Internet Not Working [BEGINNER]
Something stopped working and you need to get back online. This guide walks you through the basics. Work through the steps in order and stop when the problem is fixed.
Before You Start
Try a different device first. If your phone can’t load a website, try your laptop or tablet on the same WiFi network. If another device works fine, the problem is with that one device, not your network. Restart the device that isn’t working and try again.
Make sure you’re on the right WiFi network. Connect to your Home-Admin SSID (the main home network). If you are connected to IoT, Smart, Guest, Kids, or SafeNet you will not be able to access your vault’s settings. Those networks are blocked from the management interface by design.
Step 1: Check for Lights
Take a look at your equipment. You’re checking for power.
Protectli Vault: There should be a blue or white power LED on the front. If the LED is off, the vault has no power. Make sure the power cable is plugged in at both ends and try a different outlet.
TP-Link Access Point: There should be an LED on the front or bottom. If the LED is off, the AP has no power. Check the power adapter and try a different outlet.
If both devices have power LEDs on, move to Step 2.
Step 2: Check Your Cables
Look at the back of your Protectli vault. You should see Ethernet cables plugged into Port 1 (leftmost) and Port 2 (second from left).
- Port 1 connects to your wireless access point
- Port 2 connects to your modem or ISP equipment
Make sure both cables are firmly seated. Press them in until you hear a click. Check the other ends too, at the access point and at your modem.
Each port should have a solid link light and a flashing activity light. When you unplug a cable, the LEDs on that port should turn off. When you plug it back in, they should come back on.
Step 3: Power Cycle Everything
Restart your equipment in this order:
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Unplug your modem (or ISP gateway) from power. Wait 30 seconds. This is important. Some modems need this time to fully reset. Plug it back in and wait 2-3 minutes for it to fully restart.
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Restart your vault. Unplug the vault from power, wait 10 seconds, and plug it back in. The vault takes about 3-5 minutes to fully boot. You will hear a chime when the operating system has loaded and is ready.
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Restart your access point. Unplug the AP from power, wait 10 seconds, and plug it back in. Wait about 2 minutes for your WiFi networks to come back.
After everything is back up, connect to your Home-Admin WiFi and try loading a website. If it works, you’re done.
Step 4: Try the Vault Web Interface
This step tells you whether your vault and access point are working correctly.
Connect to your Home-Admin WiFi network and open a web browser. Go to 192.168.1.1
Your browser may show a security warning about the certificate. This is normal. Click through the warning to continue (the exact steps depend on your browser, but look for “Advanced” or “Proceed” or “Accept the risk”).
Tip: If the page won’t load, try opening a Private Window (Firefox) or Incognito Tab (Chrome/Edge). Sometimes a browser’s cached data prevents the page from loading. If it loads in a private window, clear your browser cache and try again in a normal window.
Tip: Try from a computer if your phone isn’t working. Phones sometimes switch to cellular data silently when WiFi seems slow, which makes it look like WiFi is broken when it’s actually your phone bypassing it.
The login page loads: Great news. Your vault and access point are both working correctly. The problem is most likely your modem, your ISP, or a service outage. Try restarting your modem again (unplug for 30 seconds, wait 2-3 minutes after plugging back in). If that doesn’t help, use your phone’s cellular data to check your ISP’s website for outage reports. If your ISP is having an outage, just wait for them to fix it. Your equipment is fine.
The login page does not load: Move to Step 5.
Step 5: Check the Ethernet Port LEDs
Look at Port 1 on the back of the vault (leftmost port, the one connected to your access point).
The port has a link light: The physical connection is good but something else is preventing the page from loading. Make sure you are connected to your Home-Admin SSID and not one of the other networks. Try a different device. Try a private/incognito browser window.
The port has no link light even though the cable is plugged in and the AP has power: Port 1 may have failed. This is a known issue with Intel network chips and it does not mean your vault is broken. You have a backup.
Use your backup port:
- Unplug the Ethernet cable from Port 1
- Plug it into Port 4 (rightmost port)
- Wait 1-2 minutes for the access point to reconnect
Port 4 is your backup admin port. Your Home-Admin WiFi will continue to work on Port 4. However, you will lose the following WiFi networks because they require the VLAN trunk on Port 1:
- Home-IoT
- Home-Smart
- Home-Guest
- Home-Kids
- Home-SafeNet (the physical SafeNet port on Port 3 still works if you need the VPN tunnel)
This is a temporary workaround to keep you online while we sort out Port 1. Contact OSS support to let us know.
Step 6: Slow Internet
If your internet is working but feels slow, try a power cycle first. Restart your vault (wait for the chime) and then restart your access point. This clears out accumulated state and often fixes sluggish performance.
If speeds are still slow after a restart, test your speed at speedtest.net while connected to your Home-Admin WiFi. Then test again using your phone on cellular data (disconnect from WiFi first). If both are slow, the problem is your ISP, not your vault.
Step 7: Contact Support
If you’ve worked through these steps and things still aren’t right, contact OSS support. When you reach out, let us know:
- Which step you got to in this guide
- Whether the vault power LED is on
- Whether you can reach the login page at 192.168.1.1
- Whether the problem is on all WiFi networks or just one
- Whether you tried a different device
This helps us help you faster.
Email: support@opensourcesecurity.net