It's happened to all of us. You're in the middle of a raid trying to submit an
assignment five minutes before it's due or about to watch an important penalty
kick when everything just freezes and that little yellow icon says no internet
connection. Frustrating as it may be unless there's been an infrastructure
failure outside of your house at least you know a relatively easy fix. Go over
to your router which probably has some indicator lights bleep blooping that
there's a problem. Unplug it, wait a few excruciating seconds and plug it back in.
Although you've probably missed something critical in the interim you're
at least back online now. But why does this seem to happen so often seemingly
out of nowhere? Well here's the deal although we think of a router as a
simple little box that
sends your internet connection to your devices there is a lot going on under
the hood. Just like a full-blown desktop PC routers have their own CPU, memory,
mainboard, IO, and even operating system. All of which help it manage data traffic
deciding what needs to be sent where. And these components of a router can get
overloaded. Similarly to how having 40 browser tabs
multiple HD video streams and a game running at the same time might bring
your laptop to its knees, pushing tons of data through your router to lots of
different devices can also slow it down sometimes to a screeching halt. Further
complicating matters is the fact that most home internet connections use what
are called dynamic IP addresses. You see internet service providers typically
assign IP addresses which are likely to be a little bit more complicated than the
normal IP addresses. But if your router is very busy it might not latch on to the new
IP address and continue trying to use the old one. Which is kind of like trying to receive
mail at your old apartment. Your router might be yelling as loudly as it can for Google
to deliver that darn
Chinese food order. But no one down at the city walk can hear it scream. And while we're
on the subject of chicken fried rice, your router also might be cutting out because it's
as hot as a wok. Many of us are guilty of this, but shoving your router in a corner
somewhere where its ventilation holes might get blocked by cables or dust can cause it
to overheat. So be sure to check that if your router is crammed behind a piece of wood,
a piece of furniture, it can actually breathe.
But there are other problems that aren't necessarily caused by a router malfunction. If you're
on a Wi-Fi connection, sometimes the airwaves just get very crowded. Especially if you're
on the common 2.4 gigahertz band, where noise from common household devices like microwave
ovens and baby monitors, and even signals from other nearby routers on the same frequency
can overlap.
This can make it difficult for your receiving device to hear what your router is trying
to say.
If this is the case, which you can actually find out by downloading a mobile app to look
at nearby networks, try going into your router settings and changing the channel or switching
to the 5 gigahertz band if your router and your devices support it. It not only delivers
data more quickly, but it also offers many more channels and is less crowded overall.
And if changing channels,
making sure your router has cooled off, and the time-honored tactic of turning it off
and on again, doesn't help, we'll see if your router's manufacturer has a firmware
update available. Sometimes intermittent connectivity problems are a result of buggy
software that can be solved with an easy download and a quick round of everybody's
favorite game, RTFM Funtime.
And finally, while remembering this handful of tips, we'll usually ensure your router's
never out of commission for a long period of time. So if you're on a Wi-Fi connection,
and you've been out of commission for too long, if it does happen, we've got a great
tip to help you feel better. Keep a stress ball nearby, so you can route your frustrations
into that.
As a freelancer or small business owner, would you rather spend your time doing the work
that you get paid for, or making sure that you get paid for the work you did? And if
your answer is anything but the first one, you're not really a freelancer or small business
owner, are you?
FreshBooks is the cloud-based accounting software that's designed for the way that
you work. It's simpler and easier to be more productive, be more organized, and most importantly,
get paid quickly. Because running a small business is often all about maintaining solid
cash flow to make sure that your guys or your gals are getting paid on time, making sure
that clients are getting paid on time. With FreshBooks, you can not only take payment
on your terms, whether that includes taking a deposit or not, but you can also get paid
faster, because you can set up online payments with just a couple of clicks, and you can
even see when your client has seen your invoice to put an end to those guessing games.
So FreshBooks is offering a 30-day unrestricted free trial to our viewers. To claim it, just
go to freshbooks.com slash techquickie linked below, and enter techquickie in the how did
you hear about us section.
So thanks for watching, guys.
Like, dislike, share, and subscribe.
Check out our other channels, and comment with video suggestions. Oh yeah, and don't
forget to subscribe. It'll be worth it. More puns. Endless puns.