Wireless Recommendations

[HemiBeers]

An update on my quest for high speed.

 

Unfortunately for us, we don't have a lot of options where I live. Don't ask me why. You'd think we lived in the woods out in the middle of nowhere. :sigh:

 

I called Century Link. (Patience is necessary when one does that.) They do not have high speed in my area, but the helpful customer service rep told me she could set me up with what she called a Verizon Jet Pack. I had no idea what she was talking about from her description.

 

Has anyone here ever heard of this Verizon Jet Pack?

yes it's a jetpack you strap to fly somewhere to get better internet service.

 

It's actually a mobile internet device, about the size of a credit card, that you can get wireless internet. A word of caution....it's only as good as the Verizon cell phone service in your area. If Verizon phones suck in your location, this will suck as well. Technically, it's a neutered smartphone in a little box. To get the best receiption, we find the window with the best receiption and set it on the window sill.

 

We use alot of them at work and they work really well, but we're in a municipality with good Verizon reception.

 

Maybe an idea for you...find someone who has one already and test it out in your house (sorry I'm too far away).

Edited May 17, 2016 by 2112FirstStreet

[Lorraine]

An update on my quest for high speed.

 

Unfortunately for us, we don't have a lot of options where I live. Don't ask me why. You'd think we lived in the woods out in the middle of nowhere. :sigh:

 

I called Century Link. (Patience is necessary when one does that.) They do not have high speed in my area, but the helpful customer service rep told me she could set me up with what she called a Verizon Jet Pack. I had no idea what she was talking about from her description.

 

Has anyone here ever heard of this Verizon Jet Pack?

yes it's a jetpack you strap to fly somewhere to get better internet service.

 

It's actually a mobile internet device, about the size of a credit card, that you can get wireless internet. A word of caution....it's only as good as the Verizon cell phone service in your area. If Verizon phones suck in your location, this will suck as well. Technically, it's a neutered smartphone in a little box. To get the best receiption, we find the window with the best receiption and set it on the window sill.

 

We use alot of them at work and they work really well, but we're in a municipality with good Verizon reception.

 

Maybe an idea for you...find someone who has one already and test it out in your house (sorry I'm too far away).

 

Thank you for telling me what the customer service rep wouldn't.

 

Unfortunately in my area, the only other option is Comcast.

 

My husband was talking about getting some kind of wi-fi that you plug into the USB port, but I have no idea what he's talking about.

[x1yyz]

One thing that has not been addressed here is the difference between wireless (wifi) and Internet service.

 

Not to sound pedantic, but Internet service is what brings you the Internet. Right now you are getting Internet via dial-up. What you are looking for is high-speed Internet via DSL, fiberoptic, or cable. Once Internet service to your house is established you can then connect individual devices to the Internet with an ethernet cable, or wirelessly with wifi.

 

In many areas Comcast is the only solution to getting high speed, reliable Internet service. This is because they use their existing cable network to provide service and are not limited to distance. Sometimes the phone company (or other companies) will provide DSL Internet service over phone lines or other dedicated networks, but those services are only reliable if you live within two miles of the phone company's central office; if you live further than that you will essentially have dial-up speeds. Comcast has been upgrading their network to fiberoptic which is capable of delivering very high speeds.

 

Once you bring (high speed) Internet service into your house you can set up a wireless router so that devices can connect via wifi. If you have an old computer it will most likely not have wifi capability, so don't even bother with wifi. Connecting via ethernet cable will not only (often) give you faster speeds, it is more secure. Unless you will be using wireless devices such as an iPad or smartphone have the install technician disable the wifi access on your modem/router to eliminate the possibility of being hacked via that route.

[Lorraine]

One thing that has not been addressed here is the difference between wireless (wifi) and Internet service.

 

Not to sound pedantic, but Internet service is what brings you the Internet. Right now you are getting Internet via dial-up. What you are looking for is high-speed Internet via DSL, fiberoptic, or cable. Once Internet service to your house is established you can then connect individual devices to the Internet with an ethernet cable, or wirelessly with wifi.

 

In many areas Comcast is the only solution to getting high speed, reliable Internet service. This is because they use their existing cable network to provide service and are not limited to distance. Sometimes the phone company (or other companies) will provide DSL Internet service over phone lines or other dedicated networks, but those services are only reliable if you live within two miles of the phone company's central office; if you live further than that you will essentially have dial-up speeds. Comcast has been upgrading their network to fiberoptic which is capable of delivering very high speeds.

 

Once you bring (high speed) Internet service into your house you can set up a wireless router so that devices can connect via wifi. If you have an old computer it will most likely not have wifi capability, so don't even bother with wifi. Connecting via ethernet cable will not only (often) give you faster speeds, it is more secure. Unless you will be using wireless devices such as an iPad or smartphone have the install technician disable the wifi access on your modem/router to eliminate the possibility of being hacked via that route.

 

Thank you for your thorough answer. That's very kind of you.

[EagleMoon]

Actually you can get wireless wifi on an older computer. All you have to do is buy a USB wifi adapter. They're pretty cheap and all you have to have is an available USB port to plug it in. It's just a little thing. I used one on the last computer I had when I moved into my sisters house and she has wifi. Before that I had used a hard line cable into the back of the computer.

[HemiBeers]

Just hack your neighbors wireless. here's a list of most common bad passwords.

#1 123456 #2 password #3 12345678 #4 qwerty #5 12345 #6 123456789 #7 football #8 1234 #9 1234567 #10 baseball #11 welcome #12 1234567890 #13 abc123 #14 111111 #15 1qaz2wsx #16 dragon #17 master #18 monkey #19 letmein #20 login #21 princess #22 qwertyuiop #23 solo #24 passw0rd #25 starwars

[Lorraine]

Just hack your neighbors wireless. here's a list of most common bad passwords.

#1 123456 #2 password #3 12345678 #4 qwerty #5 12345 #6 123456789 #7 football #8 1234 #9 1234567 #10 baseball #11 welcome #12 1234567890 #13 abc123 #14 111111 #15 1qaz2wsx #16 dragon #17 master #18 monkey #19 letmein #20 login #21 princess #22 qwertyuiop #23 solo #24 passw0rd #25 starwars

 

I don't dare do that.

[HemiBeers]

Just hack your neighbors wireless. here's a list of most common bad passwords.

#1 123456 #2 password #3 12345678 #4 qwerty #5 12345 #6 123456789 #7 football #8 1234 #9 1234567 #10 baseball #11 welcome #12 1234567890 #13 abc123 #14 111111 #15 1qaz2wsx #16 dragon #17 master #18 monkey #19 letmein #20 login #21 princess #22 qwertyuiop #23 solo #24 passw0rd #25 starwars

 

I don't dare do that.

another to add to the list. the most common password for admin is...admin. helps to get into the router and mess with stuff.

[blueschica]

One thing that has not been addressed here is the difference between wireless (wifi) and Internet service.

 

Not to sound pedantic, but Internet service is what brings you the Internet. Right now you are getting Internet via dial-up. What you are looking for is high-speed Internet via DSL, fiberoptic, or cable. Once Internet service to your house is established you can then connect individual devices to the Internet with an ethernet cable, or wirelessly with wifi.

 

In many areas Comcast is the only solution to getting high speed, reliable Internet service. This is because they use their existing cable network to provide service and are not limited to distance. Sometimes the phone company (or other companies) will provide DSL Internet service over phone lines or other dedicated networks, but those services are only reliable if you live within two miles of the phone company's central office; if you live further than that you will essentially have dial-up speeds. Comcast has been upgrading their network to fiberoptic which is capable of delivering very high speeds.

 

Once you bring (high speed) Internet service into your house you can set up a wireless router so that devices can connect via wifi. If you have an old computer it will most likely not have wifi capability, so don't even bother with wifi. Connecting via ethernet cable will not only (often) give you faster speeds, it is more secure. Unless you will be using wireless devices such as an iPad or smartphone have the install technician disable the wifi access on your modem/router to eliminate the possibility of being hacked via that route.

 

THANK YOU for explaining this! When we changed from dial up internet, all that was available was Century Link DSL, and it was really slow all the time. I didn't know much about it until my son came home from school one day and said, "Thad (tech wiz) said our DSL will always be slow because we are at the end of the street." I still think that's weird (although I don't know why, we used to rent a beach house as a kid at the end of the street and the lights were always a little dim) but we changed to Comcast as soon as possible and it has been much better.

[Lorraine]

Chica, how much did that cost you? When you first got Comcast?

 

I see they have something here for about $50 a month, but that doesn't include set-up, equipment, fees and other "stuff."

[HemiBeers]

One thing that has not been addressed here is the difference between wireless (wifi) and Internet service.

 

Not to sound pedantic, but Internet service is what brings you the Internet. Right now you are getting Internet via dial-up. What you are looking for is high-speed Internet via DSL, fiberoptic, or cable. Once Internet service to your house is established you can then connect individual devices to the Internet with an ethernet cable, or wirelessly with wifi.

 

In many areas Comcast is the only solution to getting high speed, reliable Internet service. This is because they use their existing cable network to provide service and are not limited to distance. Sometimes the phone company (or other companies) will provide DSL Internet service over phone lines or other dedicated networks, but those services are only reliable if you live within two miles of the phone company's central office; if you live further than that you will essentially have dial-up speeds. Comcast has been upgrading their network to fiberoptic which is capable of delivering very high speeds.

 

Once you bring (high speed) Internet service into your house you can set up a wireless router so that devices can connect via wifi. If you have an old computer it will most likely not have wifi capability, so don't even bother with wifi. Connecting via ethernet cable will not only (often) give you faster speeds, it is more secure. Unless you will be using wireless devices such as an iPad or smartphone have the install technician disable the wifi access on your modem/router to eliminate the possibility of being hacked via that route.

 

THANK YOU for explaining this! When we changed from dial up internet, all that was available was Century Link DSL, and it was really slow all the time. I didn't know much about it until my son came home from school one day and said, "Thad (tech wiz) said our DSL will always be slow because we are at the end of the street." I still think that's weird (although I don't know why, we used to rent a beach house as a kid at the end of the street and the lights were always a little dim) but we changed to Comcast as soon as possible and it has been much better.

DSL will always be slower than cable because it runs on phone lines. Cable or fiberoptic (if you're REALLY lucky in your area) are currently the fastest wired mediums.

[blueschica]

Chica, how much did that cost you? When you first got Comcast?

 

I see they have something here for about $50 a month, but that doesn't include set-up, equipment, fees and other "stuff."

 

Oh shoot, it was a few years ago so I don't remember all that well. Comcast gives you all kinds of different combinations and choices for how to pay. When we did it, they were running a "self install" special where they sent you the boxes, (a router and a modem? I don't know all the computer terms) and you paid like 80.00 for them but then you owned them. Then you called in and they told you how to hook them up and get started. So at the time it was that 80 for equipment and then the monthly fee. You can also have the guy come and hook it up for you, but there is some kind of fee. You can also just rent the box (or boxes?) for a fee each month but after like a year or so that is costing you more than if you bought them outright.

 

We had to replace the boxes when our house got hit by lightning last year and the Comcast guy who came to sort out the damage recommended that we buy a combination router/modem that is available now, the Arris surfboard. We got it at Wal Mart. It was about $110.00, ouch, but I think to rent it was like $ 20.00 a month. Then it would just need a few cables. I found a list of Comcast internet prices for our area, I don't know if these will help!

 

I know that people complain about Comcast customer service representatives but the ones I have dealt with have been pretty nice. Once you are a Comcast customer, they do want to keep you, because there is always competition from Dish TV and such. You can always ask if they are running any specials, they do that pretty often.

 

http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp338/plantfan40/Screen%20Shot%202016-05-17%20at%209.49.12%20PM.png

Edited May 18, 2016 by blueschica

[x1yyz]

Actually you can get wireless wifi on an older computer. All you have to do is buy a USB wifi adapter. They're pretty cheap and all you have to have is an available USB port to plug it in. It's just a little thing. I used one on the last computer I had when I moved into my sisters house and she has wifi. Before that I had used a hard line cable into the back of the computer.

 

Although you can it doesn't mean you should. If you have a desktop computer then it's not like you're going to be moving around the house, so if you use a wired connection it is a) cheaper, since you don't have to buy the additional bits, and b) safer, because not having wireless means you are not opening yourself up to a possible wifi attack. Depending on the speed of your Internet and wireless connections, it may also be faster.

 

If you have a desktop computer that is not near an ethernet outlet, or if you don't have your own in-house Internet connection and wanted to use someone else's, then a wifi card would be needed.

[Relayer2112]

Regardless of what service you get, be careful of equipment leases vs buying your own. For example, Comcast will lease you a cable modem for $5 to $10 dollars a month when you can just go out and buy one for like $60.

 

I have Comcast internet and can't complain. They typically offer great deals to get new customers, just be wary of the price once the honeymoon period expires.

[EagleMoon]

Actually you can get wireless wifi on an older computer. All you have to do is buy a USB wifi adapter. They're pretty cheap and all you have to have is an available USB port to plug it in. It's just a little thing. I used one on the last computer I had when I moved into my sisters house and she has wifi. Before that I had used a hard line cable into the back of the computer.

 

Although you can it doesn't mean you should. If you have a desktop computer then it's not like you're going to be moving around the house, so if you use a wired connection it is a) cheaper, since you don't have to buy the additional bits, and b) safer, because not having wireless means you are not opening yourself up to a possible wifi attack. Depending on the speed of your Internet and wireless connections, it may also be faster.

 

If you have a desktop computer that is not near an ethernet outlet, or if you don't have your own in-house Internet connection and wanted to use someone else's, then a wifi card would be needed.

 

Are you speaking to me or to Lorraine? Not sure what you mean about "should". I was just pointing out that you can get wifi on an older computer even if it wasn't originally built to have it. Certainly a hard line is more secure but if you want to have more than one connection and be able to move around with it, wifi is an option.

[Lorraine]

I'm calling Comcast this morning. I hate to do it because it is true that their customer service reps aren't known for their bedside manner. The last time I called, the man was downright nasty.

 

I'll let you know what "great deals" they offer me. Then, if you would be so kind as to let me know what is the "great deal" and what is the rip-off.

[HemiBeers]

I'm calling Comcast this morning. I hate to do it because it is true that their customer service reps aren't known for their bedside manner. The last time I called, the man was downright nasty.

 

I'll let you know what "great deals" they offer me. Then, if you would be so kind as to let me know what is the "great deal" and what is the rip-off.

personally, I just order their service on the web and avoid the nasty phone monkeys.

[Lorraine]

I got a nice young man but I couldn't understand a word he was saying and had to ask him to repeat himself many times.

 

I would have to buy a Docsis 3.0 cable modem or lease it from Comcast for an extra $10 a month.

 

For $39.99 a month (plus tax :codger: ), this is what I would get:

 

25 megabits per second speed

Up to 5 megabits I think he said download speed? Really couldn't understand what he was saying, and I didn't want to ask him to repeat himself a third time.

[Lorraine]

I see these modems range in price from $70 to $200. Does it matter if you get the least expensive? Or is it worth it to splurge for a more expensive one?

[blueschica]

I got a nice young man but I couldn't understand a word he was saying and had to ask him to repeat himself many times.

 

I would have to buy a Docsis 3.0 cable modem or lease it from Comcast for an extra $10 a month.

 

For $39.99 a month (plus tax :codger: ), this is what I would get:

 

25 megabits per second speed

Up to 5 megabits I think he said download speed? Really couldn't understand what he was saying, and I didn't want to ask him to repeat himself a third time.

I see these modems range in price from $70 to $200. Does it matter if you get the least expensive? Or is it worth it to splurge for a more expensive one?

 

25 mbps download speed and 5 mbps upload speed is one of their standard packages; it is the one we have. People that play and download online video games might disagree with me because they like things ultrafast, but 25 mbps is fine for us for regular use and streaming when we are home alone. At holidays, when there are 4 people using the bandwidth at once, it is a little slower, but still OK.

 

I don't know about the modems, hopefully another TRF person will be able to let you know; also if I am wrong about 25 being a good speed. :) :)

Edited May 18, 2016 by blueschica

[Lorraine]

It wouldn't take much to be an improvement over what I have now.

[HemiBeers]

I got a nice young man but I couldn't understand a word he was saying and had to ask him to repeat himself many times.

 

I would have to buy a Docsis 3.0 cable modem or lease it from Comcast for an extra $10 a month.

 

For $39.99 a month (plus tax :codger: ), this is what I would get:

 

25 megabits per second speed

Up to 5 megabits I think he said download speed? Really couldn't understand what he was saying, and I didn't want to ask him to repeat himself a third time.

I see these modems range in price from $70 to $200. Does it matter if you get the least expensive? Or is it worth it to splurge for a more expensive one?

 

25 mbps download speed and 5 mbps upload speed is one of their standard packages; it is the one we have. People that play and download online video games might disagree with me because they like things ultrafast, but 25 mbps is fine for us for regular use and streaming when we are home alone. At holidays, when there are 4 people using the bandwidth at once, it is a little slower, but still OK.

 

I don't know about the modems, hopefully another TRF person will be able to let you know; also if I am wrong about 25 being a good speed. :) :)

ok, here's the comcast compatible cable modems

 

http://mydeviceinfo.xfinity.com/

 

I have a cisco and I think the cisco dpc3008 would work for about $65 plus shipping.

 

http://www.amazon.co...s=cisco dpc3008

 

Now the cable modem just gets you a single wired connection. If you want wireless, then you'd have to add a wireless router, like a linksys for about $40.

http://www.amazon.co...=linksys router

 

Linksys isn't the greatest router in the world, but it should suffice.

 

If you want this all from Comcast, I imagine you could pay them cash and have them sent preconfigured. You're gonna want at least the cable modem at your house when the installer comes so he can test signal strength.

 

Confused yet? I'd take care of this in about a half hour for the price of a beer, but I'm not local. ;)

Edited May 18, 2016 by 2112FirstStreet

[Lorraine]

I saw the Linksys router this morning in the store. It was on sale for about $65. But I'm sure I could get a better deal in Best Buy. Which is where I would get the modem too.

 

I'll have to ask my husband. He might already have one. Lord knows he has enough computer stuff stashed here and there around here. :sarcastic:

 

What do you mean by having the modem "preconfigured"? Would Comcast have to do that with the one I would buy?

 

Here you go: :cheers:

[HemiBeers]

I saw the Linksys router this morning in the store. It was on sale for about $65. But I'm sure I could get a better deal in Best Buy. Which is where I would get the modem too.

 

I'll have to ask my husband. He might already have one. Lord knows he has enough computer stuff stashed here and there around here. :sarcastic:

 

What do you mean by having the modem "preconfigured"? Would Comcast have to do that with the one I would buy?

 

Here you go: :cheers:

The cable modem is pretty much plug n play, but the wireless router will probably require some settings. You'd pay more for the gear from Comcast, but if it doesn't work, you can say HERE MAKE IT WORK! There's quite a few modems and routers that should work with Comcast, just try to stick to the compatible list for the modem. Routers are pretty much the same for around $50-60. It would be a good idea to get it from the local best buy in case it doesn't work out. If you have flakely electric in your area, I'd recommend a UPS as well. UPS is an Uninterruptable Power Supply...not the guy that shows up in the brown truck. It keeps a steady flow of power to the modem and router and keeps it running in case of a brown/black-out. Gives it some protection in case of lightening as well. I like the CyberPowers myself, but there's other brands that are ok. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpower-450va-battery-back-up-system-black/3938808.p?id=1219609309131&skuId=3938808

Edited May 18, 2016 by 2112FirstStreet

[EagleMoon]

Comcast supplied the router we have and they replaced it when it had issues.