WiFi is connected but websites will not open, or the internet works for a while and then breaks in a new strange way every day. When small fixes stop helping, reset the whole network stack — in the right order.
Scattered tips tell you to "flush DNS" or "reset winsock" as if they were the same medicine. They are not — each command repairs a different layer of the network stack, and running them in sequence is the closest thing Windows has to a full network factory reset. This guide gives the complete sequence in the right order: renew the address, clear the DNS cache, reset the Winsock catalogue, reset the TCP/IP stack, and restart. It is the fix technicians run when a PC’s networking has been damaged by malware removal, a bad VPN or driver experiment, or months of accumulated tinkering.
👆 The success messages of the last three steps. Every line should end cleanly — an error here usually means the Command Prompt was not opened as Administrator.
ipconfig /all and save or photograph the IPv4 Address, Gateway and DNS ServersThe address and name layers first:
ipconfig /release — gives up the current IP address. Your connection drops at this moment; that is expectedipconfig /renew — asks the router for a fresh address and fresh settings. If renew fails or returns a 169.254 address, the PC is not really reaching the router — check the cable or WiFi before blaming Windowsipconfig /flushdns — empties the cache of website name lookups. Stale or poisoned entries are a classic cause of "one site will not open while everything else works". Success reads Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver CacheNow the deep layers — these two are the real stack reset:
netsh winsock reset — rebuilds the Winsock catalogue, the list of handlers every app uses to reach the network. Malware, old firewalls and VPN tools corrupt this catalogue; the symptom is one PC where "nothing connects in any app"netsh int ip reset — resets the TCP/IP stack itself to its installed state, rewriting its registry settingsping 192.168.1.1 (your gateway from ipconfig) if anything still failsEvery command in this sequence is unpacked in the video’s network section, plus the diagnostic commands to run before and after.
▶️ Watch Full VideoThe full Settings-based Network Reset does remove saved networks, but the command sequence in this guide — release, renew, flushdns, winsock and IP reset — does not delete saved WiFi profiles. Your networks reconnect normally after the restart, though you may need to select your WiFi once.
Flushing DNS clears only the cache of website-name lookups — it fixes wrong or stale addresses for sites. Winsock reset rebuilds the catalogue of network handlers all applications share — it fixes the deeper "no app can connect at all" breakage. Different layers, different symptoms.
A fault that keeps returning usually has a living cause: a VPN or security tool re-corrupting the catalogue, a failing adapter driver, or malware still present. Run a full antivirus scan, update or reinstall the network adapter driver, and note which program you installed or opened right before each return — that pattern names the culprit.