The WiFi at the Decatur co-op went down during my big demo and I had to run the whole thing from my phone hotspot.

I was mid-presentation to 12 potential partners when the network crapped out, so I tethered my laptop to my phone and somehow only lost 2 people to buffering issues, anyone else had to MacGyver a connection at the worst possible time?

3 comments

3 Comments

parker_hall513h ago

Funny enough, @jesse_smith10, I had a similar panic moment but with my smart thermostat going haywire right before a virtual open house. It kept switching from heat to AC every five minutes and I had to unplug the whole system mid-showing just so the place wouldn't feel like a sauna one second and a freezer the next. Lost two buyers who said the temperature swings were giving them a headache, but honestly the other three stayed because they thought it was just part of the tour's "atmosphere." Now I keep the thermostat on hold mode before any scheduled event, feels like I'm running a tiny HVAC command center from my phone these days.

jesse_smith1016h ago

Used to think mobile hotspots were overkill until my router died right before a Zoom pitch to a pretty big client. Now I keep my phone charged and ready for anything, that moment changed my whole backup plan.

-1

wells.evan14h ago

Right there with you, @jesse_smith10. My router picked the worst possible time to die during what was supposed to be a routine client call, and I ended up tethering to my phone while sitting in my car with the laptop propped on the steering wheel. The client probably thought I was running some kind of high-tech mobile command center, but really I was just a guy who forgot to check if his backup battery was dead too. Now I'm the person who keeps a spare hotspot and a backup power bank in the glovebox like some kind of paranoid prepper for internet emergencies. It's funny how one near-disaster can turn you into that person who triple-checks everything before a meeting ever starts.