I was at another community today, waiting for Hotwire to come and hook up both Internet and television in somebody's house.
No, not my house; I haven't moved. I was doing this for someone else who bought a place locally and needed a body in the apartment, as they're not here yet.
We all know what a mess Hotwire is, from dealing with the shenanigans in my community. I've made plenty of posts regarding tech issues, insights and wild blowouts, yet, there are still small challenges we face on a weekly basis.
Today was no different, although this is going to be a brand new account for someone who doesn't know from HotMess.
After being told a tech would arrive between 8 and 10 this morning, a guy showed up about 9:30, backpack in hand and ready to hook everything up. He was showed where the three televisions were and where the laundry room was, so the devices can be attached to the wall (a Nokia modem and an Eero router).
The tech starts working on hooking everything together and asks us to call the person who owns the unit, so that this tech can get access to the Eero device and complete an account. We told him that there already was a Hotwire account made and we have some information to give him, and he informs us that he really needs the Eero information as what we have does him no good.
Huh?
We get the homeowner on the phone and explain the situation: the tech is looking for a text code to continue the internet set up, but he can only do that if the homeowner downloads and installs the Eero app to their cell phone and create an account through that.
Why? An account via Hotwire was made; what does Eero have to do with this?
Eero is the main box that Hotwire configures everything through. In order to proceed with anything internet related, the company has to go through Eero. If you don't do anything in the Eero app, there potentially will be too many problems down the road with Hotwire, if you need any type of troubleshooting help or need to return the devices.
I said that we were told, during our set up several years ago, that Eero is a Wi-Fi extender. It makes sure that we get wireless internet through out the house. All our information is done through the Hotwire app.
He informs us that's false because Hotwire requires everyone to install and use the Eero app in order to make their internet run. If you don't have that, you don't have internet.
I questioned him about that, as I reiterated that the Eero is an extender because we have a Nokia modem. He shot me down, stating that's not true. The Nokia is a modem that may be the brains of what is provided, however, the Eero is the one doing all the work. It is not a mesh / extender. It is the actual router. Without the Eero, you don't have (wireless) internet.
Again, I questioned it because it wasn't how any other tech explained this to us and we also know plenty of people in our community who were told the same thing as we were: The Nokia is what supplies the Internet, the Eero is what makes sure you get a full spray across your house.
To this he still fought me, saying that's wrong information.
I asked him if what he's trying to say is correct, then basically the Nokia shouldn't be part of the equation? That our internet is coming from the Eero only?
The long of the short of it is yes and no.
You need the Nokia modem to get a part of the Internet, as it acts as wired internet. The Eero is plugged into the Nokia and makes the Internet wireless.
So the Nokia isn't wireless already? You can't just hook it up and go online in another room?
Correct.
(Essentially the Nokia is a hardwired device only. You can't roam the house expecting to get online because it won't do do that)
Well that's shitty, I think to myself. What a con job.
(there are a few con jobs going on in this deal.. it's a magician's cup special. Watch where the coin is going under one of the vessels.. and then guess which one it is)
The Eero is what makes the house Wi-Fi compatible, therefore, you need an account on the Eero app. This way, you can change the Internet name, password, boot people, pause people, do whatever you want. While being in one room, away from the actual box.
Essentially, the box takes the place of the all in one machines (modem router.. the surfboard type boxes you get from other companies) that you type in the generic IP address, log in as an administrative user, and change all the stuff you want. There's no way you can do that through the Nokia because it's just a warm body in place of having the ability to manipulate the data.
All of this still doesn't explain why the Eero was being sold as a Wi-Fi extender. That once Hotwire hooks up the Nokia, you need an Eero in any room to be able to get a stronger spray. If this extra box is needed to make the internet, then explain it that way. Don't be telling people that you can get more bang for your buck and a better signal if you use the Amazon backed box.
Which brings me to another con job.
The tech today said that all you need is one Eero, the main Eero, to fill your house with Wi-Fi. It has a 2200 square foot radius, so in an 1850 square foot unit, you're more than covered, room to room. By my community overselling the unit (allowing us to have 2 boxes per house), we're being overcharged because each Eero is a set price (1x$$$) with a set range (2,200 ft²).
This means that the included Internet being part of our HOA, we're paying more than we should for the boxes. All we need are two total devices: One Nokia modem and One Eero. We don't need anything else. The single Eero can take care of everything. It's an Internet work horse.
Now, if you want to get another box, because you have a bigger house (more than the aforementioned 2200 square feet), then yes, a second box will be needed and that's when the entire thing is called an extension or extender. The second box is extending the radius from the first box. There is no in between. Using the first box and only the first box is not a mesh anything. It's a plain old router.
But... but... without even bringing this next part up... you can't tell me the signals push through walls okay. We all know (or should know) how cement and brick prohibit certain frequencies from reaching specific areas. This is why the sales guys said "you need two boxes to be safe" (let alone upsell the data speed.. which is another bracket so you end up paying that tier since the community doesn't provide it. We're talking basics here for our quarterly fees). Sure, they potentially sold us something they shouldn't have, but isn't that part of sales? Making sure you get more than what you need? Going back to the original thought of "it won't go through walls", well, tell me why Ed can't get a proper signal in his garage (he has a TV hooked up with a small banger box. Which he pays extra for) because his router is upstairs in his laundry room. He told me this yesterday - he has been having trouble lately, getting a strong signal when he watches his shows downstairs. I explained to him it's because the garage TV is trying to talk to the upstairs units and since the signal is going across his house, through the floor and into his garage, it's having trouble. It's going through wood, drywall, flooring, cement. and an aluminum door. So by the time it gets to him, he could see some buffering and flickering. Although.. thinking about it now.. we get buffering and it's only going through a couple rooms and an open space. It's still going through drywall, but we're on one level and relatively close to the access points. The hardwired Eero is literally 100 feet away from the living room television. However, it's not hardwired to the Nokia, in the laundry room. It's hardwired to an Ethernet port in the guest room (last Hotwire tech who came in, moved the box from the laundry room to the guest room). This potentially means, I think, it's ultimately a Hotwire issue coming into the house. It is basically an upgraded form of Dish Network: blink or sneeze and the system goes out. You're going to have trouble regardless.
Yet, the fact remains, take a look at Amazon, the place selling the Eero device: all searches point to "mesh system", "extender", "mesh extender system" and other key words (yes, it is also being sold as a "router" or "mesh router"). None of these terms should be interchangeable, in my opinion. This is what is getting people confused, and in my case, frustrated.
If several techs are using one set of vernacular to describe the devices and other techs are not using the same conversational pieces, it leads to a very awkward situation. It makes it look like the company isn't training their people correctly and there are some employees who act as if they know better than others.
Especially today, when I was asking about the devices and the tech saying I'm wrong, even though I said the other technicians were the ones telling me this information. I feel like he treated this situation like I don't know what I'm talking about. I do have to say, he didn't directly state I was wrong; it was the way he was trying to shut me down and correct me. At one point I just mentally clocked out and stopped being part of the exchange; let him deal with the other person in the room and the homeowner on the phone.
Maybe I don't know much, but maybe the Internet doesn't know how to elaborate either, if I am asking the wrong questions to go with it. Maybe the people who come to your house and set up everything don't know what they're doing either.
Given that I was able to disable some settings in the Android Operating System that the TiVo cable box runs on (yes, if you look at some previous posts, Hotwire uses a retrofitted TiVo type box and runs an Android OS) while the two guys who came out to fix our internet, couldn't figure out what was wrong. I asked if it was a setting issue on the box (knowing full right it was) and they scratched their heads, saying no, they didn't think so. They couldn't figure out the problem while searching through the menu and seeing everything was "correct". I didn't want to show them what I knew because it would have created more issues as they would have probably questioned my logic and I would someone look foolish (me, them or all of the above). Yet I'm sure they would have hated me for disabling some stuff as well. Another tech on another day gave me the third degree about not wanting to sign in to the cable box and use my Google account because we could download apps and make the best use of the services provided. Explaining we have other streaming devices (a Roku for example) and we rent these cable boxes, I question how refurbished they actually get some days, since we've gotten previously loved boxes before (from Comcast) and they still had the other user's log in information up and running. Which showed the box wasn't factory reset or as wiped as it should have been. The tech didn't trust that answer and gave me an earful for it.
I digress. I'm not in the IT world, doing any sort of IT job. Everyone has to be their own advocate to a point but there is only so much you can fight back with, to make sure you're on the same page as the people you invite into your home to get everything put together need to be aware of any type of situation.
Nevertheless, the tech today, got everything set up, the TVs turned on, powered up the TiVo splash screen, the Fision boxes logged in to the newly acquired credentials, and he was out of the house by 11am. An hour and a half in and now people who arrive in the house don't need to rely on cellular data from their phones, allowing those who stay, the opportunity to watch the news while they wait for more people to come and deliver stuff to make the unit livable for the owners.
In the end, with all the discussions on who is right and who is wrong and why the terminology needs to be changed, I still feel like Hotwire is a hot mess because they come in, set up to their liking and don't fully explain everything. Like I said, every human working there is different, so you get a variation of knowledge, for as little as they show you on how to work everything. I know they are on a tight schedule, but it doesn't excuse the way they work. That includes the way they charge you for everything too.
All the communities they are in, there is a ten year contract and the rates go up a percentage (4+) a year. Although today's tech wanted to not talk about that because he briefly mentioned something about charges when the extra Eeros were brought up.
I don't know, man. I know I'm sitting here running my mouth about technology and providers, but I really need it to make sense. I was telling a few people, including someone who has been working in high level IT jobs for several decades, and everyone was like "what the actual crazy is going on" because it seems like fakery to them too. Explaining everything that happened and the way things were happening, my friends just couldn't believe what I was telling them. I included photos and videos, and they're texting me back things like "smh", "wtf" and other quizzical messages. My IT friend saw a picture of what the settings menu looked like and he was in shock at the numbers (his exact text "WTF" and then "That makes no sense!"). Overall, the entire thing just didn't seem okay to him. At one point he says "Oh, that's a Mickey Mouse set up if I ever saw one. No pun about being in Florida" because I showed him how the boxes were on the wall using Velcro and staples.
It's how it's done here. I really can't excuse it or make it seem on the level. There's no way to properly show anything and write it out because there are not enough crayons, markers and paper to get it sorted. I wish I had an answer, but this is life now, especially since everything is trying to push into the AI generation. All of today's wildness will be completed more with a touch of a button, just you wait. Then what will we do? I don't know and I don't want to know.
Right now, I think I need to stop while I'm crazily circling around and cut my losses here. My time stamps says I'm posting this at 2:43pm because that's when I started this thing. But it's actually 6pm and I've got to get going. I got squirreled for 45 minutes and had to run an errand for another 15 minutes. So I've really been working on this a few hours, even though I shouldn't have. This is what happens when you just write and lose track of time...
Until I get back the clock pieces I lost, go find something to do and entertain yourself.
Cheers;
