Ethernet Connected but No Internet in Windows 11

This workflow is for a wired adapter that Windows 11 detects and presents as an Ethernet connection, but the PC cannot reach the internet. If Ethernet is missing from Windows entirely, use the separate Ethernet-not-showing-up diagnostic path because device detection, firmware, driver enumeration, and physical link become the first questions. If Wi-Fi is the affected transport, use the Wi-Fi-specific workflow instead.

Before resetting anything, note whether the failure affects every website and app, whether another device can use the same router, whether Wi-Fi works on this PC, and whether the problem began after changing a cable, router port, VPN, driver, or Windows configuration. Those observations separate a shared network outage from a PC-specific wired-network problem far more effectively than applying a long list of resets at random.

Microsoft recommends starting with the physical Ethernet path: make sure the cable is firmly connected to the PC and a LAN port on the router, and try another cable when one is available. A second LAN port is also a useful isolation test. Do not confuse a router WAN/Internet port with a normal LAN port used by client devices.

Then compare another device on the same network. If another wired device also fails, or Wi-Fi clients on the same router have no internet access, investigate the router, modem, or ISP before changing Windows drivers. If Wi-Fi works on this PC while Ethernet does not, the problem is narrowed toward the wired path or its configuration rather than a general internet outage.

Open Command Prompt and run `ipconfig /all`. Microsoft documents `ipconfig` as the Windows command for displaying TCP/IP configuration, including adapter addresses, subnet information, and the default gateway. Record the Ethernet adapter state rather than copying values from another network.

A missing or unexpected gateway, an address that does not match the network you expect, or a manually configured address can point toward DHCP or static-configuration trouble. Do not replace IP, gateway, or DNS values with arbitrary addresses from a generic guide. Managed, campus, office, lab, and some home networks can intentionally use static or organization-specific settings.

Microsoft’s Ethernet troubleshooting sequence includes `ipconfig /release`, `ipconfig /renew`, and `ipconfig /flushdns`. Release and renew are relevant to DHCP address configuration; `flushdns` clears the DNS client resolver cache. These commands solve different problems, so use the symptom and `ipconfig` output to decide what you are testing rather than treating all three as one magic reset.

After a DHCP renew, inspect the Ethernet configuration again and retest the original failure. If IP connectivity works but host names still fail, DNS deserves focused attention. If neither the local gateway nor other local destinations are reachable, flushing DNS is unlikely to repair that lower-layer path.

Microsoft also lists `netsh winsock reset` and `netsh int ip reset` in its wired-network recovery sequence. Microsoft Learn describes the Winsock reset as returning the Winsock catalog to a clean state and removing custom layered service providers. That makes it a meaningful repair when Windows networking components or third-party network software are implicated, but it does not prove a cable, router, DHCP server, or ISP is healthy.

Record VPN, security, proxy, virtualization, and other networking software before broad resets. If the failure began immediately after installing or changing one of those components, test that evidence first. On managed PCs, follow the organization’s support path rather than removing policy-controlled network components.

If the physical path and router work for other devices but this PC remains affected, record the exact Ethernet adapter and current driver. Microsoft documents uninstalling the Ethernet network adapter in Device Manager and restarting Windows as a later recovery step, with an important precaution: download or otherwise preserve the PC or adapter manufacturer’s supported driver first when losing network access could prevent you from retrieving it.

A driver reinstall that restores connectivity is useful evidence that the local adapter configuration or driver state mattered. A reinstall that changes nothing is not proof of failed Ethernet hardware. Continue to separate Windows configuration from the cable, router port, adapter hardware, and upstream network before replacing parts.

Microsoft explicitly recommends Network reset as a last step. In Windows 11 it removes installed network adapters and their settings, then reinstalls the adapters after restart. Microsoft also warns that VPN clients and virtual switches such as Hyper-V networking can require reconfiguration afterward, and known network connections can return as public profiles.

Use Network reset only after targeted physical, IP, DHCP/DNS, and driver checks have failed and after recording configuration you may need to restore. Once the PC restarts, reproduce the original Ethernet-only failure rather than declaring success merely because the network icon changed.

If the same cable and router port work with another device while this PC repeatedly fails after supported driver and Windows network-stack recovery, preserve the adapter model, driver version, `ipconfig /all` output, and the exact tests that passed or failed. That gives the PC or network-adapter vendor a useful starting point for hardware or firmware diagnosis.

If multiple devices fail on the same router or internet service, stop treating the Windows PC as the only suspect. Preserve the router/modem status and contact the router vendor or ISP as appropriate. The goal is to identify which boundary fails, not to force every no-internet symptom into a Windows software explanation.