One of my clients had a particularly annoying problem. Where they live, the only way that they could get a decent high-speed Internet connection was to get wireless Internet through Rogers or Bell over the cellular network. They decided to go with Rogers and received a Rogers box.

Unlike your regular Shaw or Telus boxes that are plugged into the cable or phone jack, respectively, the Rogers box is completely wireless, needing only to be plugged into power. However, it needs to be placed in the spot in the house that receives the best cellular signal. This varies depending on where you live, and what your house is built out of. Usually, this is not next to your computer, but rather in the window closest to the nearest Rogers cell tower.

In my clients’ case, they are near the edge of Rogers’ range, so it was challenging to get a signal anywhere in the house. And, of course, the place where we got the best signal was kind of awkward to get to — an attic window. However, since the Rogers box had a wireless router built in, and typically just needed to be left alone, we figured that it would be okay. After all, the increase in speed over their previous satellite connection was completely worth it.

Unfortunately, things were not quite as simple as we hoped. The Rogers box would lose its connection to the tower at least once a week, (something that I also noticed in other customers around the same area, although they were able to put their boxes in more convenient places), typically in poor weather, and could not reconnect until it was unplugged and plugged back in. This meant many trips up to the attic, which was inconvenient to get to, especially considering that the office was on the other end of the house.

The solution wound up being an incredibly simple one. Since the Rogers box is a device that can be powered down without risking damage to it, rather than needing to be shut down properly like a computer, I could hook up a device that would simply cut the power to it. Fortunately, these are readily available in the form of Christmas tree switches. I found a wireless Christmas tree switch with a remote (much like the below) and hooked it up, making sure that the remote would work from the office. With the addition of a $15 part, the Internet could now be reset with the push of a button, proving that not all problems require an incredibly technical solution.