Unable to contact any IP except Google from wireless, wired works

[Thedog]

This is one of the strangest issue I've come across regarding networking/connectivity.

Computer: Some Vaio
OS: Win 7 Home premium 64-bit

The customer started to complain that the wireless was slow even though it worked for other machines at the location and the signal was reported strong. The issue got worse and the situation is now the following:

Using cable from the router:

• No issues, Internet speed is fine
• Able to ping both DNS-names and IP

Using wireless:

• Able to search on google from Chrome without any issues, the speed is fine but unable to go to any links
• Cannot ping anything, not IP or DNS-names
• Can ping localhost / 127.0.0.1

What i've tried:

• System restore to before this started to happen
• Reset all network interfaces, using rizone complete internet repair https://www.technibble.com/rizone-complete-internet-repair-repair-common-internet-connection-issues/
• Start in safe mode with networking
• Scan for malware & rootkits
• Resetting all internet settings in IE (proxies etc)
• Replacing host files with default
• Removing the wireless driver completely and installing the latest
• Removing the power and battery and do a 30-sec push on the power button type of reset
• Tried using a different wireless connection (hotspot with my phone)

What I will do:

• Run Linux from a live disc/usb to rule out hardware

Since this only affects wireless connections I am kind skeptical about viruses / general network issues in Windows. What do people here think the issue might be? Has anyone seen anything similar to this? Any help is appreciated.

 

[ZenTree]

What error do you get when you ping an IP or URL?

I'd try a diff wireless NIC .

 

[Techlogon]

I have come across this weird issue twice and, both times, I resolved it by turning off WPA compatibility in the router, making it WPA2 only.

I wrote a blog article if you want more info but basically it was a bug in router firmware - worked fine with XP/Vista but didn't recognize W7 under WPA/WPA2 mixed mode so blocked all web requests except Google.

Why only Google I don't know - perhaps used in testing and left in firmware by mistake or it was a default 'error' in cases where the router couldn't play well with wifi adapter...

The symptoms fit your case exactly except for your gradual slow down over time - mine were cases of new W7 laptops connecting to the router for first time. Check WPA - if that doesn't help I'd forget about viruses/network issues and concentrate on the wifi adapter/router hardware - try it on a newer router and/or try a USB wifi adapter instead.

 

[geranium]

You could try a usb wireless adapter - could be an easy fix rather than a lot of digging.

What DNS server is the wireless adapter using? If it is set to automatic, you could change it to manual and use the ISP DNS server addresses or the OpenDNS server addresses.

 

[TAPtech]

I would be checking IP config of that wireless adapter first... the wired and wireless will be two separate adapters in Windows and can each have their own configs. Set it to DHCP and auto DNS, if that doesn't work try google public DNS. If that doesn't work, see if you have the same issue when connecting to a different router. If your phone has hotspot mode then do that as a test. Try to single out the hardware causing the issue.

 

[NJW]

I have come across this weird issue twice and, both times, I resolved it by turning off WPA compatibility in the router, making it WPA2 only.

I concur. Modern routers, especially if they have 2.4 GHz + 5 GHz, don't seem to play well with older wireless NICs. Probably some wireless chip manufacturer's model driver code that everyone uses, assuming that it just works. Reducing the feature set usually gets things going.

 

[Martyn]

Agree with trying a wireless dongle. I had a strangle problem lately with wireless only problem where the client was using Bluetooth earphones. With the earphones on the wireless didn't work, would go down to virtually no speed, but with them off it was about 37mbs download!. Luckily I had Insidder Office which could see the 2.4Ghz interference when they were on. Changed the earphones, all ok.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Wonder if it has an Atheros wireless chipset....ran into quirks like that quite often years ago. Learned to avoid those cheaper laptops with Atheros wireless like the plague.

Some things to try, many mentioned above:
*Update firmware on router
*Update drivers on lappy
*Try different wireless security modes. Start with nothing...work up from there until it gives the problem.
*Try different wireless channels..other than "auto". Such as 1, 6, or 11.

 

[Thedog]

Wonder if it has an Atheros wireless chipset....ran into quirks like that quite often years ago. Learned to avoid those cheaper laptops with Atheros wireless like the plague.

Some things to try, many mentioned above:
*Update firmware on router
*Update drivers on lappy
*Try different wireless security modes. Start with nothing...work up from there until it gives the problem.
*Try different wireless channels..other than "auto". Such as 1, 6, or 11.

Actually the chip is Atheros. However, the router is "locked down" from the ISP due to a security related issue they had last year. I can actually change things if I reset the router before it downloads the ISP-firmware (so basically resetting it with the dsl-cable plugged out). But I will try removing wpa-compability first of all. Thank you all for the tips!

 

[mr m]

If the above suggestions didn't work, disable the AV/firewall appl. If you still can't PING via the wireless adapter, temporarily remove the internet security suite using the companies uninstall tool.

 

[drjones]

I had a similar issue at a new clients recently;

They brought in a new PC, connected it via wifi, and it would only access a small handful of sites; Google, FaceBook, couple others. After checking for the usual suspects; malware, static IP/DNS, etc, I came on-site. Connected my brand new laptop to wifi....experienced exact same issue on MY laptop.

The hard-lined machines seemed fine; able to access all websites.

I even hardlined my laptop directly into their comcast modem and still had the EXACT same issue...really bizarre... Ended up resolving it by calling comcast who reset the modem to factory defaults.