What To Do If Your Lawton Internet Isn’t Working

How many times have you seen a post on social media about the internet not working? Surely it has to be a daily thing at a minimum, some days more than others. It's understandably aggravating when a service you pay for isn't working as expected, but the solution may be so stupid-simple, most people cast it off as "That won't work" without even trying.

The internet is pretty simple, especially here in Lawton. It either works or it doesn't. It's rare that there's an in-between of shoddy service that kinda works, so here's how to solve most issues.

First and foremost, call the internet company and give them the chance to solve your problem before hopping online and being a Karen about it. Odds are, you just need to "power cycle" and restart your router.

I know the general suggestion to unplug and replug in a non-working appliance seems like the dumbest solution to a problem, but that's honestly like ninety percent of all electronic issues. I'll do my best to explain.

I'm not an electronics expert or "industry" internet person, but surely you've heard a tech say something along the lines of there being "noise in the line" at some point of internet technology, right? That's what unplugging and replugging in an appliance solves.

Just like any electronic, your router can build up electronic noise in any form of interference... Most common according to my local neighborhood web tech is voltage. When you build extra voltage, it can increase your resistance making it harder for your data to travel back to the servers. Unplugging your router for thirty seconds allows that excess voltage to dissipate, clearing the way for a good connection when you plug everything back in. This is why that's always the first question the tech will ask when you call in. Try it, if it doesn't work move on to the next solve.

Is it windy? The wind can cause line problems beyond your home. As the wind is so often full of silt and sand, you'd be surprised how much static electricity the wind can create in overhead lines. Not just your cable connection to the internet either, it can affect phone connections and power service too.

Have issues on days that aren't windy? Maybe it's your tap.

Every home has what's called the "tap." It's the line that connects your home to the service pole in the alley. As it exists out in the elements, the weather has a big influence over it, especially if the tech that installed it didn't do their best work on the connection. The real bummer is there's no expected lifetime of any given tap. Some work for months, others work for a decade, but eventually, they all need to be redone. Even worse, your local web tech is the only one that can correctly identify if this is your problem.

New tap and still having problems? Maybe it's further down the supply line, but only your friendly certified tech can determine that. After a few weeks of aggravating service in my home, they kept sending out techs until one guy finally figured it out. It was an issue a few blocks away that they fixed over the next few days and it's been rock-solid in the five years since.

That's it. That's literally the extent of the average everyday issues we experience as internet customers. It's simple technology that usually has equally simple solutions... but you have to corral your inner Karen and let the internet company fix the problem. If they come out and try something that doesn't work, call again and ask them to come out again. Eventually, instead of getting it working "good enough" for you, they'll get it working correctly for the long run and you'll be a happy customer.