limited network connectivity ??

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fran1942

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#166168 4-Mar-2015 18:23

Hello, I notice that sometimes when I connect to networks that are not functioning properly, that the warning message comes up 'limited connectivity'. I understand this means that I cannot connect to the internet but I am wondering what mechanism decides this ? i.e you get a DHCP address, but then what mechanism tests that internet connectivity is down ?

Thanks for any advice

Jase2985

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#1251258 4-Mar-2015 18:24

DNS?

Batman

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#1251286 4-Mar-2015 19:21

If your dns is correct then restart the modem

djtOtago

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#1251424 4-Mar-2015 23:01

I assume you want to know how the Windows OS determines it has internet access.

It is called the Network Connectivity Status Indicator (NCSI)
It uses 2 methods to determine what internet access it has.

NCSI performs a DNS lookup on www.msftncsi.com, then requests http://www.msftncsi.com/ncsi.txt. This file is a plain-text file and contains only the text Microsoft NCSI.
NCSI sends a DNS lookup request for dns.msftncsi.com. This DNS address should resolve to 131.107.255.255. If the address does not match, then it is assumed that the internet connection is not functioning correctly.

At least this is how it worked in Windows 7.

More info from superuser.com.