Internet Poser

[jonbar.1]

We have 5 devices using the internet:
My 2 Samsung mobiles,my Laptop, my wife's mobile & Tablet.
This morning I lost internet on both my mobiles and laptop ( "Unable to connect to this Network").
Oddly,none of my wife's devices were affected!
Tried re-booting + restarting to no avail.
I did not bother with the router, as I reckoned that couldn't be the problem ; otherwise my wife's devices would also not be working.
Eventually,in desperation,I unplugged the router, then re-plugged again......Voila! This did the trick!

....My question is : Why did it happen ONLY TO MY 3 DEVICES ; NONE OF MY WIFE's ?

I'm a bit concerned that I have,unwittingly change some obscure setting on either my mobile or laptop.
Any ideas please?
Cheers JB

[markwilding]

This used to happen to me and I assumed it was an IP conflict so the router would need to be restarted to reset the network.

[Enrique]

Hi jonbar.1

Possible DHCP issue on your Router that was cleared when doing a power off/on reset................

If it was a one off then you're good to go................

[jonbar.1]

Thankyou Mark & Enrique
Once again bewidered by jargon: "IP conflict" ?
"DHCP"??

Still it's good to get answers & assurance from you chaps
Cheers JB

[markwilding]

In this case it's not necessary to understand the problem, just the solution. I too don't understand what DHCP stands for but I do know how to change the settings with instructions from Google.

The IP address is easier to understand because everyone understands address. Basically it's similar to a phone call. if it's busy on another call, it's not possible to get through. One of the five gadgets is already using that address to connect the gadget to the router so if another gadget tries to connect using the same line/address, the second gadget can't connect. The best solution is reboot the router so it can reallocate lines/IP addresses that don't conflict.

[Enrique]

Hi jonbar.1
Following on from mark's Post..............

Plenty of light reading on the Web.

ISP ......Internet Service Provider

DHCP ..........Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a client/server protocol that automatically provides an Internet Protocol (IP) host with its IP address and other related configuration information such as the subnet mask and default gateway.

Basics.................

you are allocated a Public IP from your ISP..............the Router then will allocate a Private IP ( popular Private IPs 192.168.0.0/24 192.168.1.0/24 on Routers)

Your Laptop when connecting will get allocate an IP from the Router ............and uses NAT

NAT stands for network address translation. It's a way to map multiple private addresses inside a local network to a public IP address before transferring the information onto the internet. Organizations that want multiple devices to employ a single IP address use NAT, as do most home routers

All DHCP addresses have a Lease time............. should you stop using the Laptop for some time its IP will be returned to the Pool of IPs on the Router, same goes for your Public IP. The ISP is allocated a Range of Public IP's and will return to the ISP pool if not used and the lease runs out.

[jonbar.1]

Thankyou Mark.
I sort of got that.
Thankyou Enrique.
I did not understand a single word of your wonderful explanation,but I am grateful,as always,for your time & patience in replying.
(I studied Latin & Greek at school,which was far easier to grasp.)
Perhaps I should give-up computers and take-up Origami.