Tech Questions
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@tim said in Tech Questions:
Is there a way to transfer files to an iPad, via USB, without installing iTunes?
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Hey guys, any advice for my brother in law?
They live in Wellington, are old TelstraClear customers (now Vodafone) and have broadband internet via cable. They still have an old contract that offers only 40GB broadband. They don't use much normally (on average around 20GB), but the last three months they had to pay extra because they go over the 40GB limit. They don't have a clue how that's possible. He has changed the WPA-key (??) twice because he thought someone was hacking into their wifi router, but it keeps happening.
He has scanned all their devices for viruses and malware, but found nothing.
Any idea what can be causing this and how he can fix it?
He also checked their broadband speed: Ping ms 10; Download mbps 15.43 and Upload mbps 2.03.
Is that too slow? They don't watch movies or tv online; only the occasional clip or podcast. -
My FIL had something similar but numbers were way bigger. His issue was to do with Outlook eating up heaps of bandwidth. He had four email accounts and on one particular account the send and receive would get 'stuck' and just keep trying to send and receive. He also thought the neighbors were hacking his wifi but he brought his laptop to my house and it had the same issue.
Anyway, on Windows computers there is a way to check internet data usage per program. Check this first to see if you can narrow down the issue. I managed to fix the FIL by changing a couple of settings. (Cant remember what the settings were now)
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@stargazer have they checked the usage data from the provider? to see when the spikes are coming from?
I know they've likely thought about it but even a small change in consuming online content can use a lot more data. Even though they might say they only watch a bit it can add up pretty fast. And 20GB isn't much, nor is 40GB these days.
Have they added any new devices? esp anything that is wifi connected? or do they have any handle on automated updates on those devices?
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@paekakboyz They checked the usage data and noticed that most of it is from downloading and between 11.00pm and 4.00am, so basically when they are sleeping. (They can't see more details from the usage data, like what was downloaded or from which site). They tried switching off their modem a few nights, but then the peaks were before or after switching off (which suggests to me it started downloading something before switching off and continued after switching back on again).
It must be something that is downloading automatically. Maybe updates. Hmmm, they say they've one new mobile phone in the house (since February). Still, 20 GB more than usual sounds like a lot for a mobile phone update for peaks on 23, 24 and 28 June (and very little the rest of the month).
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@stargazer A better solution is to get on the phone and tell Vodafone to update their plan to whatever is the same cost equivalent. 40GB in 2018 ffs. I have that on my phone.
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@stargazer you kinda answered the question about not watching movies, but do they have kids who watch alot of Youtube? Think the default setting for that is HD, that'll chew through the data (came across that one when my kids were smaller and we had a restricted plan)
I am pretty sure the old restricted GB plans are the same price as the unlimited ones.
Also I think Vodafone gives you a daily break down of data usage so you could try to at least isolate it that way
I'd say that is pretty slow for wellington, surely? I'm semi-rural Northland, well away from fibre, and I just did a test and got 32.8 up and 2.3 down
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Okay, just talked to them. They called Vodafone and are changing plans which should give them unlimited and faster broadband for about the same price. Only downside is that they're locked in for 24 months again, after having an open term contract for years.
The Vodafone guy also looked at their usage data and suspects someone is hacking their router.
New connection with new modem/router will be established next week, so BIL decided to change the password on the router. Their PC works fine, but now they don't see the network on their mobile devices. So phones and laptop can't connect to the wifi.
I wish they had just waited for the tech guy to come next week. This is not something I know much about, not sure I can fix that for them.
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@stargazer Are there no monthly plans with Vodafone? What is up with that!
Also, if the tech guy thought someone was hacking their router why did they move them on to a larger plan? That's shitty service.
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@nepia It's not mobile broadband, so no monthly plans. For cable broadband it's either open term, 12 months or 24 months contracts. If they'd opted for open term, they would have had to pay for the new connection (their current one is outdated), new modem etc; on the 12 month term, they'd would have had fewer deductions than on the 24 month contract. So this was cheapest solution.
Brother-in-law was a bit pissed off, but it seemed to be the best they could get for about $75 per month (includes landline).
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shoulda had a look at other options before locking something in for 24 months...although TBF, if they are happy with Vodafone, if they see a good deal come out in say 12 months, they'll break it for them and lock em in for another 24...
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That's pretty shite of Voda. They should have offered an upgrade a long time ago. That was an old legacy plan (the type they cream their unknowing customers through for as long as they can get away with).
I guess the contract is signed now, but they may be able to back out before installation happens.There are ISPs out there that are contract free, you just need to fork out for the modem. Best deal is to go fibre if rolled out down their street. $60 gets you great speed and unlimited data. Ditch the landline, save $15 a month and the router is paid for in a year. The $15 savings continues on.
As for the current problem, check that the name hasn't been changed as well as the password and that the phones are looking for that matching name. Otherwise check the other admin settings for anything accidently changed.
Edit: sorry that $60 was for a low end 20/10 fibre plan. If you want 100/20 it's about $70
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@tim said in Tech Questions:
Hey guys, what's the best (non-Mac) thin and light laptop these days? Probably 13 or 14" screen. I'm thinking 1080p IPS screen, 16GB RAM, and 512GB SSD are the minimum requirements.
16:10, 3:2, or 4:3 screen ratio would be nice.
ABAS - (Anything but a Surface)
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@tim said in Tech Questions:
@crucial Not "lapable" or the recent firmware problems?
I have no idea what the problems are but I have one for work and it goes from being lovely and responsive to feeling like an old P2 with spinning blue cursor and text being behind my (slow) typing. Then suddenly it's like a dam opens and it is away again.
Particularly poor when extending the screen
