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Problems with Shaw cable internet these past few days
Does anyone here use Shaw cable for their internet?
For the past two days my internet has either been a) REALLY slow (will load some content but then it times out) or b) down so I can't access anything.
I'm trying to figure out whether there is a problem with my wireless router at home or with Shaw. I called Shaw this morning and they told me to just restart the modem so I did and it started working again...and then like about 15 minutes later it's back to a crawling speed. I'm pretty sure there's nothing wrong with my router, it has been working just fine and I haven't messed around with it. My computers are still getting a strong wi-fi signal...
[whine]
Last night I had to stay at a 24hr coffee shop till 4am because I had online assignments to send in and since i have another set of midterms this week, I NEED to check my email for important information. Apparently there were a few other students at the coffee shop in the same situation as I was, but it seemed as though Shaw wasn't acknowledging the major problems last night (they didn't mention any problems with their service on the phone), causing us poor students to lose valuable sleep!
[/whine]
ANNNND... submitting this thread had 6 time-outs... :(
For the past two days my internet has either been a) REALLY slow (will load some content but then it times out) or b) down so I can't access anything.
I'm trying to figure out whether there is a problem with my wireless router at home or with Shaw. I called Shaw this morning and they told me to just restart the modem so I did and it started working again...and then like about 15 minutes later it's back to a crawling speed. I'm pretty sure there's nothing wrong with my router, it has been working just fine and I haven't messed around with it. My computers are still getting a strong wi-fi signal...
[whine]
Last night I had to stay at a 24hr coffee shop till 4am because I had online assignments to send in and since i have another set of midterms this week, I NEED to check my email for important information. Apparently there were a few other students at the coffee shop in the same situation as I was, but it seemed as though Shaw wasn't acknowledging the major problems last night (they didn't mention any problems with their service on the phone), causing us poor students to lose valuable sleep!
[/whine]
ANNNND... submitting this thread had 6 time-outs... :(

Comments
Apparently the problem was a mixture of the internet service in my neighbourhood AND my wireless router. yeesh.
Last Winter in January, we had a huge power outage so I had no internet or anything for a few days. I basically lived at the coffee shop down the street for that time so that I could get my work done.
but what sucks EVEN MORE now is that my hard drive just died this morning. I called AppleCare and when I told the rep that the start up screen just has a folder and a question mark, the girl was like "uh oh." and I was like "oh shit, that doesn't sound good..."
on the bright side, at least i don't have to pay for the repair..
I have a midterm tomorrow morning and my profs' lecture notes were on there. fucking great. but all i can do at this point is just laugh it off.....hahahaha... :(
moral of the story: BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP!!
wireless signal is limited to speed significantly
wireless signal strength depends on building material / external frequencies (eg radio, phones)
wireless signal allows others to use your internet and slow it down if not secured properly
Our wireless is also password protected so yeah people can't steal my bandwidth.
Wireless signal strength can be interfered by external frequencies but this can be avoided simply by placing the router somewhere where isn't near a cordless phone and is placed in a relatively open area. My sister's desktop runs on wireless in the basement and her transfer speeds are still ridiculously fast (as observed by torrent downloads =P ). and if the there are a lot of wireless connections around my neighbourhood, all i have to do is switch the channel to avoid interference--usually routers can find the best channel frequency to operate these days.
so really, if someone doesn't know how to configure their wireless router then, yeah they will suffer from slow speeds..
Wasn't fun using the SFU dialup - I'm so spoiled. :teeth:
i based those points on the average wireless-G with regular cable.
but definitely it's great that it all works out for your household with those kinds of speeds.