Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with internet and cable

Help, I need a stronger wifi signal!

OuttaHere — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:53:19 -0800

Help! I live in a basement and need a stronger Wi-Fi Connection! I live in a Basement of a townhome and pay for internet which my landlord provides via Wi-Fi.

The problem is that he has the router on the third floor of the house, and I am in the basement. It probably doesn't help that it is an old building, so there is a lot of brick and mortar. Anyways, he uses Comcast so in order for us to have a land line in our residence we would have to pay for a completely new cable package/modem etc.

In my room I am getting like 25% signal, 2 bars out of 5 pretty much, and get a really shitty and slow connection. If I move my computer out to the main room my speed and connection increases 10 fold.

Anyway, I'm not the greatest with this kind of tech stuff so I was wondering if people out there had options for me. I haven't talked to my landlord about it but wanted to confront him with some options.

Anyone have ideas, especially if you are familiar with comcast. Are those "Range Extenders" worth it? Can you add a router to a lower level somehow to increase the range? Is there anything comcast can do?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Picking a good plan

pulled_levers — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:10:11 -0800

In need of a cheap high speed internet/cable package shared among 7 college girls in MD and not sure where to start. Help! Six other girls and I will be moving into a house in College Park, MD 20740. A friend of mine has looked into Verizon for a plan. Unfortunately, she says that that particular plan only works with flatscreen TVs which we do not have.

I have looked at comcast as well as reviews of comcast saying that they are overpriced with not-so-great customer service.

After looking at some DSL vs Cable sites, it seems that cable is pricier but has faster connection. Because the internet will be shared among seven girls, I wanted to know whether or not paying for cable will become a necessity and if we should go for a package that has a minimum of X MBPS.

I would prefer a high-speed internet service coupled with a fairly basic TV cable plan. I am worried about internet being too slow if shared between so many girls. I am also bringing a wireless router to the house (will the internet company I choose help me install that at all?).

I am feeling slightly overwhelmed because we are moving in in two days and classes start on Monday. Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Cable line mystery

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:03:20 -0800

Someone's been disconnecting/cutting the internet cable wire that runs into my apartment. Why would they do this and what can I/should I do about it? About a month ago, my internet stopped working. I called my cable company and they sent a technician over. We both went up to my roof (which is always open) and saw that someone had disconnected my cable line. He didn't know why and couldn't find a reason so he added a splitter to one of them and reconnected mine.

Last week, the internet was dead again. I suspected someone had disconnected it again so I took my time going up to the roof to check it out. I went yesterday with a friend and found that the line had been cut cleanly in several places. What's going on and what do I do now? Who's responsibility is this - the cable company for having an unsecured line system or my building management for not having better security?

Some other facts:

- The lines were a huge mess up there, tangled every which way and totally unsecured. The cable guy said one day they will have to send someone to reconnect the whole thing.

- I live on the top floor of my apartment building. The cable line runs down the side of my building from the roof into my apartment through a hole near the window. This is obviously seen.

- My building is managed by a company; the actual landlord lives somewhere on the east coast. My super lives a few blocks away and is probably my only contact regarding the building.

- The door to my apartment building is often left open. I have lived here for about a year now - my neighborhood is very safe and I have never thought much about complaining. It's a small building - 9 apartments- so it seems like everyone trusts each other.

- I have been connecting on stolen wireless for the time being. My wildest idea is that someone wants me to use their stolen wireless so that they can steal my identity? Sounds too far-fetched.

What do you guys think, hive mind?

Plug it in, plug it in...

Christ, what an asshole — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:01:39 -0800

Modem/Router issues: why does our internet always cut out on one computer on the network, resulting in having to constantly plug/unplug the router to get it working again? Router: WRT54G, ISP: Comcast.

We have two desktops (PCs) set up in the network, one direct with an ethernet cable, the other wireless. For whatever reason, the computer connected through the ethernet cable has its internet connection spontaneously cut out, sometimes several times throughout the day, which makes for some unusually frustrating surfing.

It's puzzling because all the modem lights are flickering just like normal, and the computer connected wirelessly works fine. Meanwhile, the first computer has an icon displaying that it's connected, but it remains dead and has no upload/download activity. As a result and through trial/error, the only way to get it working again is by unplugging the power to the router, letting it sit for a minute, then replugging and hoping it comes back, which it ostensibly does in more cases than not.

What could be the issue causing this brand of interference?

Info source on bandwidth caps & download quotas?

kidbritish — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:40:09 -0800

Is there a website that tracks ISP's bandwidth caps and download quotas, and presents the information in an up-to-date and easy-to-read format? I'm especially interested in USA.

Why can't we connect wirelessly?

mai — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:29:34 -0800

Why can't we connect wirelessly to the internet? We have comcast cable internet and a netgear router and fourteen computers, 13 of which connect wirelessly and one of which uses a wired ethernet connection.

Our internet connection stopped working (possibly because the modem was fried by a lightning strike near us?). None of the lights on the modem would go on, so Comcast told us to bring it in and get a new one.

After replacing the modem, the situation is this:
1. If I am wired directly to the modem, I can connect to the internet.
I am on a Mac.
2. My roommate tried to connect directly to the modem running Linux and could not get internet.
3. The router is broadcasting wireless signal. We can all connect to it and can see each other. But, when the router is connected to the modem, there is no internet coming through the pipes.
4. I tried connecting to the router and having it search for firmware updates, and it can't see the internet at all.
5. I tried the whole reset rigamarole (of router, of modem, of everything), it did not help.

So, is our router broken? Is there something else going on?
I am not super knowledgeable about computers. I usually solve problems by googling for info and bumbling about until something works. Detailed, action-oriented explainations are appreciated.

RCN versus Comcast in DC?

raf — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:43:29 -0800

RCN versus Comcast in DC? I have Comcast cable/phone/internet in DC. I'm tired of paying more and can get RCN for significantly less. Any bad experiences with RCN?

Everybody provides every service now.

Acari — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 11:22:13 -0800

Canadian phone/cable/internetfilter: what combo of services are cheapest? The scenario:
Two people moving into a new place in Edmonton, mostly calling each other [or not, neither have cell phones right now] and local calls almost exclusively. Cable TV is not a requirement, although even the phone company provides that service now.

Is it best to go with a dsl/landline package from Telus?
A cable internet/digital phone package from Shaw?
Internet from [somebody] and VOIP [with Vonage? somebody better?]

Having two cellphones on a family plan and [magical internet from whoever] sounds like it provide the most convenience for us, but there are also a zillion cell phone providers to sift through to figure out what the best deal would be there.

Our total phone usage is currently quite low [maybe 20 minutes/month each?] but that might creep up with cell phone ownership. The kind of calls we make are mostly of the this-is-my-current-location-i-will-see-you-at-X-o'clock type, and would be served equally well by text messages, but voice calls are necessary for contacting older relatives.

What I'm looking for is someone who has been down this road and can point to the glaringly obvious solution that I haven't even considered yet.

Cable internet + secure wireless network = outer ring of hell

johnofjack — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:49:37 -0800

I have a problems connecting to my wireless network, on one computer only. Other networks work for this computer. Other computers work on this network. Long & convoluted one here, so I'll try to be brief.

New internet: Cox Cable (switched over from DSL). Wireless network with a password required and WPA-Personal encryption. Linksys wireless router (WRT54GS v7). Linksys wireless card (WMP54GS). Windows 2000.

After much futzing about yesterday, I found that I had to clone the MAC address off my 10/100 card to the router so that the other computers in the apartment could access the internet. So I did, and they could, but now I can't--at least, not when connecting to the network wirelessly.

The message I usually get is "You are connected to the access point, but the internet cannot be found." Except I doubt that I am, because I usually can't go to the router's setup screen (except when I can). And I usually can't access my own computer by internal IP (except when I can).

BUT sometimes, after several tries, that very same password that I've been putting in will finally work and I'll be both on the network and allowed to use the internet. When this happens, the internet connection will be incredibly slow. I mean "timeouts on google.com and a half-dozen forced relaods before it finally loads" slow. But only for me--all the other computers on the network (macs, OS X) can authenticate with these same details and load things blazingly fast.

And sometimes I can't associate with my wireless network at all.

The complications / puzzling bits:
I can log on to my neighbor's open wireless and there is no problem whatsoever. Everything loads and it loads quickly. But I don't want to leech his bandwidth and I don't want to do anything like banking on an unsecured network.

I can run a 10/100 cable to the modem directly and everything works.

I can run a 10/100 cable to the router directly, disable the wireless card, and wait a bit, and everything works.

I've read all sorts of speculation about what the cause might be, and tried the solutions, but so far none of them work.

I've uninstalled and reinstalled my firewall.

I've uninstalled and reinstalled my wireless card.

I've uninstalled and reinstalled the software managing the wireless connection.

I've power-cycled the router and modem, turned them back on and set all the details up again from scratch.

I've uninstalled my TCP/IP whatsit and reinstalled it.

I knew that several of those were almost certainly not the cause of the problem because I can log on to my neighbor's network and go anywhere online, quickly.

So, dear AskMe: why won't my wireless card talk to my router?

I need cable/internet. Should I go with Comcast, DirectTV, or DISH Network?

decrescendo — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:03:14 -0800

I need cable/internet. Should I go with Comcast, DirectTV, or DISH Network? I just moved into a new apartment in Arlington, VA and I need cable. I have a 50" Panasonic plasma and I want as much HD as possible. I'm pretty sure we'll have line-of-sight to the satellites, as well.

I despise Comcast because of its internet throttling/bandwidth and it's horrible customer service (I should have cable already but they screwed me over).

Do I go with satellite? If so, do I get DISH or DirectTV? Have you all had problems with rain fade, reception in storms, etc.?

And if I get them, should I go with Comcast shitty internet or Verizon? Or do they have satellite internet?

Which is faster or better, ADSL or cable internet connection?

feelinggood — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:47:58 -0800

Which is a better broadband connection type: ADSL or cable? Plus a couple of other smaller (and simpler) questions. In Toronto (actually Richmond Hill, a suburb) I have a choice of ISP types. Which is better? I am now with Bell Sympatico on an ADSL line.
I've just tested my speed with speedtest.net and with pcpitstop.com and they give me download speeds of between 2547 kbps and 2897 kbps. Is this good?

Is there any way of finding out what speed Sympatico claims to provide (really)? I'm paying for what they call "Total Performance" for which they say "Enjoy up to 7 Mbps".

Can others tell me what they are getting from Sympatico, or is this discrepancy a known issue?

ALSO:

I now rent from them a Speedstream 5200 'modem'. It's about 4 years old. Should I ask for a new one?

Is there any way they will let me not rent a modem from them (that is, buy my own and spare the rental fee - $2.00 a month)?

I have a Netgear RP614 router. Does it provide me with a firewall, or do I still need a software firewall in addition?

What are the best options for cable TV + Internet in Chicago?

c:\awesome — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:43:52 -0800

What are the best options for cable TV + Internet in Chicago? Is it basically a choice between the lesser of two evils, Comcast and RCN? I'm not 100% sure RCN is available in my area, because their database says my address is unknown. But I'll be living in North Center, if that changes anything. Are there any other players in the Cable game?

I work from home so I need a good, solid Internet connection. I have an HDTV, so ideally I'd like a cable solution that offers the most bang for my buck.

Can't do Dish unfortunately.

Would I be better off doing a separate company for TV and Internet? Any benefit to that?

Help a Chicago cable newb.

How should we handle our neighbors stealing our cable?

hitopshelf — Fri, 30 May 2008 18:54:06 -0800

Should we do anything about our neighbors stealing our cable and crippling our broadband for the past 2 months? My two roommates and I live in a 2-flat in Chicago. For the past 2 months, the uptime for our Comcast broadband service has been 60% at best.

Before today, we had no success in fixing the issue: Multiple hours on the phone with Comcast, 2 tech visits, new splitters, cables, taps, modems, routers, etc.

Comcast sent their big guns out today. A tech astutely followed the drop from the utility pole in the back alley and found the culprit: A new Radioshack splitter and 50 feet of their finest coax snaking around the back of the building into the basement window.

He quickly phoned home to verify that we had the only Comcast account in the building, "deactivated" the old drop, and ran a fresh one for us.

The result: Everything is up and running better-than-ever: No large TV artifacts, no "Communications Errors" for OnDemand, and most importantly, fully operational high speed Internet access.

With all the time (and even money) we have spent trying to fix this, should we bring this up to anyone? Neighbors? Landlord? Police? The techs who came out weeks ago should have found this but Comcast has been gracious enough to waive large portions of our bill for the affected time range.

Comcast DVR w/ Tivo -- any good, in 2008?

galaksit — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:56:35 -0800

Are the Comcast DVR woes over? Would anyone, today, say that the Comcast DVR with Tivo service works well? I'm moving house and want to set up a new TV and internet package with a Tivo-based DVR. Should I keep what I have or go with something new? Boston area in case it matters to the service. It seems that when Comcast rolled out their DVR service many bloggers and other commentators complained about how bad it was. The residue of that is all over the internet, but most of the complaints come from 2007, and it's hard to see if people would consider this, today in mid 2008, something worth having.

I'm moving house soon. I currently run a Series 2 Tivo with the wireless network adapter off a standard Comcast digital cable box. I have a subscription on the Tivo until December 2008. Right now, things are good. I can use Tivo DecodeManager to download and transcode shows on to my computer over 801.11g wifi (thanks to the Tivo Wifi adapter). And the Tivo works nicely, but I would certainly like to be able to watch live TV while something else is being recorded, and my Series 2 is a single-tuner variant. All in all, it's perfect as it stands except for my dual tuner desires.

I've seen that Comcast offer a DVR with Tivo service now for essentially the same monthly cost as a Tivo contract. I'm sure it's got more disk space (nice) and can do HD (not a big deal for me) and probably has two tuners. But if the unit is as broken as early adopters found it to be, I think I'd rather stick with what I have.

And the killer would be if I could no longer DL shows to my computer.

Should I in fact be looking at a Series 2 DT instead?

Many thanks to anyone who entertains my rather trivial request.

Migrating cable issues.

CrazyGabby — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:08:56 -0800

Internet connection in one room works fine for several months, then slowly quits. Moving to another room starts the cycle again. We're using a cable modem. Do I have to rewire my house? We've suspected since moving in a few years ago that the cable in our house is, shall we say, less than high quality. Clues are cable box crankiness (with more than one box), horrid performance when using a splitter, etc. Most recently, we've noticed the degrading internet connection. We've replaced both the modem and the router with no luck. We've even tried *cringe* Monster cables, with a bit of temporary improvement. Eventually we are going to run out of rooms to move the modem to.

Is there a fix for this that doesn't involve ripping out the wiring and starting from scratch? And if we *do* have to rewire, what should we to do to keep this from happening again?

Help determine cause of my Internet shut-outs.

gregb1007 — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 22:24:47 -0800

Help determine cause of my Internet shut-outs. Ok, in order for you guys to try to figure out why my Internet connection goes down, I'll write up the details of the situation below.

I gut shut out of the Internet today because from about 6pm to 1 am in the morning, my cable model would only send packets but not receive them. Windows troubleshooting diagnosed this as a DNS problem. I would do multiple resets of router and cable modem, as well as plug in the cable modem directly to the computer with the router turned off. Each time I unplugged in and replugged in the modem, I would also sometimes reboot the computer. Nothing helped. Then the Internet connection came back on its own. Now, I am in the Boston area and using Comcast, and I had their tech support come over and check out the problem once, however this didn't do much. By the time the technician would come over, the connection was already back up and he couldn't detect anything dysfunctional. Unfortunately, these down times happen every so often, so I am still frustrated.

To sum it up, what do you think the problem is? Is it a Windows bug or is it the cable modem? Perhaps it is the cable wiring within my home that is at fault. (It can't be the cable service in general, since when I called support, their network was fine and I was the only one to complain.) Btw the model of my cable modem is Motorola SB4200, while the router's is DLInk 614+

Well, it can't be worse than Chicago

TheWhiteSkull — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:59:07 -0800

Moving to Toronto: got an apartment, now what about cable, internets, phone? I'm moving back to Toronto in December. What are my options for TV, data and phone? Based on responses to the question posted last February, I'll probably use Rogers for cable and internet (unless someone can give me a compelling reason not to), but I have no idea which wireless provider to use. I prefer to use a cell phone over a landline or VoIP, but I'm also considering more advanced hand held devices. Has something like Helio made it to Canada yet?

Cheap Broadband in Albany, NY?

cahlers — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 13:47:35 -0800

Can someone suggest cheap ($15/mo) broadband in zip 12208? Verizon DSL 768kbps is unavailable there. I'm looking for DSL at 768kbps download speed in Albany, NY, comparable to what's offered by Verizon Online for $14.99 in other markets. Apparently this package is not offered in the zip code where my parents live (12208). They have never had broadband before, and now are looking to obtain it, after using dial-up for many years. However, they have a limited budget and could not pay more than around $15/mo. They do not need download speeds of higher than 768bps; however, I don't think paying $10/mo for 50 hours of Verizon dialup is worth it.

My parents do not need DSL per se, only broadband. However, they do not have cable TV, so bundling w/ cable is not an option. If a company offered cable broadband at around $15/mo, that would work for them too.

I have searched DSL Reports and Google without success.

I'd appreciate any suggestions.

Should I replace my Comcast internet service (cable) with wireless broadband?

bchaplin — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 05:55:08 -0800

Should I replace my Comcast internet service (cable) with wireless broadband? I'm considering replacing my Comcast cable internet service with broadband wireless (either the one offered by Cingular or Verizon). It might be slightly cheaper, since both services offer a 15% discount through my work. And I'd have the advantage of an internet connection via the laptop when I travel within the US.

Can broadband wireless reliably substitute for my cable internet? I do some downloading (a few songs and TV shows via iTunes), but most of my internet surfing is for email, shopping and research. I am on the computer a lot. I would be giving up the TV part of my cable service if I make this switch, but that's not a bad thing, as I already do most of my TV watching via Netflix and iTunes. FWIW, I have both a Mac laptop and intel iMac.

I do have decent Verizon and Cingular signals in my home.

Is Charter's phone/cable/internet package a good deal?

languagehat — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 12:21:11 -0800

Has anybody had experience with Charter Communications (in western Massachusetts, if that makes a difference)? My wife and I are moving to Hadley in a couple of weeks and are thinking of taking advantage of Charter's bundle (available through the end of the month) of basic cable + high-speed internet + phone service (unlimited calling in US) for $69.97/mo. This seems like a good deal. Anybody have experience with them? And if you live in the Pioneer Valley, how worried should we be about the likelihood of an electricity failure disrupting our phone service?

Routed by my slow router

escabeche — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 16:24:37 -0800

Why is my brand-new router massively slowing my Internet connection, even when everything's connected with cables? There have been several slow router questions on Ask MeFi, but I couldn't find one that really matched my situation. We recently became a two-laptop family. Our first computer is a Thinkpad T42, which we had been using connected directly to the jack in the wall via Ethernet cable. Nice fast connection. We now have a MacBook Pro, so I bought a router (Belkin Wireless G) and connected that to the wall. The Mac works fine, but the Thinkpad now loads pages very slowly. What confuses me is that this is the case whether I run the Thinkpad on the wireless, or run a short Ethernet cable directly from computer to router. Why should the latter be any different from connecting the Thinkpad directly to the jack?

Some possibly relevant data based on my reading:

* Some posters mentioned that encryption from the router might slow things down. I _tried_ to encrypt the router when I set it up, but I think I failed; at least, I was never prompted for a password when I connected to the wireless on my Mac.

* The Thinkpad can run Linux or Windows XP, and the slowdown happens either way.

* I guess one possibility is that the short cable connecting Thinkpad to router is faulty; I only have one, so I haven't been able to check. Could a bad cable slow down the network connection without cutting it off entirely? It still works fine, just much more slowly.

Thanks for all help!

help me solve my mysterious cable problem

nyu2 — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 10:12:53 -0800

The internet connection to my computer goes out about once hour. It happens with varying frequency (sometimes more than 10 times within the hour) and doesn't happen to any of the other computers on my network. Fixing it is easy, but very frustrating. I have to unplug then plug back in the cable to my computer for it to recognize the connection. It also WITHOUT fail happens whenever I try and download a torrent. I'm not sure if they are related or separate issues. please help!

What's the best TV/Internet/Phone bundle?

doctorschlock — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 11:11:58 -0800

I've noticed that the cable/phone/internet companies are offering bundle packages. What's the best package: Verizon or Comcast?

Help me find the best TV and/or Internet solution(s) for a multi dwelling unit

twiggy — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 12:49:06 -0800

I need help with crafting a multi-dwelling (Condo) solution for TV and/or Internet service The short version: 24 unit condo looking for both business and technical advice on serving TV and/or Internet to all units in the most cost effective manner possible.

The long version:

I need help with both the technical AND business / search aspects here because google has not been my friend. I can't seem to find companies that specialize in providing TV or internet to multi dwelling units. However, I know they exist because my condo building currently has a contract with a company for DirecTV installations which requires we buy equipment from them if we want Satellite TV. Therefore, while everyone else gets free DVRs and other stuff, we have to pay hundreds of dollars (they quoted me $350) to get set up.

Individual units can opt for Comcast, but not Dish Network because there is no Dish Network satellite on our roof.

Details on that from a technical perspective: Not all units face the right direction to have their own dishes, and the condo has rules against mounting dishes to the masonry so basically a lot of the units absolutely have to connect to the big dish on the roof. Since we (currently) have an exclusive contract with this one DirecTV contractor, we're stuck.

What I want to know:

1) Is it realistic to expect to find some kind of a discounted deal on TV and/or internet service for a 5 story condo building with 24 units if we can get with some company on it?

2) From a technical perspective, this current company insists that the reason we need to buy hardware from them is that it requires special tuners to work with the dish on our roof. Is this true?

3) Is it technically feasible to install our own dish(es) on the roof and just let people sign up for DirecTV or Dish Network on their own? Do both companies require you point your dish in the same direction - allowing us to save on costs there by using one dish to serve people options?

4) This stems from the fact that Comcast is a godawful nightmare for myself and several of our residents, but the ridiculous up front costs from this company, and being limited to DirecTV and not Dish, is causing us to seek out alternative solutions.

5) Does anyone have an inside track on what the deal is/will be with WiMax? Sprint is supposed to roll it out in Chicago within the next year, but nobody knows: Is this just going to be cell-phone-internet stuff, or will people actually sign up for WiMax like they do DSL / Cable internet?

While a group discount would be great, we'd also be happy just to have a technical solution where people could sign up for Dish, DirecTV or Comcast just like everyone else can and for the same prices. Paying this premium for boxes just because they connect to a shared dish seems to be a wasteful expense, and being locked out of Dish as an option is unattractive as well.

The repair connection was NOT completed, liarpants. :(

Glitter Ninja — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 16:16:29 -0800

Why can't I maintain a stable internet connection, and what can I do to fix it? I'm living in a home using whatever RoadRunner's residential ISP service is, with my parents using AOL in conjunction (though that shouldn't have anything to do with it.)

For the past month or so, I've had trouble maintaining a stable connection- it'll go out and not come back up for minutes at a time, and go back down randomly, as frequently as once every three minutes.

What you should know:

-we have a linksys wireless router.

-we have RoadRunner through Time Warner Cable. This occurs when the cable is still on.

-the program is on both computers, a compaq desktop using a linksys wireless adapter via usb and an HP Pavilion laptop using the built in wireless card, so I don't think the problem is with the computers.

-both computers are used almost exclusively in the living room, about ten feet from the router, so I don't think it's a distance issue.

-sometimes windows tells me I have a connection, and I'm sending packets, but not recieving.

-often windows will tell me there are multiple wireless networks to connect to, but when I go to look, there's only one network (ours) or none. It won't just automatically conenct to the home network, and even if I select to connect to ours, the "multiple wireless networks available" message comes back up.

-the cable guy came and checked it out, ran all new wiring, and said everything checked out on his diagnostic tests,

-all the lights that are supposed to flash on the router and cable box do- all the ones that aren't, don't.

-I have the latest firmware for the router.

-I've tried, to no avail to fix it by resetting the router (via the reset button on the back, as their help line reccomended to me).

So, oh, hive mind, what can I do to surf the web in stable, high-speed peace?