One of the best early warning systems of a Wifi internet outage is children. “What happened to the Wifi?!” is a cry well-known to parents, educators and the like and the most vocal heads up you can get that your wireless internet access recently stopped working.
Today’s modern home has much more than just a laptop relying on Wifi connectivity. There can be dozens of devices that require wireless internet to function including TVs, computers, tablets, thermostats, smart doors, and security systems. If your internet stops working, there are a number of possibilities for the cause. Power outages are usually obvious, so if it looks like the power is still on, click on the article link below for an easy checklist to help you identify the problem.
{See: Internet not working? Before you call for help, check this}
If you are experiencing a power outage, however, and your Wifi has stopped working as well, here’s what you need to know and how we can help.
Wireless internet access relies on devices that require power such as our towers in the field or routers in the home. When the power goes out, those devices stop working, which means you’ll lose your connection. Loss of power at some point in time is inevitable, but we want to assure you that we have systems in place for dealing with this as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Planned power outages: Anyone who has ever been in the middle of writing a very long email or report on their computer and experienced a sudden power outage that causes them to lose 20 minutes of work will most likely agree that knowing about a power outage ahead of time is much better than unexpected outages.
If we are planning on equipment maintenance anywhere in our service area, or know of a planned SMUD/PG&E power outage, we will announce those plans well ahead of time on our Facebook page, Twitter feed, or the Network Status page on our website.
Unplanned power outages: Weather, heat, and even accidents such as falling trees can happen that cause power outages and loss of internet access. All Softcom internet towers have backup power supplies that will keep our systems running for a short while as we dispatch local crews as quickly as possible to assess and address the problem. In these cases, we will post updates to social media as soon as we can to keep our customers informed as we work to solve the problem as quickly as we can.
Finally, if your power comes back on but the internet still isn’t working, one of the most common issues is the Wifi router. Most of the time all you need to do is “reboot” the router by simply unplugging the power cable from the wall for 30 seconds, then plug it back in. (Note: DO NOT press the “reset” button or any other buttons on your router, this can erase the configuration on your router, requiring reconfiguration. Only do this if directed to by a member of our support department.)
If all else fails, give our technical support department at call at 1-800-982-7675, Opt. 1. Or you could also take advantage of this unexpected break from the internet by cleaning out your desk, indulging in a few yoga poses, or taking the dog for a walk. As a valued Softcom customer, we’ve got your back, and we’ll do all we can, as quickly as we can, to help you get online and stay online at the fastest speed possible.