Electronics

[SaggingGal]

We have been customers of a major internet provider in a metropolitan area. Beware if you receive messages saying "Not connected to the internet" or "Not connected to a network" after they have either 1) been to your home to troubleshoot or repair an internet connectivity issue or 2) remotely over the phone run quick fix repairs to your home network.

We found out that the technicians are required to make our home a "family hotspot" when they do a repair. What this means: they actually enable your own home internet to allow up to 5 "visitors" to use your internet as a hotspot at any time. This could mean a visitor in your home, a neighbor down the street or down the hallway if in a condo or apartment setting, an unknown person sitting outside of your home in a car or on a bench or someone just walking by your residence. Your own personal internet connection has been turned into a HOTSPOT by your very own cable company because they want to encourage the use of their internet connection to anyone and everyone at the expense of their paid subscribing customers.

We have had "Not connected to the Network" messages since we began the rental of the internet company's strongly recommended router box. We have had an unsecured network connection since doing so. Over two dozen calls to the company and three technician visits never helped our down time on the internet. It was actually condoned by the company. So we have basically had no connection to the internet for hours each day and night because others have been freely allowed to use our internet connection, unbeknown to us. Now we know. We disabled the "enable home hotspot" feature that each and EVERY technician chose as a setting for our internet router. Guess what, we now have lightning speed computer times!

So be sure to Disable your "Enable Home Hotspot" or you, too, will have slowed down or non-existent computer speeds due to the mandate of a greedy, egregious internet provider. I have spent hours and hours and hours on calls to complain about the slow and unsecured network they provided to us with their router, and they knew all the time that others were using it. We will be returning their router back in to them and purchasing our own and never, ever believing them again regarding any technical difficulties with their internet service.

[Mz iMac]

I hope you complained to the FCC!

[Lynnj]

I don't see how this is true. Do you have a link to a source for more info? Your internet connection through your wireless router should be locked, which you would need to enter the password code on the device to logon to the Internet. The service provider does not know that code, as you set that up when you set the router up. When you turn on a wireless device for the first time, you would have seen a prompt to select a network and enter a password. You select your network and put in your password. Unless you give that password out to someone, no one else ( in the neighborhood, down the hallway, wherever) can logon to your network.

[Lynnj]

I just read your post again. It still makes no sense to me and if this is truely what you are being told by the service provider that person(s) are misinformed. For one thing, if they are making you rent their router, there is nothing to stop you from connecting your own personal router to that so that you can enable a secure connection. There should be absolutely no resason (repete absolutly no reason) why you should not be using a secure wireless connection in your own home. With all that has just been brought to light with the recent Sony incident. I cannot see a company doing anything less than everything to help protect your home wireless connection. What is the name of this company?

[dooBdoo]

On 12/28/2014 Lynnj said: I just read your post again. It still makes no sense to me and if this is truely what you are being told by the service provider that person(s) are misinformed. For one thing, if they are making you rent their router, there is nothing to stop you from connecting your own personal router to that so that you can enable a secure connection. There should be absolutely no resason (repete absolutly no reason) why you should not be using a secure wireless connection in your own home. With all that has just been brought to light with the recent Sony incident. I cannot see a company doing anything less than everything to help protect your home wireless connection. What is the name of this company?

Lynn, I'm questioning this, too. I strongly suspect she's been misinformed.

If she's using Comcast/Xfinity, they did initiate a new program called "XFINITY WiFi Home Hotspot." It adds a 2nd signal called “xfinitywifi” to your existing router, and then if you have guests you can let them connect to that signal (which is separate from your personal, secure signal) for temporary use.

We need to know which provider she's using to be more clear about this.

[Lynnj]

Hey dooBdoo. Yes, I think this Xfinity hotspot is what OP is referring to. I saw this in my list of networks recently and went to research what it is. Your correct, it is different than your personal connection, which should be secure. Not sure about this new feature drawing connection/speed from the router. that's something I need to look into further. But the xfinity hotspot doesn't show as connected to any one particular router, so I think it's some sort of community connection that collectively would share the signal.

[Rabid1]

The WiFi hotspot uses a separate radio so it can't slow down your access unless you are connecting to it instead of your private network. It is in essence a different network and your side is protected from it. If it is Xfinity it is not an open public hotspot. Only Xfinity/Comcast customers can access it or if they have bought access time.

But many internet providers do not give users direct access to their routers administrative function, just the username and password to connect.

If this is truly a different provider simply turning on the home hotspot on a single radio device it is pretty much unheard of. Most companies lose money on service calls with leased equipment.

[VaBelle35]

This hot spot stuff is a new thing. I responded to a survey recently about it specifically for Verizon. They wanted to know if I would mind if my internet connection became a hot spot and what my concerns would be about having it be a hot spot or if I would use a hot spot.

[goodstuff]

If what you've been told is true, I'd be 1) complaining to the FCC and 2) looking for a new internet provider.

[LilyBell2]

Actually, this is something that's been happening in Europe for quite some time but is relatively new to the United States. It's a nuisance at best and is something I want no part of.

The hotspot feature is separate from the home network and, theoretically at least, it should not noticeably degrade your network connectivity; however, we all know that the more people simultaneously connecting in a neighborhood, the slower the connection. The same would apply to allowing free hotspots.

There's an interesting article about this at How-to Geek.

We have our own router, configured with our own preferred settings and password, and plan to keep it that way.