Showing posts with label internet problems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet problems. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

My Bout with Internet Problems

I'm spoiled.

Really, I am.

I've had high-speed Internet for years, and combined with the laptop I bought earlier this year, I couldn't believe how productive I became.

My daughter took this picture of me. I think she did an amazing job! And I was able to upload it--finally!

Don't get me wrong; I've always been productive with writing. But before my new laptop, the social media/e-mails/online stuff took forever!

My new laptop changed all that. Suddenly, my online sessions were being cut in half--simply because everything loaded quicker. I was thrilled. I really had found more hours in the day.

However, when we moved, something went wrong. I had to switch Internet providers, and my loading times slowed down, way down. I couldn't upload pictures from my computer to my blog. Facebook took forever to come up, and often, I would type an update, but it wouldn't go through. Commenting on blogs was futile.

Within two weeks, I was on the phone with our new provider. They were very helpful, talking me through all the possibilities. I finally concluded the service I subscribed to was too slow, and I upgraded.

Unfortunately, the upgrade didn't solve my problems. Still no uploading. Still super-slow loading times for fun sites like Facebook. I couldn't watch a YouTube video all the way through without it stopping and pausing, caught in some loading loop.

I got on the phone again. This time for 2 hours. Again, the tech support was helpful, courteous, and thorough. But I was very frustrated when he came to the conclusion my Wi-Fi adaptor card was to blame. I hadn't had any problems with my laptop until we moved and switched Internet services.

A month went by. Yeah, I procrastinated. I just don't have 2 hours to do the same things over and over on the phone and not have my problem resolved. And I really didn't want to buy a new adaptor card for my computer (the solution the tech guy gave me), since in my heart I didn't believe anything was wrong with it.

I decided to test it. I figured if I could upload pictures and watch YouTube videos at a different location that provided Wi-Fi, it meant my laptop was fine. So I headed to Panera and tried it out. I was able to upload pictures just fine and had no trouble viewing YouTube videos.

Back on the phone. Instead of even wasting any time with more useless tests, I told them I wanted a new modem. I explained the process I'd been through with tech support previously and the fact my computer worked fine on any other Wi-Fi network. They sent someone out.

He switched my modem, but the problem persisted. I thought maybe I was wrong--maybe my computer really did have a bad card. But, thankfully, the support guy tried a different model modem. I really appreciate the extra mile he went because the new modem solved the problem. I have my fast Internet again!

It's amazing how much I can get done. Checking Facebook takes a few minutes, where with the old modem, it took close to an hour. I can watch a full YouTube video, too! Sometimes, my e-mail would lock up when I tried to reply to a message. Not anymore! I was able to quickly send replies without any problems.

I didn't realize how much my faulty Internet stressed me out. I'm actually looking forward to being online tomorrow! And I can finally share a ton of before and after pictures of our new house.

Have you ever lived with a problem for weeks or months because tech support couldn't find the issue? Did it stress you out?

Have a fantastic day!