Why Is My Netgear Router Not Broadcasting WiFi?

If you are looking for a solution when your Netgear router not broadcasting WiFi, then you’ve found it!

Here we’ll go through everything important and apply some of the most efficient approaches against the issue.

Whenever a Netgear router is having WiFi outages you need to check for interference with your router, update its firmware, disable guest networks, and disconnect devices that are not in use. You can also change the WiFi channel, ensure the location is correct, and then get in touch with your ISP for possible maintenance.

There are a lot of things that could be interfering with your WiFi, so let’s learn more about the possibilities.

Why My Netgear Router Has Internet But Is Not Broadcasting Wifi?

First, it is good to note that maintenance or an outage within your area may leave the signal your router is getting intact, but stop the actual internet flowing through that signal.

You can never be sure, so make sure to quickly check online on your ISP’s site for possible outages.

Now that you’ve checked, here are the other things that might have gone wrong with your configuration.

1. Netgear Router Not Updated

Outdated firmware may sometimes disrupt the WiFi broadcast and cause constant outages.

2. Interference

Solid objects or anything on top of your router may block the Wifi broadcasting and stop your connection.

3. Problem with The Network

Sometimes there could be a problem with your network, suppressing the WiFi coverage and leaving you with no internet.

4. Too Many Devices Connected

Too many connected devices might overwhelm the network and damage your Wifi connectivity.

5. Hardware Damage

Damage to the router, antennas, or cables might significantly impact the WiFi connectivity your router broadcast.

Now that you’re more familiar with the causes, let’s proceed to the troubleshooting part of the post and get your issue resolved ASAP.

How To Fix Netgear Router Not Broadcasting Wifi?

Before we proceed, ensure that the WiFi has been disrupted on all of your devices and not on a single one.

If this issue occurs on a singular device, then you will probably be looking for a solution within the corresponding device and not the overall network.

Having that mentioned, let’s learn more about the easiest fixes to repair the WiFi connectivity of your Netgear router.

Step #1 Apply The 30-30-30 Method

If you’ve never heard of the 30-30-30 method, it is a way to restart your router by performing consecutive 30 seconds interactions.

This will not only restart your Netgear router firmly but drain all of the electricity, granting it a clean boot upon its next startup.

To perform the 30-30-30 method, follow the steps we’ve provided down below.

1. Ensure your router is running by checking one of the lights.
2. Hold down the Reset button for 30 seconds.
3. While the reset button is pressed, unplug the power adapter from your router.
4. Hold for another 30 seconds and plug the power adapter back in.
5. When the power adapter is plugged, hold for the final 30 seconds and release the pressure.

Note: After this method, you will have to re-establish your router’s network, cause the 30-30-30 method involves factory resetting your router.

Step #2 Relieve Network

If your Netgear router is not broadcasting WiFi, then your network might be overwhelming.

In that case, it is good to disconnect the ones that are no longer in use since even if turned off, they would still consume a part of the network’s resources.

To disconnect them completely, you will have to ensure that the device’s WiFi is not connected with your network and that the feature has been disabled.

Note: For iPhone users, disabling the WiFi from the quick menu isn’t enough. You will have to go to the settings and click on the WiFi slider once to completely turn off the feature.

Step #3 Update Your Netgear Router

Next, you will have to ensure the firmware of your Netgear router is updated. Sometimes pending updates can make the WiFi connection unstable, making it drop and turn itself down suddenly.

Note: Usually, people prefer updating their Netgear router through the official manufacturer’s app, but you can always do it the old way through the routerlogin.com page.

The app can be downloaded from any app store and once you’ve gained access, you must enable the Bluetooth on your phone and hover it around your router.

Once connected, here is how to update your Netgear router:

1. Head to the Network Settings.
2. Choose Advanced Settings.
3. Go to the Firmware Update tab.
4. Click on the Check For Updates button.

This will automatically initiate the update and it should take no longer than a few minutes. Once updated, restart the router and test your WiFi again. If the issue is still there then we shall seek for the issue elsewhere.

Step #4 Remove Interference

It is possible that there are objects around your router blocking the direct WiFi signal your network broadcasts.

This can often happen, as people find it more comfortable to keep their routers underneath various objects, but quite frankly, this can create interference.

You must ensure that your router is in a dust-free well-ventilated area and not located underneath any objects on the other hand. This might as well significantly boost your WiFi connection’s speed and reliability.

Avoid having large metal or electronic objects near your Netgear router. In addition, you can strengthen the signal by turning all router Antennas upwards. Once done, perform a test and if that does not work, let’s move on to our next step.

Step #5 Disable Guest Networks

At last, you can try disabling the guest networks on this router as this might be the reason your WiFi signal is suppressed.

To disable the guest networks, follow the steps down below:

1. Log into your Netgear account through the app.
2. Head into the wireless tab and click on the edit button.
3. Select the guest networks tab and click on the edit button.
4. Click disable in the drop-down menu’s checkbox.
5. Click on Apply to confirm the changes.

If you haven’t registered with Netgear, you can do that on the official site or by contacting your manufacturers.

It is more likely that you will have a default account registered on your router, so check in your subscription for more details.

Step #6 Change WiFi Channel

If your Netgear router is not broadcasting WiFi after everything you’ve tried, then the channel your WiFi is going through might be overwhelming. Luckily you can change the channel and hopefully relieve the situation.

Here is how to change the channels on your Netgear router WiFi:

1. Enter the Netgear control panel (www.routerlogin.com).
2. Log in to your Netgear account.
3. Go to Network Settings > Advanced Settings.
4. Choose your WiFi (2.4Ghz or 5Ghz).
5. From the drop-down menu, choose a different channel.
6. Save > Restart Router.
7. Test.

It does not really matter which channel you’ll choose as long as it is different from the previous. You can try several channels until you find a comfortable spot.

To fix your Netgear router that isn’t broadcasting WiFi, you can try power cycling the device and performing the 30-30-30 method. Then, check for interference, disable any guest networks, disconnect devices that are not in use and update your router’s firmware.

Read Next: Why Does Netgear Router Keeps Dropping WiFi?

Bottom Line:

Now that you know how to fix Netgear router not broadcasting WiFi, you should be capable of troubleshooting the issue easily by yourself in the home environment.

Even if you find it challenging in the end, it is never excluded to get in touch with your ISP for the second round of troubleshooting.