We are currently at a rally in Albert Lea, Minnesota. We’re using our Verizon Cell phone, tethered to our laptop , for our Internet access. (To see what I mean by Tethered cell phone, watch the video on this page.) Albert Lea is not a Verizon area. Our cell phone reports that we are on an ‘Extended Network.’ It’s actually working quite well…
Except when it doesn’t work at all!
I’ll be reading my email, or reading a blog or other website and all is well. Then, I’ll try to browse to another website and I’ll get that message, ‘Cannot Display webpage.’ Usually this means that I don’t have an Internet connection. Nothing has changed, but I see that my Vista Network icon has lost it’s little globe. That means that I am no longer connected to the Internet.
Always, the first thing to try whenever something unexplained goes wrong with your computer, is to restart the computer … reboot. So I tried that. No change. Ok, how about rebooting the phone? I turned the phone off, turned it back on, and waited. It reconnected, and the little globe came back on my network icon. All is well.
Just a little tip I thought I’d pass along for anyone else who uses the Tethered Cell phone method of Broadband Internet access.
Chris Guld, www.GeeksOnTour.com
Computer Education for Travelers