FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
(See Troubleshooting Tips below)What We Won't Do
If nothing else, please read 6 and 7 below.
1) We will not cut down trees, erect towers or put antenna masts on your house. Some people simply cannot receive the signal or cannot receive the signal without an enormous effort. During promotional periods when free installation is offered, the free installation does not cover anything but simply attaching the subscriber module to the house and running 50 feet of Cat 5 wire. If you do need a short mast, sometimes we can do this. However, we charge time and material for mast installations. Most short mast installations will cost $100 - $200 or more. The best value would be for you to install any additional things like this yourself. Radio Shack stocks TV antenna mounting accessories. TV antenna masts will work for simple subscriber modules. Reflector dishes cannot be installed on a mast. They require a building or tower.
2) We will not fish through walls, drill through concrete foundations or conceal the wire (aside from tucking it under siding, soffit, and facia where feasible). This means the wire will generally be tacked or stapled to the outside of the house to a point where a drilled hole allows the wire to pass into the house. From that point on, the wire will be run to a point where it can connect to the computer. We try to route the wire along baseboards and corners to make it as unobtrusive as possible. If this is not acceptable, we can perform the additional tasks on a time and materials basis; however due to time constraints, this may add weeks to the installation schedule. If you have extraordinary requirements, an electrical contractor can perform almost any operation that may be needed.
3) We provide IP over Ethernet to a single computer or router network port ONLY. If you have configuration issues other than initial setup with the proper IP information, you will have to hire a consultant to help you. We can direct you to a consultant. We are not your private tech support IT professionals. Time constraints prevent us from giving you unlimited tech support on issues unrelated to the proper operation of our network. Anything beyond that is provided as a courtesy by the technician at his/her discretion.
If we can connect to the radio on your roof, we consider our network to be functional. We don't want to appear heartless, but there is no way we can possibly fix every odd little thing wrong with your computer. We sell connectivity to the Internet and Internet-based services. We generally can determine if it is our problem before we do a truck roll. ; We charge for service calls if it is determined that the problem is with your computer.
4) We do not police content. We offer limited filtration of email automatically and filtered web service as an option. Other than that, you are connected to the raw wild world of the Internet. This allows for maximum speed, throughput and functionality. It will also allow the world at large to attack your computer if it is left unprotected. It is your responsibility to install firewalls, proxy servers, anti-virus, and any other software you desire to limit damage to your computer. It is also your responsibility to protect your family, children, neighbor's children and anyone else that may have access to your computer or wireless network from content that may be unsuitable or damaging. Software is available to allow all of these protections to be put in place on your computer. We can recommend consultants that can provide software, installation and setup.
5) We don't provide tech support for X-Box, Wii or any other gaming device; in most cases those devices should be considered like your computer(s). We offer a one-time configuration assistance of routers purchased from the Moab Radio Shack, and basic support for rented VoIP routers. If you have a wireless router and call for tech support, we will likely ask you to bypass the router and connect to our VoIP router, the Canopy radio, or DSL modem, as the case may be. If the configuration has changed or if the Canopy is connected to any other device, we may not be able to help.
6) We will probably not respond to trouble reports as soon as you wish. All of our employees are on this system at home and we monitor it constantly. System wide troubles are detected and resolved in what we believe to be a timely manner. But for certain critical uses and critical users we are probably too slow. This is the reason we do not offer a Service Level Agreement to residential users. We only agree to give you the best service we can. Sometimes, for some people, our best is not good enough. Again, we will be happy to direct those users to our competition.
7) We will not tolerate anyone using the system for disruptive activities. These include, but are not limited to: port scanning other computers or networks, sending spam or unsolicited commercial email, accessing our private company servers, accessing the computers of other subscribers, operating any type of server that allows sharing of intellectual property in violation of copyright laws, operating any server that distributes pornography or other material that we deem unsuitable, distribution of any software (executable files or source code) that is in any way related to viruses, worms or other types of damaging data or files or programs. Basically, we are judge, jury and executioner. If we receive reports from organizations or individuals indicating that you are participating in any of the above, we will simply shut you down. We don't necessarily have the ability to prove anything one way or the other. This is basically zero strikes and you are out. We will give you a chance to plead your case AFTER we shut you down-- "shoot first and ask questions later." It is way too easy to do lots of damage in very little time. That is why we take this stance.
TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS
These are some of the most common troubleshooting steps our technicians step through with customers.
1. Power-cycle the Internet electronics. This includes the Motorola Canopy radio, routers, switches and/or hubs, and ultimately the affected computer.
Start with the Motorola power supply first. If that doesn't solve the problem, then move to the next item in line, usually a router. The last step is to shut down and restart the computer. In some cases it may be necessary to completely power it off. A cold restart of all the electronics help ensure each device has a chance to start anew and wipes out any dynamic settings that may have become corrupted.
This tip and its associated steps are meant to fix the occasional "It was working all this time then suddenly stopped" kind of problem(s). If you find yourself constantly rebooting or power-cycling equipment (i.e. more than once or twice a month) there is likely a bigger problem and much better solution. We will do our best to troubleshoot and resolve the problem if it lies with our radio, but you are responsible for router, switch, and/or computer failures.
2. Release/Renew your IP address.
Each operating system has its own way to release and/or renew a dynamically assigned IP address. Our included example works for Windows 2000, XP, and Vista, since the problem seems most prevalent on these systems.
From the Start button menu select Accessories, then Command Prompt, or select Run then enter cmd. You should see a black screen with a DOS prompt, like C:\My Computer>. Type the following:
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
This will force your computer to request an IP address from either your home router or the Canopy radio (if it's built-in router is enabled (they are by default).
3. Check your network settings.
Unless you have customized your home network (in which case you likely already know what you're doing), we recommend you configure your computer(s) to use DHCP (Dynamic Host Control Protocol). In Windows XP's network settings for TCP/IP (Internet Protocol), the radio button next to "Obtain an IP address automatically" should be checked. These are the default settings for all Windows and Mac OS X installations and are rarely, if ever, modified.4. Check continuity to the Motorola Canopy radio on your roof.
When you're having trouble connecting, the first step we take is to see if your radio is still connecting to our network. If it is, we check to see if it is "talking" to your network equipment, be it a router or a computer. One way to verify this is to use a program called ping to test the connectivity between your computer and its upstream components.To ping the Canopy radio, open a Command Prompt as explained in troubleshooting step 2 (above). Type in:
ping 169.254.1.1
and hit enter. You should see a response similar to the one below:
Pinging 169.254.1.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 169.254.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=255
Reply from 169.254.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=255
Reply from 169.254.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=255
Reply from 169.254.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=255
Pinging 169.254.1.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Please see this page for more troubleshooting steps and answers to commonly asked questions.