Do we depend on WiFi? I just found out...

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mikeyB

mikeyB

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
On Monday this week we were watching a programme on Netflix when we suddenly got a message - WiFi wasn't sufficient for showing Netflix. It did a check on our router and couldn't assess it. Meanwhile, I checked the Router - plugged in, checked all the wires and no lights came on. It was dead.

Well, Ok. Then i discovered the TV in my Mancave couldn't show Sky (for sports). Neither could I watch Sky on my iPad. What's more, our central heating control failed. My computer wouldn't work. My Kindle wouldn't work. My mobile phone worked, but to my surprise it switched on to a 5G service. Apparently, this upgrade only happened this week. I thought the rural Ribble Valley would be low on the list for upgrades.

Anyway, Plusnet sent an engineer on Wednesday, who basically agreed with me that it was dead. So he phoned Plusnet to send a new router, which arrived this morning.

So what I have been doing today? Inputting the new router password to the Sky box in the main room, also inputting the new password into the Sky minibox, into the phone, into the computer, into the control (on my phone) of the Central Heating, and just now fixed my Kindle to buy a new book.

Mind you, Plusnet is well known for customer service, so I have had £9.50 for each day I was bereft.

But how did we get so dependant on WiFi?
 
mikeyB said:
On Monday this week we were watching a programme on Netflix when we suddenly got a message - WiFi wasn't sufficient for showing Netflix. It did a check on our router and couldn't assess it. Meanwhile, I checked the Router - plugged in, checked all the wires and no lights came on. It was dead.

Well, Ok. Then i discovered the TV in my Mancave couldn't show Sky (for sports). Neither could I watch Sky on my iPad. What's more, our central heating control failed. My computer wouldn't work. My Kindle wouldn't work. My mobile phone worked, but to my surprise it switched on to a 5G service. Apparently, this upgrade only happened this week. I thought the rural Ribble Valley would be low on the list for upgrades.

Anyway, Plusnet sent an engineer on Wednesday, who basically agreed with me that it was dead. So he phoned Plusnet to send a new router, which arrived this morning.

So what I have been doing today? Inputting the new router password to the Sky box in the main room, also inputting the new password into the Sky minibox, into the phone, into the computer, into the control (on my phone) of the Central Heating, and just now fixed my Kindle to buy a new book.

Mind you, Plusnet is well known for customer service, so I have had £9.50 for each day I was bereft.

But how did we get so dependant on WiFi?
Click to expand...
I spent an hour or so on the phone with BT this morning. In recent times our internet, despite being their top line service had been dire in the afternoon and early evenings.

Whilst that would suggest contention issues, the guide (when did helpdesk/service agents become guides?) I was talking with insisted on meddling with the router. We'll know over the next few days how successful that is.

We do become very dependent, especially now BT is converting everyone to Digital Voice.
 
There’s a plethora of post apocalyptic books and movies based on EMP’S, hacking and the lack of “smart” devices. The reason they appeal to many is because somewhere in the back of our minds we know/fear so much will grind to a halt if the smart stuff goes dumb. We’ve discarded so many analogue options in life in such a short space of time. I’m finding I have increasing sympathy for the survivalist movement even if I am concerned about the more foil-hat extremes
 
HSSS said:
We’ve discarded so many analogue options in life in such a short space of time. I’m finding I have increasing sympathy for the survivalist movement even if I am concerned about the more foil-hat extremes
Click to expand...

When fairly newly moved into this house we got a fancy new cordless phone with wireless extension handset.

I specifically remember putting one old analogue extension phone on an easily accessible, but out of the way shelf, because one of our parents cautioned us that the new phone wouldn’t work if there was a power cut. But the old analogue one would as it was powered by the tiny current in the copper cabling. Mobile phones were not really part of my life at that stage.

Seems like a completely different world looking back!
 
We all depend on WiFi way too much.

We’ve had a case of WiFi at my school being awful the last couple of weeks and the IT department had to unplug and reboot the entire WiFi network for our school, only down 10 minutes mind you, and teachers couldn’t take attendance and couldn’t actually teach because they had no access to Google services!

We also had the WiFi drop for most of the county I’m in back in summer, and businesses (even chains like Costa) could only accept cash due to card machines failing without WiFi
 
Doesn't turning it off and then on again fix all electronic problems?
Drat.
 
We’ve got a ridiculous amount of devices linked to our wifi. As well as the obvious tablets and laptops we’ve got the central heating controller, smart TV, electronic photo frame (so that you can send photos directly to it from your phone), music players, inverters for solar panels and battery that help to power the house, various timer switches and light bulbs etc. Great when it’s all working, but a bit of a nuisance when it isn’t. And then every so often hubby decides to change the contract so we have to get a new modem and input the 20-digit alphanumeric password into each and every one of them, which is a real pain in the backside!
 
Sally71 said:
We’ve got a ridiculous amount of devices linked to our wifi. As well as the obvious tablets and laptops we’ve got the central heating controller, smart TV, electronic photo frame (so that you can send photos directly to it from your phone), music players, inverters for solar panels and battery that help to power the house, various timer switches and light bulbs etc. Great when it’s all working, but a bit of a nuisance when it isn’t. And then every so often hubby decides to change the contract so we have to get a new modem and input the 20-digit alphanumeric password into each and every one of them, which is a real pain in the backside!
Click to expand...
I’m holding off and refuse to connect these things if I can. Maybe I’m older than my birth certificate claims
 
Not wishing to sound like a smart a...e, but you can change the address in the router! If you're worried that reusing the one from a previous router, then generate a strong personal password, and do the switch once!

Also there's household WiFi meshes which have a single password for the house, but is independent of the router. Neat solution as it gives a single name/password combination all around the house. No lag as you switch between them as you wander around.

However, how often does it really cause an inconvenience? Once every contract change? You choose.
 
barrym said:
you can change the address in the router! If you're worried that reusing the one from a previous router, then generate a strong personal password, and do the switch once!
Click to expand...
Me? No I just don’t want to be reliant on the tech should it all go wrong and on the small chance I could be hacked (probably not important enough for that). I don’t have a problem with setting a manual timer on my heating or switching my own lights on lol. When I need or get real benefits I can use the tech and do so occasionally
 
Have option of mobile data on phone so never far away from Internet services.

Must admit would be lost without mobile phone now as bank with it & do all sorts of things, even Dexcom runs from it.
 
I luvs my Sky Glass telly but I'm fed-up sometimes of waiting for it to load. I'd never get a WiFi telly again. It was playing up again today and I was missing Shetland and The Crown. Disaster. :D
 
mikeyB said:
On Monday this week we were watching a programme on Netflix when we suddenly got a message - WiFi wasn't sufficient for showing Netflix. It did a check on our router and couldn't assess it. Meanwhile, I checked the Router - plugged in, checked all the wires and no lights came on. It was dead.

Well, Ok. Then i discovered the TV in my Mancave couldn't show Sky (for sports). Neither could I watch Sky on my iPad. What's more, our central heating control failed. My computer wouldn't work. My Kindle wouldn't work. My mobile phone worked, but to my surprise it switched on to a 5G service. Apparently, this upgrade only happened this week. I thought the rural Ribble Valley would be low on the list for upgrades.

Anyway, Plusnet sent an engineer on Wednesday, who basically agreed with me that it was dead. So he phoned Plusnet to send a new router, which arrived this morning.

So what I have been doing today? Inputting the new router password to the Sky box in the main room, also inputting the new password into the Sky minibox, into the phone, into the computer, into the control (on my phone) of the Central Heating, and just now fixed my Kindle to buy a new book.

Mind you, Plusnet is well known for customer service, so I have had £9.50 for each day I was bereft.

But how did we get so dependant on WiFi?
Click to expand...
Is this a change Plusnet fibre? Lol, we changed our tariff to save money on this. (A week or so back.)
A BT engineer showed up & cut us off I happened to be home & my wife was working from home. (Wasn’t expecting that.)
He told us the the router wasn’t up for the job. I dashed out for a new router. It didn’t work. The WAN output couldn’t find the net. Guessed it could be the modem a second BT engineer came out the following day ran a diagnostic. All good Plussnet was sending an router after a phone call. In the meantime I set up my wife’s work computer on her phone network. The one they sent for fibre had a WAN output & a “broadband” socket? Easy set up after that.

Funny enough. Streamed this movie the other night. We’ve done “air B&B” never had issue with the WiFi. 😉

 
Satan’s little helper said:
Is this a change Plusnet fibre? Lol, we changed our tariff to save money on this. (A week or so back.)
A BT engineer showed up & cut us off I happened to be home & my wife was working from home. (Wasn’t expecting that.)
He told us the the router wasn’t up for the job. I dashed out for a new router. It didn’t work. The WAN output couldn’t find the net. Guessed it could be the modem a second BT engineer came out the following day ran a diagnostic. All good Plussnet was sending an router after a phone call. In the meantime I set up my wife’s work computer on her phone network. The one they sent for fibre had a WAN output & a “broadband” socket? Easy set up after that.

Funny enough. Streamed this movie the other night. We’ve done “air B&B” never had issue with the WiFi. 😉

Click to expand...
Wi-Fi. I say that. A few years back I was getting WiFi drop out seemed to be certain times of the evening at one end of the house. So, I went online & the first thing I found was a forum where a member was certain his neighbours were sabotaging his wifi? He was going to literally shoot them. (This wasn’t a UK forum “right to bear arms & all that.”.) so as I read this open mouthed.
A sensible response came back suggesting changing the frequency Channel on the router. I took the advice & no more drop out. Lol, I was chatting with my audiophile neighbour about a week later & discovered he’d got a new streaming set up for his music. (For some WiFi speakers?) He loves opera. Makes sense, we’re semi detached & the issue was near the dividing wall. I didn’t have the heart to let him know it had messed up my personal taste. Though I do appreciate the the odd classic.
 
Ditto said:
I luvs my Sky Glass telly but I'm fed-up sometimes of waiting for it to load. I'd never get a WiFi telly again. It was playing up again today and I was missing Shetland and The Crown. Disaster. :D
Click to expand...
Now I have a PC with a screen as big as a traditional TV. However during lockdown my wife wished for a “smart one? So. We were out the other week & got a deal on a smart TV. Easy set up with the new Plusnet service.
Getting it home & unboxing. As i suspected, it was too wide for the old TV unit so we used a table from the garden. We also only have central heating. So this Christmas. I found a propper use for it as we play jenga. :rofl:

 
HSSS said:
We’ve discarded so many analogue options in life in such a short space of time.
Click to expand...
Yes, and most of the older (non-streamed technology) is now widely available in charity shops for "virtually" (no pun intended) nothing.

LP's have certainled bucked the trend. Nothing better than holding something real, the cover, the notes, the art work, lyrics, band info.

Going down to blockbuster to choose a film from a short selection was an experience in itself.

All technology has done, in the workplace at least has increase work load and the difficulty of each task.
 
HSSS said:
We’ve discarded so many analogue options in life in such a short space of time.
Click to expand...
You said it brother.

Back when I was in school, you could tell the posh kids because they had slide rules, whereas the plebs had to make do with log tables. Now, hand a shop assistant a bunch of change, and they look at it bemusedly as though they are not quite sure how to physically count it. 🙄
 
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