Can connect to internet with phone but not with laptop

Phones, laptops and tablets can all log in to church Wifi & internet. In halls, served by a repeater in each, although good signals are reported by WiFi analysers, and all can see the WiFi network and login, only the phones can see the internet. Laptops and tablets report "No internet".
On a related but slightly different issue, I can log in to Hive Heating Controller app from home but that reports that the hub (in the hall) is not talking to the Hive web site. Obviously the same issue - the hub is not seeing the internet.
Why?!! What is different. I assume it must be something related to the repeaters - both Netgear.

Hopefully a networking specialist can explain this better than I but essentially the problem is that, in order to connect to the internet, a computer needs to be able to login to a Wireless Access Point. A repeater is not a WAP, it simply enables devices within a LAN to access files on other LAN devices. You need mesh devices in all places that are outside the router range. Phones connect via their provider's network, not via your router, and can be configured as a WAP.

Will the devices connect to the internet if connected to the router? If yes, then my guess is that it's a setting on the repeaters.

Not sure on the terminology you are using. Does "repeater" refer to a "router" or a "range extender"? (Hive uses "Repeater" to mean "Signal Booster", which is a kind of "range extender". I assume therefore that is your meaning - but I could be wrong.)

Have these (don't know how many) Laptops and tablets been connected to the Internet before? Or are they new to your environment?
The WiFi signal needs to travel in a straight line, so is there anything material that could be blocking in the way of signal reception to the laptops and tablets?

Do the Laptop/Tablets have a WiFi card or dongle? The WiFi signal from these devices needs to be of the same frequency band. Usually this is 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz. Newer devices could be WiFi 6, which is 6 Ghz.

Have these devices been rebooted? That is, have they been switched off, left for a minimum of 25 seconds, then switched on again?

If the Hive Hub is offline (ie, "No Internet"), then have you checked the colour coded lights on the Hub device? There should be some Green, Red or Amber lights that either are solidly on or off, or flash on/off in a sequence. Here are the decoded sequences from the manufacturer's website: Community . Understanding the light codes should indicate the status of the device. Follow the steps recommended by the manufacturer.

First, thank you all for your replies.
One thing to point out - Hive access did work but has now stopped. As far as I know nothing changed but there was an attempt by a judo club that uses one of the halls to stream an "Open evening" for parents. I didn't think they were successful and used a Hot Spot connection instead.

Fixer - the setup is BT Modem, a Netgear WN3000 extender and a Netgear AC1200 extender (both of which according to manuals can also act as access points).
I am surprised re your comment on phones. I have set my phone's access to the internet via mobile network to be off as I rarely use my phone to access the internet outside of my home. If I go further an switch WiFi connection off I lose internet at home. Doesn't that imply it connects through my ISPs router?

iko22 - My reply above to fixer re extenders may explain my terminology. It seems I have both an extender and a WAP in the same box!
Laptop connects OK in the main church - just won't in halls. Nothing blocking signals between extender/WAP and laptop. Using mainly 2.4GHz as in some cases signal has to pass through Priory's thick walls. BT Card in tablet. Not in laptop. Tried re-booting everything both hot and cold reboots.

Hive 365 - Rebooted that as well. Goes through sequence of white flashing light to steady purple. Locally Hive controls works fine. Logging on remotely results shows the three halls the hub365 connects to but I can't do anything as a message says "...not talking to us ... appears to be off-line ". Hive chat didn't come up with any suggestion I had already tried.

I have already tried the Community link.

If the Hive site can respond to my logging but says it can't talk to hub, that implies a similar problem to my inability to log in via a laptop/tablet.

Thanks for the model details. Seems these extenders can only connect at 2.4Ghz so you need check whether laptops etc are the same. If they are 5Ghz only they won't connect. You can use Device Manager to check.

About the phones, I simply meant they will use their own network when WiFi not available.

"It seems I have both an extender and a WAP in the same box!"

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Yes, an extender provides a WAP (Wireless Access Point). However, the Extender needs a Router to access the Internet.
A Router can provide both WAP and Internet. Presumably, the Router is located in the main Church - where the Internet Access is fine.

"Nothing blocking signals between extender/WAP and laptop. "

Click to expand...

If you feel sure about that, then I would run the Windows Network Troubleshooter, as that could detect the type of connection problem.
To access the Network Troubleshooter on a Windows 11 Laptop/Tablet:
1. click on the Windows Start button,
2. click on Settings (the cog shaped button),
3. click on System (the kind of blue rectangle looking symbol),
4. Under the heading "System" scroll down list of items until you see "Troubleshoot", click on that item.
5. Under the heading System > Troubleshoot select Other troubleshooters.
6. Under the heading System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters select the item labelled Internet Connections by clicking on the corresponding Run button.
7. A new Window will open. In this window, select Troubleshoot my connection to the Internet.
8. Wait for the Troubleshooter to run it's diagnostics. Make a note of any Issue, and report back to this Forum.

"- the setup is BT Modem"

Click to expand...

Do you mean BT = British Telecom?

"BT Card in tablet. Not in laptop. "

Click to expand...

Do you mean BT = Bluetooth?

"Hive 365 "

Click to expand...

Hive365 appears to be an Internet Radio Station. Do you mean Hive Hub 360?

"If the Hive site can respond to my logging but says it can't talk to hub, that implies a similar problem to my inability to log in via a laptop/tablet."

Click to expand...

Is the Hive hub connected to the Router in the Church, or is it connected to an Extender?

Sigurd said:

... all can see the WiFi network and login, only the phones can see the internet. ...

Click to expand...

How are you certain that the phones are logging in to the repeaters and not the main router?
How are you certain that the 'WiFi analysers' you used on the computers were reporting the state of the repeater networks, which I think you are saying they logged in to, rather than the main router?
I always use NirSoft WiFiInfoView but I realise that there are lots of others.
- This utility would also confirm for you which frequencies & channels your router & repeaters were operating on.
- You need to check the details of references to "5GHz". Different computer WiFi adapters can respond differently to 5.0GHz [channels 28-36] & 5.8GHz [channels 147-163]. Many can only see the former not the latter.

Denis

Thanks - I'll try that tomorrow.
Yes, BT = British Telecom
BT card in laptop = BT supplied card that gives our phones and the laptop access to BT's network.
Hive 365 - A means of remote controlling a heating system. The halls are hired out at various times and this avoids me having to drive a couple of miles every time to reprogram heating! See Hive Home US | Start Your Connected Home
Hive hub connects wirelessly to heating controls and acts (should act) as a connection between my home - logon to Hive web site - and Hub 365 - and gas boilers allowing remote programming and over-riding. Except current problem is that the Hive web site says Hub won't speak to it! The hub should connect to the extender wirelessly and indicator lights imply it has.

Sorry Dennis - your post crossed with mine. Will reply later.

That's alright Siggurd.

How are you certain that the phones are logging in to the repeaters and not the main router?
How are you certain that the 'WiFi analysers' you used on the computers were reporting the state of the repeater networks, which I think you are saying they logged in to, rather than the main router?
I always use NirSoft WiFiInfoView but I realise that there are lots of others.
- This utility would also confirm for you which frequencies & channels your router & repeaters were operating on.
- You need to check the details of references to "5GHz". Different computer WiFi adapters can respond differently to 5.0GHz [channels 28-36] & 5.8GHz [channels 147-163]. Many can only see the former not the latter.

Click to expand...

Thanks Dennis
I can't be sure which box the phone is logging into, but it wouldn't be the router as it is too far and behind a 3 foot thick wall! And given relative level of signal it would make sense for it to be logging in to the hall I happened to be in at the time.
The signal strength meter is one downloaded to my phone from Google Play. I'll have a look at your suggested one. I have used their app for sorting out Outlook's autofill file and found it very good. I thought NirSoft sounded familiar!
Sigurd aka Ian

Spent over an hour down at Priory to no avail.
I went right back to basics - reset both repeaters/WAP to factory settings. Re-connected both to router (twice 2.4 and 5 GHz)
Plugged them in at halls - both show up on my phone WiFi signal strength app.
Tried to login with laptop. Did search for WiFi networks and they showed up on laptop. Connected to them but in all cases said "No internet".
Instructions for setting up Access Mode are
To use the extender in access point mode:
1. Set the Access Point/Extender switch to Access Point.
2. Plug the extender into an electrical outlet.
3. Wait for the Power LED to light amber and then turn green. If the Power LED does not light, press the Power On/Off button on the side of the extender.
4. Use an Ethernet cable to connect the Ethernet port on the extender to a router Ethernet LAN port or a remote Ethernet LAN jack with LAN access. The extender joins the LAN and creates a WiFi hotspot. 5.
Use a WiFi network manager on a computer or WiFi device to find and connect to the NETGEAR_EXT (SSID) WiFi network. You can join one of the following extender WiFi networks: • NETGEAR_EXT • NETGEAR_5GEXT When you join the network, the extender Client Link LED lights to show that you are connected.
6. Launch a web browser and enter www.mywifiext.net in the address field. The New Extender Setup screen displays.
7. Click the NEW EXTENDER SETUP button. The first time that you log in to the extender, the Create Account screen displays. If the Create Account screen does not display, visit www.mywifiext.net.

No problem with 1 to 4, but www.mywifiext.net, accessed using my phone which does access internet, is not helpful. No new extender setup screen.
I think I am (reluctantly) going to have to bring in a local expert, despite all the expert and helpful suggestions I have received here. Fortunately I still have contacts in a large industrial concern where I may be able to find a network expert in their IT section willing to indulge in a bit of pro bono work!

Sigurd said:

I think I am (reluctantly) going to have to bring in a local expert, despite all the expert and helpful suggestions I have received here.

Click to expand...

That is entirely your choice. A couple of points I would like to raise:

www.mywifiext.net is the web address of the Extender Admin account. It should be found on the local Internet that you have just created. If you are not seeing that, then quite possibly your phones are accessing the Internet on a different network - for example, on the mobile GSM network that the SIM card is registered with.

Here is Netgear's help on www.mywifiext.net issues:

It says if you cannot connect your computer to the Extender's www.mywifiext.net address then type in 192.168.1.250 into the browser address bar, on your computer.

If you connect to www.mywifiext.net on the global Internet, then you will see this message :

"You are not connected to your extender's WiFi network."

Click to expand...

On a device that can't access the internet click on the Wi-Fi icon on the taskbar. You might have to click on the hidden items icon. What connection is it using? For example. On my network I have the Comcast supplied modem/router named Comcast1 and a Wi-Fi extender named Rockspace. When I check my devices that are in my house, they are connected to Comcast1. When I check the laptop that is in my shed it shows being connected to Rockspace. It it's connected to the extender try connecting to the main router and see if you have an internet connection.

When the laptop connects to the main router in the church, internet works OK. In the halls it has to connect to the extender as that is all it can see (distance and thick walls result in either no signal or very low level signal).

IKO 22 - will try the IP address tomorrow.

Going to have to leave it for a few days. In the meantime, following this morning's attempt, I suspect a hardware issue (the ethernet cable plug) as the extender is not connecting reliably. And I have backache! Watch this space.

Sigurd said:

The signal strength meter is one downloaded to my phone from Google Play

Click to expand...

Sigurd,

Which one is it?
The last time I used one on my phone I had to enable Location to be allowed to run it [rather illogical, I thought]. So I'd like to give yours a whirl.

Denis

Search for WiFi analyser and on the list it's the one produced by olgor.com

Sigurd said:

it's the one produced by olgor.com

Click to expand...

Thanks. I just tried it and it also demands that Location is on.

Yours in bafflement,
Denis