Laptop Woes

[Ruby]

Working from home is sending me under.

I bought a cheap laptop about a year ago. It's very tiny and basically similar to a chrome book except it has some internal storage. It does everything I need it to do - usually - which is to do online marking, use Microsoft Office and go online. Prior to lockdown, it has also been OK at doing virtual meetings etc

BUT now we are all trying to work from home, it is shit. It seems, somehow, to get pushed to the back of the WiFi queue. Every other device in the house gets a quicker connection than I do and, with our broadband under strain, it is making working from home impossible. I can barely connect to my work's online portal and, when I do it is so slow that it makes it a nightmare. I have to keep going into school (socially distantly) to get work done but since the chaps are at home too this is not always practical.

Do I just have a shitty modem? Is there anything I can do? Is it worth buying another laptop for the next few months?

[Tsu]

Can you connect it with a patch cable to your router?

[Dandelion]

Do you have fibre / is fibre available in your area? It has revolutionised working from home for us! Maybe speak to your provider - you are a keyworker so they should deign to accept your call (Sky ) and might boost your signal or something.

[Chicky]

If it's connected by wifi then is the signal strength where you usually work ok? If it's jumping around trying to connect to the strongest signal then it may spend a lot of time down or be intermittent. In that case a signal booster may work, or one of the powerline type things (where it sends the internet magically down your electricity wires) then you can hardwire it with a network cable.

[Ella77]

Just plug it directly in to the router if you can stand it.

[Ruby]

It's not where I am sitting or the strength of the WiFi, particularly, as I can get a better signal from my phone sat in the same place.

I think you're right that I'm just going to have to plumb it directly into the router with a cable.

Our broadband is definitely taking a hammering, and I think we have fibre in our area although not the "superfast" version, but it is specifically my laptop that seems to get bumped to the bottom of the queue.

[Duophonic]

I would go with Tsu and Ella first, path of least resistance. Plug in an ethernet cable directly to the router.

[Ruby]

I am currently in a Zoom meeting with a training provider that keeps kicking me out. :sad:

[Lola]

If you need this for work then shouldn’t your workplace pay for a new laptop?

[dizzyd]

I'm the same so for all my zoom meetings I'm now having to hotspot off my phone 4g

I have 20gb data and so far I've not used it all

Been doing this for the last two months

[Lily]

If you need this for work then shouldn’t your workplace pay for a new laptop?

Absolutely they should.

Is the internet OK with the cable plugged in?

[Ruby]

If you need this for work then shouldn’t your workplace pay for a new laptop?

Well obviously they should. But we're still waiting for Boris to produce these mythical laptops for disadvantaged students so I'm not holding my breath.

[Ruby]

I'm the same so for all my zoom meetings I'm now having to hotspot off my phone 4g

I have 20gb data and so far I've not used it all

Been doing this for the last two months

This is the problem for me. I burnt through all my data by doing it though.

[Lola]

Oh yes of course, this brilliant government of ours!

[dizzyd]

I'm the same so for all my zoom meetings I'm now having to hotspot off my phone 4g

I have 20gb data and so far I've not used it all

Been doing this for the last two months

This is the problem for me. I burnt through all my data by doing it though.

Have you spoken with your phone provider as I'm sure they'll be able to put you on a better package sorry if you already have

[Ruby]

I haven't because I can't be arsed. I hate ringing mobile phone companies at the best of times. I agree that seems like a reasonable solution but I can't face it

[dizzyd]

[Duophonic]

When my connection was dire with all of us in the house and umpteen devices all connected Mr D used to bellow at Mini to get off the wireless while I was trying to work and all devices were switched off. Not a great solution but if you need access immediately it's an option.

[Jupiter]

We got a BT wifi extender for our bedroom today as E's work laptop is really slow in there and sometimes doesn't connect at all and it's really made a difference.

[Ruby]

When my connection was dire with all of us in the house and umpteen devices all connected Mr D used to bellow at Mini to get off the wireless while I was trying to work and all devices were switched off. Not a great solution but if you need access immediately it's an option.

"EVERYBODY STOP STREAMING SHIT!" is the current soundtrack to our lives. All of Partner's work - ALL his fucking phonecalls - are done via Skype so he's the worst bandwidth hoover of them all. I will confess to thoroughly losing my shit when I found the SAM doing his school work, playing an online game and streaming a YouTube video at the same time though.