What’s worse than not having signal?

If you’re like us, it’s having Internet that doesn’t work. See, we can learn to live with the load shedding and Amish life, but to have the promise of that sweet, sweet connection only to see it snatched away – we wish that little jumping dinosaur really was extinct.

And don’t get us started on dropped calls, especially when running a business from home. Sure, a phone that can’t connect is expected during hiking trips in the ‘Berg, but shouting “hello, hello” into the ear of your CEO at 1pm on a Wednesday is far from ideal.

Both are frustrating in equal measure. But what can you do about it? Well, you actually have a few options. You can either:

  1. Turn it on and off again for the next hour (or go on and off Airplane Mode. We see you).
  2. Scream, shout and let it all out.
  3. Read the rest of this article to find out a better means of staying sane during these tough times.

First and foremost, let’s unpack all the reasons your signal from both the Cell and Wi-Fi ends could possibly be saying “nope, not today”.

Let’s start with Internet:

Routers are not meant to stay in the attic. Or, as cool as they look next to your PC, if there’s five walls, three stories and a very large sheet of plywood (hey, we’ve seen it happen) between this tiny little device and your master bedroom, chances are your Netflix will be more of a “Nah-flix”. Building materials, distance and obstructions all interfere with the strength of your connection which, in bigger homes with multiple users, can lead to quite a few screams of frustration.

You also need to consider that certain equipment can cause interference. This includes microwaves, power lines, baby monitors, cordless phones and satellite receivers. Plus, if you’ve got 4 smartphones, 3 PC’s a tablet and a Playstation connected to one router, you can expect a lot of lag, very slow loading speeds and a long, tumultuous relationship with that spinning wheel that comes when things are buffering.

All-in-all, as much as we’d love to sell every house on more than one FTTH package, the honest truth is that unless you’re mining Bitcoin (in which case, give us a call), one router with the right package should be sufficient. The difficulty comes in navigating the strength of your signal which, thankfully, is very easily circumvented – but bear with us, we’ll get there soon enough.

Now, let’s take a detour to Cell Signal:

Poor Cell Signal is actually a very common problem – and not just in Kuvukiland. An often-seen problem in many homes is a home, office or home office with zero signal bars, wherein even basic functions like making calls becomes an exercise in patience.

Your Cell Signal can actually be affected by many of the same factors as connectivity, with one major difference. In the case of your phone, there’s no router to move around, turn on and off and smash with a closed fist until it breaks and gets you in the dog box. Your reception is actually dependent on cell towers, meaning factors such as geographical distance, localised poor coverage and destructive interference all play a role in you not being able to hear your sweet nothings on the phone.

Both can be equally frustrating, but we wouldn’t be Vox if we focused on problems without solutions.

Our Wi-Fi Home Mesh (of course there was a pitch coming) was designed purely to save family peace and expand Wi-Fi coverage. Not only does it say goodbye to Dead Zones for good (the signal, that is, we can’t fix your teenagers’ expression), it also ensures quality, high-speed Internet evenly distributed through every corner of the home.

Browse on the can or stream on the roof. You can Google ‘101 ways to fix a geyser’ while you’re down in the basement or enjoy your movie in peace regardless of the Fornite battle in the next room. It gets better, though. The software also comes with a host of parental controls, including setting device limits, filters and monitoring time spent online – we meant it when we said it would save family peace. The only thing it can’t seem to do is sort out Cell Signal. If only we had something for that…

Oh, wait.

Who are we kidding? Of course we do. Our Cell Boosters are to phones what Wi-Fi Mesh is to Wi-Fi. The theory is simple: take an existing signal (no matter how weak), amplify it and make sure you never have to experience a dropped call from your home again. It’s basically the digital equivalent of Popeye’s Spinach – except this one can save your business time, money and peace of mind. The devices require no maintenance, ensure better communication, easier texting and compete peace of mind. Good weather or bad, it doesn’t really matter – all you need is a little Boost(er).

Life is tough enough without the stress of your paid services not delivering as they should.

With such an emphasis on staying at home and keeping your loved ones safe, your family deserves to enjoy the benefits of unimpeded streaming, easy browsing and stress-free connectivity without playing The Hunger Games over bandwidth. What’s more, your business shouldn’t need to deal with distractions which may cost you money in the long run.

And, if there’s anything we’ve learned from living in South Africa, it never hurts to have a well placed “connection”.