from scratch, which clears the clash.
Apple's own order points the same way — (1) wait for DHCP to assign a new address, (2) quit and reopen the app, (3) sleep the Mac and wake it, (4) restart the computer, (5) check a manually configured address, (6) on a home network, power down every network device and bring them back up.
⭐⭐ Restarting the computer is fourth of six here too. Two vendors, the same message: rebooting is not the opening move.
⚠️ Why network reset is last
Microsoft's note on step 13 is short: “Network reset should be the last step you try.”
⭐ It removes and reinstalls network adapters and returns settings to their defaults — which can also clear things that are tedious to restore, saved Wi-Fi passwords among them. ⚠️ Jumping straight here leaves the problem in place and adds a recovery job.
⭐ If the machine itself is slow rather than offline, see this article; for phone bills and MVNOs, this one. For the passwords you may have to re-enter, see password security.
Questions people ask
So restarting the PC is useless?
⚠️ No. The document lists it 12th — it does not leave it out. ⭐ The point is “not first,” not “not effective.” The eleven before it are either quicker or more informative.
How long should the router stay off?
Microsoft says to unplug the power cable and wait more than 30 seconds before plugging it back in.
If other devices fail too, can I just call the provider?
⭐ That one check makes the call much shorter, because “nothing in the house works” moves the problem off your PC. ⚠️ Still worth doing step 4 first.
2.4 GHz or 5 GHz?
⚠️ The document says only to try switching between them and does not say which is better. ⭐ Trying both is the method it gives.
Sources
- ⭐⭐⭐ Microsoft official support — Fix Wi-Fi connection issues in Windows (checked August 2026). Source for the 13 steps and their order and headings, step 4's “unplug the power cable… 30+ seconds,” step 6's “try to connect to the same network on a different device,” step 12 being “Restart your PC,” step 13's “Network reset should be the last step you try,” and the Windows 11 recommendation to run the Network troubleshooter first.
- ⭐⭐ Apple official support — Resolve IP address conflicts on Mac (checked August 2026). Source for “there may be a conflict with your computer's IP address and the IP address of another device on the network,” the DHCP explanation, and the six-step order ending in powering every network device down and back up.
- ⭐ Checked directly. “Router 4th, PC 12th” and “fourth of six in Apple's list” are our count of the two documents, not phrases either page emphasises. ⭐ The “12th” in the slow-computer article was counted from a different document.
What we could not verify
- ⚠️⚠️ Procedures specific to Korean ISPs. This article reads operating-system vendor documents only; provider-specific modem guidance was not checked.
- ⚠️ Success rates per step. Neither document says which step resolves the most cases. The order looks like “easiest first,” but the pages do not say so.
- ⚠️ Exactly what a network reset clears. What appears above is the commonly understood scope, not an item-by-item check against the document.
- ⚠️ Router-maker specific procedures. Not covered — they differ by device.
As of August 2026. The 13 steps and their wording come from Microsoft official support, the IP-conflict explanation and its six steps from Apple official support; the position counts are ours. ⚠️ If hardware failure is suspected, do not open the device — go to the manufacturer or your provider.
