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Old May 31st 21, 07:26 PM posted to rec.photo.digital
Bill W
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Posts: 1,692
Default Apple Macs: Can't upgrade, can barely repair them.

On May 31, 2021, Alan Browne wrote
(in article ):

On 2021-05-31 12:29, Bill W wrote:
On May 31, 2021, nospam wrote
(in ) :

In article
, Bill W
wrote:

It has sort
of crashed once or twice, but rebooting cleared I up.

the app or the entire mac?

The entire Mac. I can1t remember exactly what happened, but I couldn1t
do
much of anything anywhere. It was no big deal - I was able to use the
mouse
to reboot.

no way to diagnose that now, but nothing is perfect.

I finally remembered what actually happened - crippled internet
connection.
I
kept getting messages of ³no internet², but I did have internet, just
very slow, and it was the same in Chrome, Safari, and apps. And my ISP was
fine on my phone and other computers. I had no idea what to look at, so I
rebooted, and that fixed it.

if it was network connectivity, then disabling/re-enabling networking
would likely have sufficed.


rebooting is a sledge hammer, when a small screwdriver is all that's
needed.


That just goes back to my unfamiliarity with MacOS. I knew how to quickly
reboot, but not how to quickly turn networking on and off, even though I’m
sure it’s pretty simple.

And for anyone reading this who might be in a similar situation as me -
living in a ruralish area - I got T-Mobile Home Internet, a cell based ISP.
I
am admittedly within a mile of the nearest cell tower, but I do get over
100Mbps, and it’s only $60/month with no data caps or throttling. Verizon
has also started a similar service, but both are available only in limited
areas right now. I do recommend them. Good customer service, too from
T-Mobile.


100 Mbps (sustained?
Try Ookla Speedtest against a test server 100 km
or so away) is pretty good considering it's cell.


Up to about 150, with slowest being over 50, but it’s almost always over
100.

Hmm - I'd be tempted to replace the cell antenna with a directional high
gain version and put it up on the roof aimed at the tower. You could
probably pick up 10 - 20 dB.
Gain improves bandwidth - as long as the ISP can pump it.

I found this
https://www.t-mobile.com/support/pub...-device/4G%20L
TE%20CellSpot%20Quick%20Start%20Guide.pdf
Which does not break out the RF. Does have a GPS connection (to locate
the device for 911 services - I guess entering an address is too much
work...)

Is that what you have?


No, it’s this: https://www.t-mobile.com/isp

It’s also “fixed” mobile. You cannot take it around with you, and must
be used in the service address only. There are reasons for that concerning
streaming services (Hulu, for one, and maybe the only one), and FCC regs
regarding “local” stations. But if you are anywhere near a T-Mobile
tower, look into it, and also look into the Verizon version, which is also
new. They are both serious competition for cable companies with monopoly
service in some areas.