Everything technically endowed eventually develops problems. Because you have a computer before you get broadband service, you should understand this situation. Most people realize that things sometimes go wrong, and they accept that. But making things right again doesn't have to be as painful as it often is today.
You learn in this chapter how to solve many of your own broadband service problems. True, you pay for the service and support, and you shouldn't have to learn how to do their jobs. But if you want more uptime and fewer breakdowns, even when the problems aren't your fault, pay attention in this chapter.
Learning to solve your own access problems will get you back online faster. Even more important, this chapter will teach you how not to go ballistic when dealing with two industries (cable and phone companies) who lead the ineptitude parade when it comes to solving their own customer service problems.
This chapter will cover the type of problems that fall under the responsibility of your service provider. Many of these issues you can't resolve yourself. What you will learn includes how to:
* Document your system when things are working well
* Determine when the problem is caused by something in your home or office, or by the service provider
* Verify whether things are bad (slow service) or worse (no service)
* Troubleshoot e-mail service interruptions
* Deal constructively with your service provider's technical support lines and personnel
* Possibly isolate the troubled piece of hardware or software (sometimes this is much tougher than just determining if it's your problem or the service provider's problem)
Cross-Reference
Chapter 19 covers problems that occur on your side of the broadband connection.
This chapter focuses on how to determine if the problem is on your side or not, and how to work with your service provider to get the service up and running again.
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