General Support
Do I need a surge protector?
YES. Your POE, router, and computer should always be plugged into a surge protector. It is very important. If you plug things directly into the wall, you risk frying everything during the next lightning storm or brown out. One good storm can ruin everything. Not all power strips are surge suppressors, so check the bottom for a holographic sticker that says it’s a certified surge suppressor. Surge suppressors need to be replaced every two years, on average, as each surge your suppressor intercepts reduces its capacity to protect your equipment.
What’s the password to my WiFi?
If you purchased a router from us, the password and the name of the network will be on a sticker on the router, or written on the router in sharpie. If you’ve checked your router thoroughly and don’t see anything like that, it is possible to log into the router. You may have to bring the router in to our office for this though.
What do I do if my Internet isn’t working?
1. First, find where the installer put a jack in the wall. There should be a cable coming out of the jack. Follow that cable to a small box (it probably goes under your desk, wouldn’t you know it), called the POE. There should be three cables coming out of this box. One that goes to the jack in the wall, one that goes to your router/computer, and one that goes to an outlet on a surge protector.
2. Are there any green lights on the POE? If there aren’t any lights on it, check to make sure it’s securely plugged in on both ends of the power cable. Still no light? Plug something else into that outlet, like a lamp, to make sure it’s working. It’s very common for one plug on a power strip to go bad.
3. Now “power cycle” your POE. To do this, simply unplug the black power cable from the POE, wait 10 to 15 seconds, and then plug it back in. Make sure the green light comes back on. If no lights come back on, but the outlet is fine, please call us.
–Do you have a wireless router? If you do not, skip ahead to step 5.
4. Your router should have at least 2 cables plugged into it. One cable should come from your POE and plug into your “WAN” or “INTERNET” port. The other should come from “POWER” and plug into an outlet on a surge protector. There may be other cables coming from ports 1-4, which go to other equipment like a computer or television. If there aren’t any lights on it, check to make sure both ends of the power cable are plugged in securely, and that the adapter is the proper voltage (a manufacturer’s sticker on the bottom of the router should indicate the correct voltage). To power cycle your router, unplug the black power cord from it, wait 10 seconds, then plug it back in. Take note of whether the lights come back on.If they don’t, check to make sure the outlet works by plugging something else into it, like a lamp. It is not uncommon for a single outlet on a surge protector to stop working. If the lights on the router don’t come on, but the outlet is fine, give us a call.
5. After you have power-cycled your POE (and your router if you have one), restart your computer. Once it’s back on, try to get to more than one website. If you have more than one browser, try the other programs.
6. It’s still not working? Maybe one of the cables is unplugged. A cable that has wiggled loose can still look as though it’s plugged in. You can try tracing the cables from the wall to your router/computer, unplugging & plugging them back in one at a time, making sure you hear a “click” every time you plug it back in. This is just to make sure everything is plugged all the way in. Be careful though! If the cables get switched things might not work. That’s why we suggest doing them one at a time.
If that doesn’t work, call us! Our number is 541-276-2887. We are always happy to help.
Do I need a surge protector?
YES. Your POE, router, and computer should always be plugged into a surge protector. It is very important. If you plug things directly into the wall, you risk frying everything during the next lightning storm or brown out. One good storm can ruin everything. Not all power strips are surge suppressors, so check the bottom for a holographic sticker that says it’s a certified surge suppressor. Surge suppressors need to be replaced every two years, on average, as each surge your suppressor intercepts reduces its capacity to protect your equipment.
What’s the password to my WiFi?
If you purchased a router from us, the password and the name of the network will be on a sticker on the router, or written on the router in sharpie. If you’ve checked your router thoroughly and don’t see anything like that, it is possible to log into the router. You may have to bring the router in to our office for this though.
What do I do if my Internet isn’t working?
1. First, find where the installer put a jack in the wall. There should be a cable coming out of the jack. Follow that cable to a small box (it probably goes under your desk, wouldn’t you know it), called the POE. There should be three cables coming out of this box. One that goes to the jack in the wall, one that goes to your router/computer, and one that goes to an outlet on a surge protector.
2. Are there any green lights on the POE? If there aren’t any lights on it, check to make sure it’s securely plugged in on both ends of the power cable. Still no light? Plug something else into that outlet, like a lamp, to make sure it’s working. It’s very common for one plug on a power strip to go bad.
3. Now “power cycle” your POE. To do this, simply unplug the black power cable from the POE, wait 10 to 15 seconds, and then plug it back in. Make sure the green light comes back on. If no lights come back on, but the outlet is fine, please call us.
–Do you have a wireless router? If you do not, skip ahead to step 5.
4. Your router should have at least 2 cables plugged into it. One cable should come from your POE and plug into your “WAN” or “INTERNET” port. The other should come from “POWER” and plug into an outlet on a surge protector. There may be other cables coming from ports 1-4, which go to other equipment like a computer or television. If there aren’t any lights on it, check to make sure both ends of the power cable are plugged in securely, and that the adapter is the proper voltage (a manufacturer’s sticker on the bottom of the router should indicate the correct voltage). To power cycle your router, unplug the black power cord from it, wait 10 seconds, then plug it back in. Take note of whether the lights come back on.If they don’t, check to make sure the outlet works by plugging something else into it, like a lamp. It is not uncommon for a single outlet on a surge protector to stop working. If the lights on the router don’t come on, but the outlet is fine, give us a call.
5. After you have power-cycled your POE (and your router if you have one), restart your computer. Once it’s back on, try to get to more than one website. If you have more than one browser, try the other programs.
6. It’s still not working? Maybe one of the cables is unplugged. A cable that has wiggled loose can still look as though it’s plugged in. You can try tracing the cables from the wall to your router/computer, unplugging & plugging them back in one at a time, making sure you hear a “click” every time you plug it back in. This is just to make sure everything is plugged all the way in. Be careful though! If the cables get switched things might not work. That’s why we suggest doing them one at a time.
If that doesn’t work, call us! Our number is 541-276-2887. We are always happy to help.