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March 2020 | |
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Internet Service Impact Message
As many of you are aware, ImOn experienced unusual activity on our network which impacted some customers' Internet service several times in mid-February. We hate to see our customers impacted in this way — in fact, many of our employees utilize ImOn service at home and we struggled with the same service impacts! We understand your frustration. We wanted to make sure to communicate to you all how sorry we are and to re-emphasize how hard our technicians worked to quickly mitigate the issues as they happened. But also, we want to make sure you all understand that this unusual activity has impacted some customers' Internet service for a total of about 3.6 hours over this time period. If you are experiencing longer-term service issues or are impacted outside of the time frames we have communicated, there may be a problem with how your service is set up within your home. It could be something very simple, but we won't know until you call our customer care team at 319-298-6484, so we can troubleshoot the issue. If we aren't posting about widespread service impacts and you're experiencing service degradation, don't hesitate to call our team. We would also like to remind you that we do post information about large service impacts on MyImOn.com/ServiceNews and the ImOn Facebook page. Thank you again for your patience and continued loyalty. 
Happy St. Patrick's Day from ImOn Communications. Remember ImOn offers free Wi-Fi in downtown Cedar Rapids, so stay connected and share your photos while watching the Cedar Rapids SaPaDaPaSo parade. If you can't make it to the parade, you can watch it live starting at 1pm on KCRG 9.2, ImOn channels 709 and HD 817. |
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Happy Birthday ImOn!
On March 9th, ImOn will be celebrating its 13th birthday! We recognize that our employees' hard work and our customers' continued loyalty plays a vital role in our success. We would like to thank all of you who made the last 13 years possible. Here's to many more years to come! To celebrate, ImOn will be handing out cupcakes in the ImOn Customer Care Office on March 9th. (while supplies last)
March Madness with ImOn Watch TV Everywhere 
March Madness is right around the corner! We know you can't put the rest of your life on hold whenever a new game starts—and you can only take so many sick days before your boss catches on, but with ImOn's TV Everywhere, you don't have to miss a single second of the action.
ImOn's Watch TV Everywhere allows you to watch all of the tournament action LIVE from anywhere, with an Internet connection. So now you can catch all the shots while waiting at the doctor's office, sitting in the office breakroom, or working out at the gym. Plus, TV Everywhere is included FREE with your ImOn cable TV subscription. To make sure you don't miss any of the madness, create a TV Everywhere account at least 24 hours in advance of the games you want to watch. For full instructions on how to create an account click here. Then you can access all the games on TBS, TNT, and truTV by visiting www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live. You will have to select ImOn Communications as your TV subscriber in the upper right corner, and log in using your ImOn Watch TV Everywhere Account information. Then let the madness begin!
HBO and Cinemax Free Preview Weekend! From Friday, March 13th through - Monday, March 16th, ImOn is offering a FREE preview of all 6 HBO channels and 8 Cinemax channels. Enjoy addictive series, entertaining movies, family favorites, and much more on channels #250-263, 858, and 866. A set top box is required to view this free preview.
Sweet Seats Sweepstakes:
Forget the cheap seats, ImOn is giving you a chance to win some SWEET SEATS! From now through March 15th, enter the NBC Sports Chicago's "Sweet Seats Sweepstakes," for a chance to win 4 tickets to the Chicago Blackhawks vs Dallas Stars hockey game on Friday, March 27, 2020 at the United Center in Chicago, IL. Just visit NBCSportsChicago.com/ImOn to enter for a chance to win. One lucky winner will be selected on March 16th.
NBC Sports Chicago is your home for the most Blackhawks games, the most comprehensive team coverage, and where you can stream the Blackhawks games LIVE on NBCSportsChicago.com/WatchLive or on the NEW "MyTeams by NBC Sports" App! |
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Garden Variety Groundhog Chunk the groundhog found his own personal food stash amid the plants of a home gardener – and then found internet fame. |
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6-Year-Old Piano Prodigy One of the youngest people ever to perform at Carnegie Hall, William began playing simple songs on the piano at age two! |
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Each month we will share helpful information about various tech topics to help you, our customers, better understand the technology and services you have in your life. In this month's Tech Talks we are looking at things that may interfere with your Wi-Fi signal and some tips to improve your Wi-Fi experience. Wi-Fi Reliability and Performance Today, most people access the Internet through a wireless connection. While a wired Ethernet Internet connection offers a guaranteed level of performance and more security, a Wi-Fi connection is more convenient. However, Wi-Fi is incredibly complex, and several things can impact the signal strength and reliability. Before we go any further, we want to make sure you understand that Internet and Wi-Fi are totally different things. The Internet is the public network that allows you to access various websites, such as Google or Amazon. Wi-Fi, on the other hand, is the way your Internet signal is transmitted to you. It uses a router to let you connect to the Internet without having to use any wires. Now that we got that out of the way, it is important to know that there are several things that can affect the performance of your wireless connections. In fact, poor Wi-Fi performance is one of the biggest complaints we get from our Internet users. So, we wanted to share a few of the things that can negatively impact your Wi-Fi signal and things you can try to help improve your home Wi-Fi experience. Location and Distance: When using your Wi-Fi, you may notice that you get a spotty signal in certain areas of your home, while in other areas the signal is just fine. One of the limitations of your Wi-Fi signal is how far it can reach. That's because the signal strength and bandwidth decreases as you move further away from your router. So, it's important to consider where you put our Wi-Fi router in your home. To maximize the coverage of your Wi-Fi signal, we recommend putting your router in the center of your home's main floor. That's because most routers send their Wi-Fi signal out and down like an umbrella. If you place your router in the basement, you are not maximizing your signal coverage. For the same reason, you should also place your router up high, like on top of a bookshelf or on a desk, instead of on the floor. You may also want to consider putting your router in the room where you use the Wi-Fi the most. That will guarantee a stronger signal where you need it most. Wherever you decide to place your router, make sure it is in an open space with plenty of airflow. Just like your modem and laptop, there are air vents on your router that help to regulate its temperature. If these vents are blocked due to dust, animal hair, or clutter, your router may overheat, causing it to fail and stop working until it has cooled down. Interference: There are two things that can cause interference with your Wi-Fi signal:
Here is a look at some of the common building materials in your home and how much they will degrade your Wi-Fi signal (source: bitsfrombytes.com). Depending on the materials in your home, you may need to move your router to decrease the interference. 
Other physical things that can affect your Wi-Fi signal include large metal objects, like filing cabinets or metal shelves, mirrors, fish tanks, water coolers, and breaker boxes. You should avoid putting your router on or next to these things, and make sure your Wi-Fi signal doesn't have to pass through them to reach your devices. Lastly, power lines and power stations near your home can also cause some minor Wi-Fi interference. While there really isn't anything you can do about them, it is something to keep in mind. The second type of interference that can affect your Wi-Fi signal is from other electronics in your home. Wi-Fi routers use radio frequencies to transmit their signal, just like cell phones, radios, and TVs. Many electronics in your home use the same radio frequency as your router. This leads to interference with your Wi-Fi signal, causing a slow Internet connection or causing the Wi-Fi signal to drop out completely. The following electronics are known to interfere with Wi-Fi signals, and you should move them away from your Wi-Fi router to lessen the interference:
Frequency: As we mentioned before, Wi-Fi routers transmit their signal using radio waves. The two major radio frequencies routers use are 2.4GHz and 5GHz, and depending on which frequency a device connects to, can offer a much different experience. On average, the max speed of connecting to the 2.4GHz frequency is around 35-40Mbps, while a connection on the 5.0GHz frequency can handle 80+Mbps. So depending on what Internet speed you have, you may want to consider changing which frequency your devices connects to. While the 5.0GHz frequency can handle higher speeds, it does come with downfalls. 5.0GHz connections can't travel as far and have a harder time transmitting through walls and furniture. According to Lifewire.com, the general rule is that a Wi-Fi signal using 2.5GHz frequency can reach up to 150ft indoors, while a signal using the 5GHz frequency can only reach about 50 ft. So, you may want to pick which devices connect to which signal frequency depending on how and where the devices are used. For example, it's probably better to connect your cell phones and tablets to the 2.4GHz frequency because you usually use them in several different rooms throughout your home. For more stationary devices, like a Roku or video game system, you could use the 5.0GHz signal frequency. We hope you found this information informative and useful. If you have a tech topic you would like to learn more about, just email your ideas or questions to TechTalks@ImOn.net and you may see them featured in an upcoming edition of Tech Talks.
Sun Outages
Twice a year, all cable TV customers experience a phenomenon known as "sun outages." For a few weeks each spring and fall, the sun passes directly behind a satellite that is transmitting cable TV programming. When the sun is aligned with the satellite, the sun's solar radiation interferes with the satellite's signal and cause reception issues with your TV signal.
During that time, you may experience a pixelated or frozen picture, or audio distortions. Sun outages are possible through March 10th, and usually last less than 15 minutes each day. We appreciate your patience and understanding during these sun outages.
National Salesperson Day
Did you know that March 6th is National Salesperson day? It is a day to celebrate and recognize the hard work, value, and dedication of sales personnel. Here at ImOn Communications, we believe we have one of the best sales teams and would like to take a moment to recognize them. With every customer interaction they take the time to learn about your needs and make a personal connection, not just a sale. You may even recognize a few friendly faces as they live in the communities they serve, and may just be your friends or neighbors! 
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Clever Garage Storage Use old paint cans, golf bags, file cabinets, food jars, and more to make more room for your car. Learn more... |
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Smart Food Choices March is National Nutrition Month. Celebrate by learning how to eat right to better your health. Learn more... |
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Backup Basics It's never too late to start a good habit. Plan now to make sure your data is always backed up. Learn more... |
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Buffalo Chicken Dip Looking for a snack to serve at a March Madness gathering? This scrumptious dip is perfect for this, or any other, occasion. |
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Salted Caramel Brownies Mmmm, brownies! This easy recipe takes an old favorite to a new level with swirled caramel and sprinkled salt. |
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319-298-6484 |
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© 2020 Cornerstone Publishing Group Inc.
Trademarks: All brand names and product names used in this eNewsletter are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. |
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