Using wifi at home??

baxtor

Hi again,

Over the past few weeks I have had continual problems with my orange broadband. When I switch the Netgear router on in the morning I never know whether I am going to get the green internet light (on-line) or the orange light signifying no internet connection. If I get the green light; the connection will stay alive for as long as I keep the router on. If I get the orange light it may be hours before I get on line again. On Friday and Saturday I could not get on line at all. When I use the router setup program to try and kick start it again I usually get a message saying "there is no internet connection; this is probably because your log-in details are not correct." Not true! the log-in details are correct.

What is going on I do not know but it has brought home to me the importance of having some kind of backup for when things go wrong. I have a mifi unit and that is great in emergencies. However, in looking at alternate ISP's I note that BT and Sky (and Orange too) offer unlimited access to millions of wifi hot-spots. There are a couple of Bt fon signals within access of my home and I was wondering if my regular broadband connection broke down would it be possible to access these other bt fon wifi networks??

It is perfectly legitimate to use these hotspots (other wifi users would be able to access mine) but I was wondering if the practice fits the theory?? Is it feasible to use these bt fon hotspots in the event that the main broadband goes wrong??
Would be a great safety net in an emergency situation.

Buzby

Perfectly - but I've been thrown off for overstaying my welcome after 30-60 minutes of connectivity. That said, I'd get EE to troubleshoot your intermittent service!

baxtor

Buzby wrote: »

Perfectly - but I've been thrown off for overstaying my welcome after 30-60 minutes of connectivity. That said, I'd get EE to troubleshoot your intermittent service!

Thanks Buzby,

30 minutes would be good. Problem with EE is that their help lines are always busy when you need them; but I am going to have to force the issue during the next week.

tyllwyd

I'm confused - are you manually turning the power to your router on and off? The advice I've always been given is that the router should be left running 24/7, because the ISP will test your line overnight, and if the connection is down they will downgrade your service because they think there are problems with your line.

diamonds

Your problems are yourself, only cable routers can be switched off & on with no loss of speed.

BT/Orange exchange software think you have a fault on the line as you keep switching the connection on/off and thus the try to find a speed where you are stable.

You will now need to phone Orange and tell them what you have been doing and to ask them to reset your "profile" & leave the on/off button ALONE. If you want to switch off the "wifi" at the end of the day you need to login there & do it, NEVER touch power buttons on router or wall plug on ADSL modems, as yoou have found out you create problems.

macman

Every time you switch on it has to re-synch with the exchange. The power usage on a modern router is just a few watts, there's no point in switching it off at night.

baxtor

diamonds wrote: »

Your problems are yourself, only cable routers can be switched off & on with no loss of speed.

BT/Orange exchange software think you have a fault on the line as you keep switching the connection on/off and thus the try to find a speed where you are stable.

You will now need to phone Orange and tell them what you have been doing and to ask them to reset your "profile" & leave the on/off button ALONE. If you want to switch off the "wifi" at the end of the day you need to login there & do it, NEVER touch power buttons on router or wall plug on ADSL modems, as yoou have found out you create problems.

My friend (also with orange) who uses a Sar 715 router always switches off her router at the wall (together with all her computer equipment) every night and then switches all on again when she uses it next day. She has never had a problem with connecting to the internet in over ten years.

I always do the same and never had any problems with connection, until recently. I have both a Netgear router and a Sar 715. The only difference between us is that she is about three miles away and comes under a different Exchange.

So if I am doing something wrong in turning the router off each night then how come she does the same and has no problems??

macman

It will still connect, but each time it has to resynch, and the speed will usually then be less than it would be if you left it connected.
Each line is different, your line may be noisier or longer than hers for example. This affects the attenuation and the S/N ratio.

esuhl

diamonds wrote: »

Your problems are yourself, only cable routers can be switched off & on with no loss of speed.

The problem isn't a loss of speed, it's a total loss of connection. Next time a problem occurs, I'd contact the ISP and get them to sort it out!

Personally, I avoid turning my router off un-necessarily to prevent re-syncing at a lower speed, but when I have done, the Internet connection is promptly re-established as it should be.

You could ask for the call reference and get them to re-open the same log each time you call so that you can build up a bigger picture of what might be wrong.

Do you have a different router you could use to see if that's where the problem lays?

baxtor

esuhl wrote: »

The problem isn't a loss of speed, it's a total loss of connection. Next time a problem occurs, I'd contact the ISP and get them to sort it out!

Personally, I avoid turning my router off un-necessarily to prevent re-syncing at a lower speed, but when I have done, the Internet connection is promptly re-established as it should be.

You could ask for the call reference and get them to re-open the same log each time you call so that you can build up a bigger picture of what might be wrong.

Do you have a different router you could use to see if that's where the problem lays?

Absolutely correct. It is nothing to do with a loss of speed and is simply a complete absence of connection.

I have two routers and when the connection is down neither of them will work. My netgear router setup routine will always tell me that it has faied to secure a connection and the problem is probably due to incorrect ISP log-in information. So I double check the log-in details, which are correct; but still no connection.