iPad not connecting to internet or syncing after being restarted, but is connected to wifi.

Start here:

If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch won’t connect to a Wi-Fi network - Apple Support

Internet connection difficulties are usually an indication that your device does not have a routable IP Address - your IP Address usually being assigned by DHCP. When problems occur, your iPad may only have a self-assigned link-local IP address that begins 169.254.x.x.

You can verify your DHCP-assigned IP Address from settings:

Settings > WiFi > [Your WiFi Network / SSID] - tap the blue “i” icon - [IPv4 Address] IP Address

If you have a VPN App or profiles installed, or a security App such as Norton, these may be interfering with DHCP and preventing your device from obtaining a valid IP Address for the WiFi network to which you are attempting to connect. The resolution is usually simple; if installed, you may only need to temporarily disable or remove the Security App and/or VPN.

DHCP is frequently used to automatically obtain an IP Address. Until your iPad has a valid IP Address to connect to your network, you will not have an internet connection. Disabling or removing VPN and/or the offending security App should allow DHCP to operate normally - allowing connection to your network and the internet.

If this resolves your issue, the VPN and/or security App can be reinstated after the connectivity problem has been resolved.

If some Apps are working as expected, while others are not - or other devices can connect to your WiFi network - you may find that a restart of your WiFi Router, followed by a restart of your iPad will clear the problem….

To restart your router, disconnect power from the router for at least 30 seconds - then reconnect power to restart. After your router reboots (which may take several minutes), force restart your iPad:

Force restart iPad - Apple Support

If you continue to have difficulties, check to see if your iPad is using the WiFi Private Address feature. This feature, if supported by your iPad, is intended to provide additional privacy and security when using “public” (untrusted) WiFi networks.

Settings > WiFi > [Your WiFi Network / SSID] - tap the “i” icon - Private Address

The Private Address feature is largely unnecessary for your home WiFi network; if enabled, Private Addressing can cause issues if specific MAC addresses are expected by your WiFi Router. You may need to disable this feature - and can be enabled or disabled for each individual network.

Use private Wi-Fi addresses in iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and watchOS 7 - Apple Support

Got any add-on VPN apps? If so, remove all, restart, and try again. Remove, as disabling isn’t always effective.

I would like to add to the other good advice you have received here. What is the brand name of your router? I ask because I experienced the same issue - connected to the network but no internet - at home, at our cottage and several other people I know had the same problem. The source of the problem was that we were all using ASUS routers. You can search to check this out but the short story is that Asus sent out a bad update that turned off Internet for all of us. Then to complicate things, Asus was also affected by the widespread hack you may have read about.

The good news ... it resolved itself. Asus sent out a temporary patch, then an official, good, update. All of us using those Asus routers are now happily connecting to Internet. We had to make sure the router was set up for automatic update. It sure was a headache as we tried troubleshooting all other options! Seeing as how your other Apple devices worked, the router may not be the problem. But it cannot hurt to check.

Patch your ASUS gear.

Here’s a video from a few days ago providing an overview of remotely accessing and recording room audio from an LG TV on a local network that’s ostensibly being protected by a ASUS router (and vulnerable to CVE-2026-75775):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYnwCx2SNYY

This CVE is seemingly independent of being unable to access the ‘net though, unless somebody else already accessed the router and somehow messed up or blocked routing.