Technology is out to get me
The other day my internet went done late at nite. a call to my ISP informed me that it was "scheduled maintenance" and service would be back by [4 or 5 hours later]
So I crawled into bed and read on my Kindle. Which got annoying when I finished one book, but since the net was down I couldn't load the next in the series. But I had others to read (only a few hundred of which at least a dozen are actually *on* the kindle)
In the morning I get up to see that the modem is still trying to reconnect. So I do the prescribed rituial. Doesn't work.
Call the ISP. Automated system wants me to do the ritual again. I tell it *no* rarther forcefully and too many minutes later I get to talk to a human. And still have to repeat the ritual.
Get text asking me which of 2 timeslots I want the tech to show up. Both are that morning!!
I send reply selecting the earlier one.
Note. My cell phone has a sort of "quick reply" mode that apparently gives automated systems gas. I'd sent 1 to choose the first slot. At the end of the slot, I tried replyimng to the text again to choose the second slot. This time I got a reply saying it wasn't available. Would I like (2 slots early the next day)
I reply 1 again to get the first one. Hmm. No response. Being suspicious, I try again but in the "regular" reply mode. This time I get back a confirmation.
Next day, I get reminder that the tech is coming. DO i still need him, if not reply with [this] if I want to resched reply with [that].
Still wanted him (modem was still going thru it's reconnect attempts).
So, he arrives. And determines that the modem *is* getting a good, strong signal, but isn't responding to it. So I need a new modem, He doesn't have the same model, but has a different one. Fine.
He also noted that I had an internet package they no longer offer. I'd kept it because everything else would cost me more. Except the package for low income folks which I would qualify for except for the small matter of my not being a new customer.
Oh yes, my old plan was slow by modern standards, but tolerable. Even the low income plan had higher speeds...
So he calls in to see if there's a plan that will get me faster speeds and not cost more. After a lot of back and forth he got me set up with a new modem and a new cable box. For the next year I'll be paying 75% of what I was, then it'll go up to around what I was paying. So that's a win.
Took a ridiculously long time to get everything swapped and connected. Especially with things like the new cable box it fitting in the nook under the TV with my bluray player.
Other fun bits were the modem only having the firmware for VOIP installed, so he had to upgrade that over the network
I could ping internet sites, so thing looked ok.
Then after he left, I discovered I couldn't get my email and weird thongs were happening when I tried to go to websites.
After another phone call, it was determine (on the phone this time) that the modem was configured for wifi, but only has a "hotspot" for folks with access to those. So we got it configured with a personal wifi login. And that let me used my *wired* connections. *sigh*
Among other fun bits, there are words you can't use in the name (SSID) of your wifi. A few reserved ones, and anything "derogatory". Ok, whatever.
Then it turned out that the same filter applies to *passwords*, Fortunately I could get an acceptable word by changing just one letter.
At at last I was online again.
Well, except for gmail and facebok getting all excited about "someone has logged in with your password from a different location". Google/gmail was easy to pacify. Facebook on the other hand keeps asking me to verify that I'm me, and won't let my chat program connect to FB Messenger. Hopefiully that will go away before tomorrow morning as there's "lockout" that they said expires then.
I hate to think what travellers must have to go thru with this BS about "right password/wrong location". This entry was originally posted at https://kengr.dreamwidth.org/1126886.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
So I crawled into bed and read on my Kindle. Which got annoying when I finished one book, but since the net was down I couldn't load the next in the series. But I had others to read (only a few hundred of which at least a dozen are actually *on* the kindle)
In the morning I get up to see that the modem is still trying to reconnect. So I do the prescribed rituial. Doesn't work.
Call the ISP. Automated system wants me to do the ritual again. I tell it *no* rarther forcefully and too many minutes later I get to talk to a human. And still have to repeat the ritual.
Get text asking me which of 2 timeslots I want the tech to show up. Both are that morning!!
I send reply selecting the earlier one.
Note. My cell phone has a sort of "quick reply" mode that apparently gives automated systems gas. I'd sent 1 to choose the first slot. At the end of the slot, I tried replyimng to the text again to choose the second slot. This time I got a reply saying it wasn't available. Would I like (2 slots early the next day)
I reply 1 again to get the first one. Hmm. No response. Being suspicious, I try again but in the "regular" reply mode. This time I get back a confirmation.
Next day, I get reminder that the tech is coming. DO i still need him, if not reply with [this] if I want to resched reply with [that].
Still wanted him (modem was still going thru it's reconnect attempts).
So, he arrives. And determines that the modem *is* getting a good, strong signal, but isn't responding to it. So I need a new modem, He doesn't have the same model, but has a different one. Fine.
He also noted that I had an internet package they no longer offer. I'd kept it because everything else would cost me more. Except the package for low income folks which I would qualify for except for the small matter of my not being a new customer.
Oh yes, my old plan was slow by modern standards, but tolerable. Even the low income plan had higher speeds...
So he calls in to see if there's a plan that will get me faster speeds and not cost more. After a lot of back and forth he got me set up with a new modem and a new cable box. For the next year I'll be paying 75% of what I was, then it'll go up to around what I was paying. So that's a win.
Took a ridiculously long time to get everything swapped and connected. Especially with things like the new cable box it fitting in the nook under the TV with my bluray player.
Other fun bits were the modem only having the firmware for VOIP installed, so he had to upgrade that over the network
I could ping internet sites, so thing looked ok.
Then after he left, I discovered I couldn't get my email and weird thongs were happening when I tried to go to websites.
After another phone call, it was determine (on the phone this time) that the modem was configured for wifi, but only has a "hotspot" for folks with access to those. So we got it configured with a personal wifi login. And that let me used my *wired* connections. *sigh*
Among other fun bits, there are words you can't use in the name (SSID) of your wifi. A few reserved ones, and anything "derogatory". Ok, whatever.
Then it turned out that the same filter applies to *passwords*, Fortunately I could get an acceptable word by changing just one letter.
At at last I was online again.
Well, except for gmail and facebok getting all excited about "someone has logged in with your password from a different location". Google/gmail was easy to pacify. Facebook on the other hand keeps asking me to verify that I'm me, and won't let my chat program connect to FB Messenger. Hopefiully that will go away before tomorrow morning as there's "lockout" that they said expires then.
I hate to think what travellers must have to go thru with this BS about "right password/wrong location". This entry was originally posted at https://kengr.dreamwidth.org/1126886.html. Please comment there using OpenID.