Not sure if this was answered but cant see it in the thread. Apologies if you know the following - just trying to help.
Connecting to the wireless does not equal connecting to the internet. So if the wireless does connect but no internet - the first port of call is to check if the neighbours router is connected to the internet. Naturally not sure of your ability to access this but as mentioned previously if you type 192.168.1.1 into your webbrowser when the wireless is connected you should get to the router log in page … then you will need his admin password. Sometime it is the last 6 or 8 digits of the original endlessly long Orange Wifi code the router came with. The as mentioned before you will see the internet status. Reboot if needed… or maybe get more frustrated if this was all rubbish 
but hopeflully it may help.
You have to break into their house first to find the router and hope that they haven’t (as we usually did) changed the manager password to something else 
Nearly.
It was people’s broadband connections, the village was so far from the exchange that all the connections were marginal and an old TV caused enough radio frequency to cause severe disruption.
3 Likes
Puts a new meaning to “your internet is toast” 
There’s some great answers to your problem…
your machine and phone appear to be connecting to a modem… but that modem isn’t hooked to an active line?..
because you don’t have access to the modem, maybe the neighbour hasn’t paid their bill?
mice could have eaten the cable from modem to wall…
the modems live, but the line is dead?..
you could try 192.168.1.1 by wifi, but if you don’t have the security code, you won’t get in to do a reset.
the quickest and surefire test = if you know your neighbours phone number [landline]… see if it rings normally, or goes directly to answerphone with out any ring… or you get disconnected tone?
ringing is live, direct to AP there’s line fault, anything else could indicate dead line?
last year, i had exactly the same problem as you… no internet, modem fine… used my mobile to call myself and went directly to Orange AP… subsequently discovered thieves had cut 250m section of 50 pair cable from the local poles!!
6 months later, same problem… this was more obvious… a tree opposite had snapped, took out mine and other lines…
you machine and phone appear to work fine for your purposes… no need to change until you win the lottery?.. it won’t cure any fault with your neighbours line
Good luck
1 Like
You can’t buy a more modern secondhand computer? Mine was £80, windows 10 and is very reliable. I never buy anything new.
1 Like
I can’t make that claim - but I too am trying to buy everything I can secondhand now - it’s the responsible thing to do.
Dunno about responsible. It seems sensible to me. I’ve always bought used stuff. Everything in my home is used. Let the rich folks pay over the odds and I’ll pick it up for a song when they’ve gone out and ‘upgraded’ and got rid of perfectly good stuff. I’ve got other things to spend my money on, like my animals. I’m glad that there are some with lots of money, and more with more money than sense, otherwise I too might have to resort to paying over the odds for new stuff 
Roll on Monday. The charity shops are opening again and I need some summer dresses lol. At only £4 a dress, I can afford to indulge myself.
1 Like
I was looking at it more from the environmental rather than money-saving angle Pam - but I love it when they come together.
It seems that the announcement of 5G-availability might have been a factor. It is entirely possible, because the antennas are on the same mast.
Anyway, reception has returned somewhat to normal, despite the fact that (unlike before 5G) there are moments in the day when the connection becomes very lax. One can only hope those moments will be avoided once Covid lock-down ends. (Which should be soon enough, since new shipments are finally arriving. Btw, if you want an anti-Covid shot see your local pharmacy that are now providing them. At no cost if you are insured by French healthcare.)
Our internet ( Dept.66) has been poor since last weekend - I put it down to extra people on holiday. As its so bad and this is a gite in summer, I think I had better switch to a box (15 - 20 euros a month), rather than the router/modem with a Sim card (10 euros a month) that we have a present.
I found W10 a blessed relief after the horror that was W8! I nearly switched to Apple (in fact my wife did switch), but W10 came along just in time and I’m happy with it. It takes all sorts . . .
That’s very nice to know.
Have a nice day.
I hope you got it from a reliable source and the hard drive was deep cleaned/wiped professionally so there is no sleeping virus that might compromise your files etc. Buying a second user is very laudable and makes a lot of sense…but great care is needed for Tech products (security) or electrical (safery) acquisitions.
1 Like
I’ve got line-of-sight direct to the antenna about a mile-and-a-half away. I think that what is happening is the fact that on the same mast there are both 4G & 5G transmitted. There should not be interference between the two. But …
But what Geof mentions relates to something quite bizarre if you look up the thread to post #83 (the BBC link) posted by @anon88169868