Member Avatar for beckele

I have a wireless access point. I can connect to it just fine. I can go to Google and I can type in a search, however I cannot GO to the searches result links at all. I've tried IE and Firefox and both the same. I can search for something and it will show me the results, however when I click on ANY of the links, it will not go to any of them. It just sits there forever. No error, nothing. It WILL got to a site I "find" if I type the entire address into the URL, BUT...if I search inside even THAT site it will not allow me to go to anything even THAT search finds. Just weird. I've had several access points, but never seen this before. Another fact, it happens to me on any computer that connects to that access point so it isn't specific to one laptop or computer.

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Dani AI

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Summary: reports that several different machines on one wireless access point can load a search page (Google) and see results, but any click on a result never completes while typing a full URL does work. suggested a factory reset; the reset is reasonable, but a few focused diagnostics will usually isolate whether the access point firmware/configuration is the real culprit.

A practical diagnostic sequence:

  1. Confirm the AP is the differentiator by using an alternate network (phone hotspot or a PC wired to the modem). If the problem disappears off the AP, the AP is at fault.

  2. Inspect the browser Network tab (F12) while clicking a search result. Note whether the request is pending, shows a 3xx redirect, or returns 4xx/5xx. Each outcome points to a different problem (TCP/MTU, redirect handling, or filtering).

  3. Check MTU/fragmentation with ping. On Windows:

    ping -f -l 1472 8.8.8.8

    Reduce the size until it succeeds. To test a lower MTU on Windows:

    netsh interface ipv4 show subinterfaces
netsh interface ipv4 set subinterface "Wi-Fi" mtu=1400 store=persistent

  4. Use a command-line HTTP client to follow redirects and view headers (example with curl):

    curl -I -L "http://www.google.com/search?q=example"

  5. Check the AP for any web/proxy/filter/captive-portal features, parental controls, or IPv6 settings and review its logs. Temporarily disabling those features for a short test can be revealing.

  6. If diagnostics point to the AP, backup its config, update firmware, then factory-reset. If the reset and firmware update do not fix it, replacement or vendor support is recommended.

Likely root causes are a buggy HTTP-redirect handler or transparent-proxy/content-filter on the AP, MTU/fragmentation problems, or a NAT/firewall bug in the AP firmware. Browser dev tools and a packet capture will show whether the client sends the GET and whether a server reply arrives, which is the clearest way to identify the exact failure mode.

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Member Avatar for dcdruck

What makes you think it's the access point? To me it sounds like a configuration issue or, even more likely, a virus or malware infection more so than a faulty access point. Do you have another computer or smartphone that you can connect to the wireless and see if it experiences the same issue? If you really suspect the access point, then try doing a factory reset on it.

Member Avatar for beckele

I don't think it is a virus. We've tried around 7 compters and we all have virus protection. It has to be the access point as we all connect to other access points with no issue. Strange right?

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