Which symptom is indicative of a misconfigured gateway?

A misconfigured gateway often leads to issues with connectivity when attempting to reach external networks. The gateway serves as the access point that forwards traffic from a local network to external networks, such as the internet. If the gateway is misconfigured, it can prevent devices on the local network from sending or receiving data outside of their local environment, resulting in an inability to connect to external networks. This symptom is a direct result of incorrect settings, such as improper routing protocols, firewall settings, or IP address configurations that disrupt the communication pathway to the wider internet.

While slow local network performance can occur due to various internal issues (such as bandwidth limitations or overloaded switches), it does not specifically point to a gateway misconfiguration. Similarly, increased signal interference is more related to wireless communication issues rather than gateway configuration, and frequent power outages pertain to electrical problems rather than network configurations. Therefore, the inability to connect to external networks is a clear indicator of a gateway misconfiguration.