Last week, our router died. So, POOF, no internet other than mobile phone access for a couple of days until our ISP got a new router out to us.
It was a bit of a culture shock for sure. Since my husband and I work from home, we really rely on the internet for most things that we do. Both of us are used to using a desktop rather than a mobile device to go about our internet business, so trying to function predominantly on a phone was a challenge. And, although we both have smartphones, we have a plan with only a limited amount of data (because we work from home and normally, we are always on Wi-Fi). That meant rationing data (UGH). That meant no Alexa or Google Home (MORE UGH). And that whole cord-cutting thing? It really works a lot better with the internet, even with an over-the-air antenna in the house.
Somehow, mostly by using our phones as mobile hotspots for my Chromebook, we muddled through until the replacement router arrived.
It turns out that my idea of a good router and my ISP’s idea of a good router are definitely not the same thing.The one that the service provider sent is definitely not doing the job – while I can get on the internet and get the ROKUs and the Google Home working, the network extender, our Amazon Echo devices and most of my Kindles don’t want to connect properly. (That makes it over a week with no Alexa, in case you are keeping score, LOL!)
So, I have now purchased yet another router (this one to MY specifications) and the one I purchased from our ISP will be relegated to being a back up. I’m spending the next few days trying to get all our toys back up and running. I’ll be back to blogging as soon as I get everything plugged back in…. 🙂
Anybody have any disconnected stories to share?
The eBook Evangelist 
Glinda, your household sounds like mine, though I think from reading previous posts that you have more devices than we do–possibly not, if you count all my husband’s digital music equipment. We bought an antenna and cut the cord on television a few months ago, but soon found out that our Roku, firestick, and Apple TV interfaces were all out of date and had to buy new. We’re paying $90 monthly for high-speed internet connection, but learned after a month that there’s a data limit, and during our son’s visit (with him working online around the clock) we had exceeded that. Hope you’re running smoothly now.
Carol, my husband is a musician so we are in device city here, LOL. Like you, I have have found that I have to buy new Roku devices periodically. The older ones don’t give you the connection speed and quality of the newer ones. Not sure which I missed most: Alexa or the Roku when the internet was off. We are so used to being connected! 🙂
Yikes – another musician. Then you must have about 200 cables, too.
We haven’t had a disconnect, but I’m not fond of using my phone for writing emails or any of that. I prefer to have a real keyboard. So relying only on mobile would drive me nuts!
Karen, that’s about where we were at. There are just certain things that hard to do on mobile, especially if you are not a digital native. It gives you a whole new perspective on the digital divide and what it is like for people who have no other way than their phones to access the internet. 😦