Intermittent Connection

An Intermittent Connection is random drops in broadband service at random intervals. This is not to be confused with slow speeds, where the speeds seem lower than normal.

 

Causes for an Intermittent Connection:

  • Wifi Interference
  • Router Interruptions
  • Physical Obstructions to the Radio Antenna
  • Misalignment of the Radio Antenna

 

Definitions:

  1. Wifi Interference – A wireless signal that is altered, modified, or disrupted by a wireless signal or physical barrier as the wireless signal travels from the transmitting wifi router to the receiving device (computer, smart phone, gaming console, etc.)
  2. Router Interruptions – When a router is the source of interruptions.  Service interruptions can come from the inside the router’s circuitry, through weak wifi transitions, or an intermittent ethernet port located on the back of the router.
  3. Physical Obstructions to the Radio Antenna – Our service depends on line of sight.  A physical obstruction can be a vehicle parked in the way, a tree or branch, an ice wall, new construction, and object that is between your connection and the tower.
  4. Misalignment of the Radio Antenna – Our antenna looks at a clear path to our tower.  If your antenna looks to be aiming at the sky, directly at the ground, or anywhere other than our tower, it can be misaligned.

 

Troubleshooting an Intermittent Connection:

Wifi Interference and Router Interruptions account for of 90% of support calls.  You can usually rule out these instances by following these steps to bypass your router.  You will need a computer or laptop with a working ethernet connection:

  1. Locate the ZIRKEL Wireless service line going into your router – Usually it will be labeled “Internet” or “WAN”
  2. Unclip the service line – press down on the clip and pull to remove the cord
  3. Clip the service line ethernet into your computer’s ethernet port.
  4. Power off your router by removing the power cord from the back of the device
  5. Reboot (restart) your computer
  6. Attempt to browse the Internet after your computer comes back up.
    1. If you are able to browse without interruptions – your connection is fine.  Give us a call about our Managed Wifi
    2. If you connection is still intermittent continue on the the next steps.
  7. For more information about wifi interference please go to this link:
    1. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201542

 

 

Our technicians install your Internet connection with a clear and visible line of sight to one of our towers.  If you have a question about what tower you are aiming at, please call us at 970-871-8500, option 2, or email us at support@zirkel.us.  If you have an Intermittent Connection and already completed the troubleshooting steps for Wifi Interference and Router Interruptions, please check for any physical obstructions to the radio antenna.  Sometimes, vehicles or equipment will get parked in the way of our line of sight and need to be moved.  Other times, a tree or branch will grow in the way over time and cause an obstruction and will need to be removed.  Also, new construction will go up in the line of sight and if this is the case, please call or email our support team to have your service relocated.

If you notice while checking for physical obstructions that your equipment is not facing our tower, please contact our support team for re-alignment.  We do our best to catch these instances, however, we are not able to find them all.  Please do not attempt to realign the antenna yourself.  This activity needs to be completed by a trained ZIRKEL Wireless professional and can put you at risk of injury.