I'm an idiot

[dragonydreams]

That pretty much sums it up. I think most of you have heard me complain about not being able to access my wireless internet at home. Well, turns out it's user error rather than computer error.

I stopped by Best Buy after work today because we thought there might be something wrong with the wireless network card. While I was staying with my brother I wasn't able to pick up the three or four wireless signals in his building, including his. We knew that it had worked at my dad's house at the beginning of November, and logically came to the conclusion that something had damaged the card.

When I got to Best Buy the guy asked me where the switch was. I looked at him blankly. "There's a physical switch?" I asked. He tilted the laptop up and sure enough, there's a flat button under the front lip (he had to look for it too). Lo and behold, it was then able to connect to the store's wireless network.

Man did I feel stupid. I'm sure I was very red-faced. The told me not to feel bad, but I still did. I've been trying to figure this out for six weeks. I must have missed that in the owner's manual. Or assumed that they were talking about the light that goes on when the wireless connection is open.

I'm going to go hang my head in shame until the girl arrives to look at the apartment.

Comments

[heathervamped.livejournal.com]

Don't feel bad. Really, don't. I do tech support for my company and wouldn't even bat an eye at this. In fact, I never heard of a physical switch for a wireless card either. Recently I was trying to talk a customer through downloading an update to our software and when I asked him to go on the internet, he said, "Oh, is that the big E thingy?" And this was a college professor...

[dragonydreams.livejournal.com]

I deal with idiots who don't know how to use the internet at work too. I'd never heard of this before - I just assumed that wireless network card meant that it would work when there was wireless service available. Stupid HP for making things complicated.