I do not know what is going on but I am obviously jinxed when it comes to Internet service, providers and reception.
In Del Rio we do not have many Wi-Fi locations. Even the local library does not have a very good signal. On my last three visits I have barely been able to answer a few comments and then it goes away.
I must say the people that work there have been very helpful, even helping me debug my computer but the lack of reception is something that happens to almost everyone and they are aware of the problem.
If I use their computers I am limited to one 30 minute session per day. If it is not crowded...which is never the case...you are allowed two sessions. However, you are not allowed to upload photos to Photobucket so how can I add them to my post? Who wants to read a blog without pictures? Especially when it comes to the Chili Cook-off :(
I had enough of not even being able to read my e-mails, so late Friday I bit the bullet and though I hate the word...I committed...to a two-year contract on a hot spot.
Thought it would be great, I would no longer have to make the trip into town or fight the expansion project currently underway at the library. It took me HOURS to do the last post. I was barely getting two bars and then it would drop to one.
It never dawned on me that because of our physical location (very close to Mexico) and lack of towers in this area...I would have the same problem I did when I had Cricket as my ISP. Worked like a charm when I was in town but not at my mother's house!
Just like with Cricket, I am currently blogging from the kitchen. It was a later addition and does not have the rock exterior that gives me one bar if I am blogging from my bedroom. Like Billy Bob would say...this sucks!
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Terlingua Dreams
Governors Landing Campground - Lake Amistad - Del Rio, Texas
I bought a booster for my hotspot, it has an antenna that runs to outside the house (an RV). It helps but it is more money.
ReplyDeleteI have read where many full timers have one and it has worked for them. However, I for one are not willing to do that. I would probably end up falling off of the ladder and incur even further costs :(
DeleteSure hope you figure out something, miss you. AND Walter.
ReplyDeleteI sure miss you and all the other blogs. Have been trying for almost two weeks to update Walter's blog to no avail.
DeleteWhy do use Photo Bucket for pictures? I just insert pictures into the blog as I am writing it. BTW, my wife carries a Verizon Hot Spot in her purse and then takes her tablet with her, especially if we are going to doctors offices where we have to wait for long periods of time.
ReplyDeleteI would have to upload the pictures to Photobucket so I could use another computer...in this case the library's...to make my Chili Cook-off blog posts.
DeleteI also just add photos straight from iPhoto or Finder on my computer (Mac). If you dowload the photos from camera to your computer directly, you should be able to pick them up in Blogger.
ReplyDeleteIf you think the hot spot isn't going to work for you, take it back for heaven's sake and tell them you can't use it, and get your money back.
Gypsy I only upload photos to Photobucket so I can have access to them from another computer.
DeleteI normally just upload them from my computer but I was having so many problems with the library's WI-FI that I tried to upload them directly to Photobucket and then post them from one of their computers when I found out that it can't be done.
I will have to weigh the other options available (which are not many) and see if I keep it or not.
Before you start thinking about buying a booster antenna & seeing if that helps, you should check your contract to see what your grace period for cancellation is (the Buyer's Remorse clause). Two years is an awful long time to have to put up with a weak signal, it might be better to cancel if you can do so with no penalty & start all over.
ReplyDeleteWould you believe I was not given a contract? Called the sales girl today but her voice mail is not yet set-up so I could not leave her a message. We had a previous engagement today so will try to go to the store front tomorrow.
DeleteEven if I choose to stay with them, I will definitively not be buying a booster antenna.
Yep, you're paying for a service, it would be ridiculous that you'd have to purchase something yourself just to make their 'product' work inside your own home for the next two years.
DeleteYou'll figure out something. Surely you're not the only person in Del Rio who needs to get a decent internet connection at a good price, there must be a way.
But, whew, the good news is that without a written contract you can cancel if they can't get you a better signal. And in the meantime, even if you dump them, you've still been able to make a couple of blog posts! ;-)
Went by the store front today and got a different sales guy. He was very helpful and seemed to know what he was talking about.
DeleteWhile I did not volunteer my prior experience with Cricket he asked me if my house had a metal roof which it does and he told me the signal tends to bounce off of the roof.
He changed out the SIM's card telling me that sometimes they go bad and told me if that did not solve the problem I had twelve days to return it.
Prior to the card change, it was getting five bars in the store but once at home and with the new card it went back to one and two bars.
I like the fact that I can take the hotspot with me to different locations and if I ever get to go back home I will certainly have a good connection there like was the case with Cricket.
We will see what happens, I just don't want to deal with having to drive into town more than I already do and putting up with the equally slow library Wi-Fi.
While I tend to agree with you in regards to some bloggers going over board that is not the case with the blogs I personally follow.
ReplyDeleteThe Chili Cook-off is an annual event that many people like to follow via pictures from my blog. I get e-mails from as far away as Australia, Germany and Russia asking for more pictures.