So it all started in September of 2013. I just moved into my new condo, and just got a 300GB/mo plan with Rogers. When I set foot into my new condo, the tech called from the lobby. Since it was Saturday and the Management Office was closed, I escorted him to our Security Office instead and had a security officer take him to where, I guess, the cables were so that he could connect our unit to the Internet. Meanwhile, we waited and he installed the modem in the downstairs part of the two-story condo (this is important). So far, so good.
Now this modem has a built-in wireless router that supports WiFi. My PC can connect wirelessly, as can my devices. Unfortunately, my father sleeps in the master bedroom, which is upstairs (important, again), his PC doesn't have a wireless networking card and his wireless adapter was crap. So we had to have the modem installed upstairs and connect his PC through an Ethernet cable. I don't know if we installed the modem ourselves or had the tech do it for us.
For more than 2 years, I've had to run upstairs to reboot the modem, disabling and reenabling my wireless network adapter; anything to get the Internet to work. I thought that we were saving a bundle by not having to buy a wireless router. However, it's been so aggravating that I looked forward to going to the Apple Store just to play games on their much faster Internet connection.
Recently, my mother complained that the Internet wasn't working on her laptop. So I looked into WiFi range extenders, and came across a method called powerlining. That's a method where you use your home's electrical wiring instead of long, messy Ethernet cables or spotty WiFi to help you connect to the Internet. But it didn't work for me because the set I bought only used two lines instead of all three lines; in other words, it only worked if you used the set in the same room or probably any pair of rooms that shared the same fuse, perhaps.
Therefore, off we go to Best Buy to return the stuff and buy a WiFi range extender. My mother then had the idea to replace the modem, which we did, and then went back to Best Buy to return the extender; her reasoning was that if we got a new modem for free, why bother with paying for "extras", right?
Unfortunately, after I set up the new modem, as well as enabling guest WiFi (again, important), I experienced the same problems. So I took to asking Rogers Community Forums for advice. Some Community Experts advised me to buy the latest in powerlining that uses all three lines in my home's electrical wiring. The support staff also PM'ed me and asked me to log in to the modem, which I could not because I forgot the password. UGH!
So he ran some tests and asked me to remove the splitter because the signal was weak. I did, and he ran those tests again and told me that it was fine, and that I would have to pay $50.00 for a tech to come and add a TV if I wanted to. I emailed my sister, giving her a link to my thread in the Community Forums. She then called and asked me to wait until my brother-in-law could come over to fix the Internet. In the meantime, I found a workaround by taking the modem off the dresser in the second-floor master bedroom and putting it onto the floor, where it would be in a more central place, as advised by the experts from the forums and from Best Buy and from online research that I did when my PC had a good Internet day. I still had to reboot the modem, though.
So my brother-in-law came yesterday and he and my sister asked me why I had enabled guest WiFi. I thought that the WiFi would be safe as it was protected by a password, but nope. They said that enabling guest WiFi would make the signal worse, as I would be inviting strangers to log on and slow the Internet down. OK, disable guest WiFi; I get that, so I did. Then they had trouble logging in to the modem, when I suggested that they try calling Tech Support to reset the password. My sister was on the phone, and was about to be connected when my brother-in-law finally found the password. It was stored in my modem's Easy Setup Key, which I had used to set up and install the modem. I had changed it and forgot about it. Oops.
They managed to fix it. They installed an external wireless router, disabled the built-in wireless, and plugged a WiFi range extender into a socket near to my PC. They then told me to call them first before messing around it if it breaks again. Ok, duly noted.
I'm just glad to have my Internet running again. Thanks!
TL;DR: Internet was wonky for more than 2 years, so I did as much homework and consulted people about certain products before my sister and brother-in-law finally fixed it.
Anyone else have tales of Internet woes?
Now this modem has a built-in wireless router that supports WiFi. My PC can connect wirelessly, as can my devices. Unfortunately, my father sleeps in the master bedroom, which is upstairs (important, again), his PC doesn't have a wireless networking card and his wireless adapter was crap. So we had to have the modem installed upstairs and connect his PC through an Ethernet cable. I don't know if we installed the modem ourselves or had the tech do it for us.
For more than 2 years, I've had to run upstairs to reboot the modem, disabling and reenabling my wireless network adapter; anything to get the Internet to work. I thought that we were saving a bundle by not having to buy a wireless router. However, it's been so aggravating that I looked forward to going to the Apple Store just to play games on their much faster Internet connection.
Recently, my mother complained that the Internet wasn't working on her laptop. So I looked into WiFi range extenders, and came across a method called powerlining. That's a method where you use your home's electrical wiring instead of long, messy Ethernet cables or spotty WiFi to help you connect to the Internet. But it didn't work for me because the set I bought only used two lines instead of all three lines; in other words, it only worked if you used the set in the same room or probably any pair of rooms that shared the same fuse, perhaps.
Therefore, off we go to Best Buy to return the stuff and buy a WiFi range extender. My mother then had the idea to replace the modem, which we did, and then went back to Best Buy to return the extender; her reasoning was that if we got a new modem for free, why bother with paying for "extras", right?
Unfortunately, after I set up the new modem, as well as enabling guest WiFi (again, important), I experienced the same problems. So I took to asking Rogers Community Forums for advice. Some Community Experts advised me to buy the latest in powerlining that uses all three lines in my home's electrical wiring. The support staff also PM'ed me and asked me to log in to the modem, which I could not because I forgot the password. UGH!
So he ran some tests and asked me to remove the splitter because the signal was weak. I did, and he ran those tests again and told me that it was fine, and that I would have to pay $50.00 for a tech to come and add a TV if I wanted to. I emailed my sister, giving her a link to my thread in the Community Forums. She then called and asked me to wait until my brother-in-law could come over to fix the Internet. In the meantime, I found a workaround by taking the modem off the dresser in the second-floor master bedroom and putting it onto the floor, where it would be in a more central place, as advised by the experts from the forums and from Best Buy and from online research that I did when my PC had a good Internet day. I still had to reboot the modem, though.
So my brother-in-law came yesterday and he and my sister asked me why I had enabled guest WiFi. I thought that the WiFi would be safe as it was protected by a password, but nope. They said that enabling guest WiFi would make the signal worse, as I would be inviting strangers to log on and slow the Internet down. OK, disable guest WiFi; I get that, so I did. Then they had trouble logging in to the modem, when I suggested that they try calling Tech Support to reset the password. My sister was on the phone, and was about to be connected when my brother-in-law finally found the password. It was stored in my modem's Easy Setup Key, which I had used to set up and install the modem. I had changed it and forgot about it. Oops.
They managed to fix it. They installed an external wireless router, disabled the built-in wireless, and plugged a WiFi range extender into a socket near to my PC. They then told me to call them first before messing around it if it breaks again. Ok, duly noted.
I'm just glad to have my Internet running again. Thanks!
TL;DR: Internet was wonky for more than 2 years, so I did as much homework and consulted people about certain products before my sister and brother-in-law finally fixed it.
Anyone else have tales of Internet woes?
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