What to Do When You Have No Internet Access

One thing that most work from home companies require is that you have a reliable high-speed Internet connection. But sometimes things happen that interfere with your Internet service – your Internet service provider could be doing work in your area, or your modem could get worn out and stop working. This post will provide information on what to do when your Internet service goes down.

When your Internet service goes down

• If you do phone work form home, your company should have some kind of procedure in place for dealing with emergencies like power outages or no Internet access. Follow their procedures so you don’t get in trouble for missing work, or leaving early if you lose your Internet during your shift.
• Call your Internet service provider – the customer service representative should be able to tell you if there’s an outage in your area. If there isn’t, the representative will probably take you through the steps for rebooting your modem.  If your internet service doesn’t come back up after you reboot your modem, then the representative will probably have you schedule an appointment for a technician to come out, hopefully the next day.

If you have to have a technician come out – what to do about work

• Keep your supervisor up to date on the situation.  If you have shifts scheduled, see if you can get someone to cover your shifts.
• If you’re a freelance writer or you’re working on some other project and the deadline is getting close, see if you can work somewhere else that has an Internet connection, such as the library.  If your computer has WiFi capabilities, you could even go someplace that has WiFi – you can find a list of WiFi hotspots here.
• In addition, if you have a cell phone that has WiFi, you may be able to use your cell phone as a WiFi hotspot.  Call your cell phone provider, or go to your provider’s website, to find out how to enable this feature.
• If you don’t have WiFi or can’t go someplace that has it, and you don’t need an Internet connection to do your writing, or your article isn’t due right away, you can always write it offline and then submit it once your Internet service is back.  If that’s not possible, you may want to find friends to help you with it. As a last resort, contact your client and let them know the situation.