FROM WHERE I SIT: The Soap Opera Continues

past the one-year warranty and often a decade or two.

I’ve been told that WIFI routers typically last a couple of years. The fact that this one may be four years old is supposed to make me grateful, I suppose. So, on Friday, I go to Best Buy to buy a new mesh router. If you’re still managing with a single, cheap(?) router, bless you. We had to switch to a mesh system when we did the addition to our house which effectively doubled the square footage. This product is supposed to make WIFI accessible anywhere in your home. The diagram on the box shows WIFI in the basement and on the main floor and on the second story. They go so far as to claim the number of square feet it’ll cover. Of course, they also cover their butts by talking about the signal being impeded by walls. Hell, yes….where I come from we have walls. It’s not a downtown open concept loft where you can see the entire space from one spot.

I spent a lot of time at the store explaining our situation and asking relevant questions. I nar- rowed my choice down to the Google Nest WIFI Pro ($529.99) and Nighthawk ($399.99). I spoke to someone from the Geek Squad. Both she and the salesperson said the options were virtually interchangeable because they all work the same way but they preferred the Google one because like Apple they built good stuff and offer great support. The Google choice offered coverage of 6600 square feet, more than double what we need.

I’m not a happy camper but I do drive away thinking our problem has been solved for another couple years at least. Worst case scenario, I have 30 days to return it.

I should say that in one of my calls to MCSNet I asked about a more permanent, onetime fix to the situation by running another cable from the radio on our TV tower. We never get to the point of talking about the cost of installation and the ongoing monthly charges but I was willing to do it to put this mess to rest once and for all. However, it wouldn’t have worked in my situation because I would have had to run an ethernet cable into my computer. Number one, that doesn’t sound wireless to me and number two, my laptop doesn’t have the necessary port to plug in the cable. Nor are these ports likely to make a comeback in future Apple designed products.

I leave Edmonton earlier than I might have because I knew I had to do the setup of the system and thought I should get to it. Three and half hours later, when I still can’t connect to WIFI, I call MCSNet again. The lovely Josh can’t believe how much I spent on the system (highest he’s heard of in 13 years of doing this work). He also says I’ve done everything right and have gone well beyond what anyone should have to do to troubleshoot a problem themselves. The last and final test would be to try bypassing the router and seeing if we can get connectivity. I’ve already said my laptop doesn’t have the necessary port so I pull my Lenovo out of retirement and begin charging it so we could do the test using it. In the meantime, I hope I can

LAMONT UNITED CHURCH 5306 - 51 Ave., Lamont, AB 780-895-2145

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Lutheran Church

20577 TWP 550 Fort. Sask. (7km East of Josephburg) 780-998-1874

Pastor Rev. Jeff Dul

Worship Service 9:30 am

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Josephburg Community Church 21380 Township Road 550 Josephburg, Alberta 780-998-9331 josephburgchurch@albertacom.com

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Pastor Brad Diprose

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February 22, 2023 - 5 find my password and not have to endure hours of booting up and installing updates as is the Windows way. I needn’t have worried. It couldn’t connect to the internet directly either.

So, now nearly a month after I first started calling to complain, my case is being ‘escalated’ to the next level. Even if this becomes a priority, it’s the long weekend which means umpteen more days before anything happens and someone comes to inspect/replace/burn the existing equipment on the tower. The soap opera continues, from where I sit.

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Lamont Alliance Church

5007 44 st., Lamont 780-895-2879

Sunday Service 10 am

SUNDAYMORNINGS @ 10 AM

Pastor Darren Anderson

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ROMANCATHOLICCHURCH SERVICES

Our Lady of Good Counsel, Skaro 1st, 3rd, 5th Sundays @ 9:00 am St. Michael the Archangel, St. Michael 2nd, and 4th Sundays @ 9:00 am

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Our Lady of the Angels Parish 10004 ~ 101 St., Fort Sask. 780.998.3288

Email: olangels.ftsask@caedm.ca www.olafortsask.caedm.ca

Bruderheim Community Church 4904 Queen Street 780-796-3775

Sunday Worship 10:30 am S

Pastor Wayne Larson

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