Computer Shows Connected To Internet But No Internet Access

I recently moved from the us to montreal, canada. I'm currently renting a furnished apartment here for a few weeks and then will be moving to another furnished apartment. The apartment that i will be moving to has the highest speed internet possible for wifi in montreal so im not worried about later on. However, the current apartment that im in... the wifi seems to have a lot of problems.


It works during the day but after 1 hour or 2 maybe max, it would always not work for 15-45 minutes. The thing is when you look at the internet bar, it does showed connected to the internet and shows 4 or 5 bars. However, when you click on the activity received and sent, you can clearly see its very little getting sent compared to received. I asked the guy in charge of the building and he told me the other people in the building doesn't have any problems with the wifi. The building is very small and has just a couple of apartment here. They told him they had no problem with the wifi internet. However, they are probably not using it 8 plus hours a day like me.


The thing is i need the internet to be reliable because i play online poker so disconnects are a huge problem for me. On october 1st i will move to the other apartment which i won't have any problems. But from now until then, this is really frustrating me. It seems like when im on the laptop all day online, it would disconnect me a few times and then it would take between 10-40 minutes to get back on. I would connect, disconnect etc over and over. The thing is it does show CONNECTED to that internet.


Is there a way to fix this problem? Basically the internet in the small building is shared and even though i know if everyone is using internet a lot, it can be slow... but its not even slow. It works fast when it works but when it doesn't work, it plainly doesn't work. Shows connected but doesn't work and many times it would direct me to the dlink router page where it ask me to type in my admin name and password. Of course i dont know what that is and i know i shouldn't be typing anything into this page right since this is what the person in charge of my building does?


Does anyone know why im having these problems on my laptop? I know it isn't my laptop wifi problem because i use an itouch as well and when the laptop wifi doesn't work, neither does the itouch wifi. Basically it shows it is connected with 4 or 5 bars but the internet doesn't work and many times direct me to the dlink router page where it tells me to check my settings. Of course i cannot do this because the router is in one of the apartments here where it shares the internet with everyone else. It would disconnect a few times during the afternoon, work for a bit and then at night disconnect another 3-4 times which take 15 minute before it works again.


Does anyone know what i can do about this? The thing is it shows connected to the internet the whole time. The internet does work majority of the day and shows connected but many times it just doesn't work. And when i see the dlink router page, i dont know what i can do because the router is in the guys apartment which shares all the wifi.


Is my only option to get an internet mobile stick for the next 3 weeks if i want reliable internet? I need reliable internet as what im doing requires me to have almost no disconnects.


I have an asus u45jc-a1 laptop if that means anything.

 

Seeing as both your devices have the same problem and you are redirected to D-Link page- it's not a problem on your side.
D-Link and reliable shouldn't be used in the same sentence - so that might be one problem.

Without the possibility to investigate further or adjust settings on a router I would advise you moved to a 3G connection for the time being.

 

Hi so what you are saying is the dlink router is probably the reason? I have no idea if the building uses cable or dsl internet here in canada. And when the internet works.... its pretty fast.


So in my situation there is really nothing i can do since the wifi internet is shared in my building right? Obviously i would prefer wired but they don't have it.


Im in canada and will be in this apartment for another 18 days. So what you are suggesting is for me to get a mobile internet stick then? I currently dont have a cell phone as im in canada and just have a landline. I dont need a cell phone since i dont know anyone here. But i do know if you get a cell phone, you can then tether the internet on your laptop?


So my option now is basically get an internet mobile stick or get a smartphone with internet plan? The thing is i only need it for 18 day so i just need it for 1 month then will cancel once i move to the new apartment b/c the internet wifi there is the fastest and reliable in montreal. I think these mobile internet stick cost 150 and the internet would cost another 60 per month? I know in canada things are more expensive than in the us.

 

Oh i only get directed to the dlink page on my laptop. The itouch doesn't go anywhere. However, the thing is it shows my internet as connected to the wifi network. Now if it doesn't connect to it and show not connected, then its differnet. I dont know why it shows connected to it but then doesn't work...

 

What I would do is I would buy a USB 3G modem dongle (these are not expensive $ 30-50 easily) and buy a prepaid SIM card with an Internet plan.
This works lie a prepaid phone but you buy transfer (i.e. 1GB)- you would be using is for as long as you need and then simply not buy more data packets once you don't.

At the same time you would still have both the modem and SIM card so if you have any issues with Internet or need to be mobile on certain day or whatever- you could always buy another data packet and use it.

Without access to the router and logs you can't do any real troubleshooting. At the same time with 18 days remaining it's not worth the hassle.
USB dongle is not expensive and may come in handy later on, so it's well worth the money. Just choose the data provider first (SIM card) and see what type of modems so they require and only then buy an actual modem.

 

hi are you from canada. Can you tell me where i can buy this usb 3gb modem dongle at for 30-50 dollars? And then the prepaid sim card with internet plan? Im currently in montreal. I basically will be using the internet/laptop at my apartment.


Can you tell me what data provider i can get? I really have no clue about this as im in canada for first time and staying here for few months. I actually need the internet for the remaining 18 days because the work i do is all online and i cannot have any disconnects. I hear a lot about rogers/bell but i called bell and they said they dont do 1 month plan and only long term plan but thats mobile internet stick and not the thing you are speaking about?

 

If you want a 3G dongle, you'll have to look at the big three aka Rogers, Telus and Bell and what exactly they offer. There are also a few independent carriers, but they operate mostly in Ontario and a few other provinces other than Québec. Videotron may also offer 3 G, but I'm not sure, they haven't been in the cell business for long.

You should know that mobile phone and internet plans in Canada plainly suck compared to the rest of the western world, I won't go into the details, but Canadians are rather fed up with the situation, but without another major player, the monopoly of the big 3 won't change anytime soon.