The massive proliferation of Wi-Fi wireless communication protocol has led to the fact that in almost every modern home, there is a router. And to the router “over the air,” several devices are connected at once. It can be smartphones, tablets, computers, and many other gadgets. If there are problems with the connection, all devices will immediately be disconnected from the internet.
In this case, there are situations that everything works. But the computer on the Windows operating system refuses to connect to the wireless network. In such cases, when conducting diagnostics using the system, a message will appear.
What is default gateway is not available?
“The default gateway is not available.” The error is typical for all modern versions of the Windows operating system. And it also moved to Windows 10. The computer administrator can try to get rid of it on her own. And below we’ll give the main recommendations on what to do in this situation.
Setting the default gateway in manual mode
In the wireless protocol settings, the default gateway is automatically detected. This leads to the fact that there may be all sorts of errors. To avoid an error in which the system determines that the default gateway is unavailable, try to configure it manually. This will require:
- Go to the “Network Connections.” The easiest way to do this is to right-click on the “Start” icon. And then select the “Network Connections” item in the drop-down menu;
- After that, find the Wi-Fi adapter (built-in or external), through which the connection to the Internet. Click on the right button and select “Properties”;
- Next, the wireless network settings window will open, find the “Internet Protocol Version 4” in the list of components used. And then select it and click “Properties”;
- Switch the switches from auto-detect IP address and DNS to manual configuration mode and specify the following parameters:
- The main gateway: the address of the connection to the settings of the router. In most cases, it is indicated on a label on the router itself or can be found on the Internet. The most common addresses for routers are 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.0.1.
- IP-address: close to the address of the router settings, but differing by several dozen by the last digit. For example, if the address of the router is 192.168.0.1, then in the column IP address, you need to write 192.168.0.30.
- Subnet mask: this item will be filled automatically.
- Preferred DNS server: 8.8.8.8.
- Alternate DNS server: 8.8.4.4.
When the settings are completed, click “OK” in all open windows and try to reconnect to the network. If Windows continues to report that the gateway is unavailable, proceed to the following solutions.
Activating fips compatibility
Another problem that could lead to the error “The default gateway is not available” is the disabled federal standard for information processing, also known as FIPS. In such a situation, it is necessary to turn it on; for this, do the following:
- Right-click on the Start icon and select Network Connections. Also, you can enter this setting item in other ways;
- After that, right-click on the problematic wireless connection and select “Status”;
- Next, click “Wireless Network Properties”;
- Go to the “Security” tab and click on the “Advanced Settings” item;
- A window will open in which you need to make sure that there is a check mark in the single item that activates the FIPS protocol.
If the check mark did not stand, it is necessary to check it. And then close all opened parameters by pressing “OK.” Next, try to reconnect to the network.
When the check mark does not help solve the problem (or it was there before), go to the next way to resolve the error.
Wi-Fi adapter power setting
Another problem that may cause the error considered in the article is the loss of power to the wireless adapter through which the connection is established. To verify the presence or absence of a similar problem, you must do the following:
- Press the key combination Windows + R on the keyboard and write the command devmgmt.msc in the Run window that opens, then press Enter;
- This command will open the “Device Manager” in which you want to find the wireless device through which the connection is established. Most often it is located in the “Network Adapters” section, but in exceptional situations, it can be located in the “USB Controllers” item;
- When the wireless device is found, right-click on it and select “Properties”;
- The settings window will open, where you need to go to the “Power Management” tab and make sure that there is no checkmark in the “Allow this device to turn off to save energy” option. If the tick is checked, it must be removed, and then click “OK”;
- Next, go to the “Control Panel,” you can do this by right-clicking on the “Start” and selecting the appropriate item in the drop-down menu;
- In the “Control Panel,” select the large or small icons in the right-hand corner of the view, then click on the “Power Options” item;
- A window will open in which the main power schemes are indicated. Click on the installed item option “Configure power scheme”;
- Next, select “Change advanced power settings” and in the window that opens, find the list of “Wireless Adapter Settings”;
- Expand this item and make sure that the power options are set to “Maximum Performance.” If not, then correct it.
When all the settings specified in this item are completed, restart the computer, and then try to connect to the Internet again.
Checking wireless drivers
For proper operation of the wireless adapter, its drivers must be correctly selected and updated to the latest version.
If the error “Default gateway is not available” began to appear after the next Windows update, it is possible that you should install the latest version of drivers for the adapter. You can download it from the official site of the device developers.
Also, a problem may arise if the adapter drivers were not installed on the computer at all. For example, the Windows 10 operating system is able to independently determine and install drivers for many devices, including wireless adapters. If she independently established them, not the fact that it was made correctly.
To check the driver provider, you will need:
- Right-click on the “Start” and select “Device Manager”;
- Next, find the network adapter through which the connection is established, right-click on it and select “Properties”;
- After that, a window will open where you need to see the digital signature in the installed driver on the “Driver” tab. If it is Microsoft Windows, it is recommended to go to the official website of the driver developers and download the latest version of the software, then try to connect to the Internet again.
Important: Please note, if you, on the contrary, recently updated the drivers of the wireless device, and then the error “Default gateway is not available” appeared, you can click the “Rollback” button on the “Driver” tab of the adapter to return the previous version software.