As the semester begins, some students are finding extra complications when attempting their homework— a Wi-Fi internet disconnection caused by Comcast’s Xfinity Internet.

“The [Xfinity] internet is very slow,” said Vianey Hernandez, junior public relations major. “It goes in and out. I would constantly lose the connection and couldn’t get credit for my assignments on Blackboard.”

Hernandez expressed her dissatisfaction with Comcast’s Internet to the company and found help from an overseas customer service representative. She felt the representative was helpful, but still found her predicament frustrating.

“Their help was satisfactory but the actual product is worthless,” she said.

Hernandez utilized Comcast’s customer service in several ways. She also set up an appointment with a technician to come to her home and alleviate the problem. Although the technician helped Hernandez by making her Internet better and faster, Comcast charged her for the extra help.

“They charge you extra for a technician, so I’m getting charged for a service that should’ve been working,” she said.

Instead of asking Comcast for assistance, other students attempt to solve their connectivity issues independently. Yaseen Aniss, senior computer science major, said that his household attempted several different ways to resolve the Wi-Fi issues at his apartment.

Aniss and his roommates plan on exchanging the modem and built-in router for another one to see if the connectivity improves. When Aniss ran into trouble with his Wi-Fi, he would typically connect to his Internet with an Ethernet cable, but no longer feels comfortable with that fix, he said.

“We moved the modem from downstairs to upstairs,” he said. “Moving it upstairs screwed me over a bit because I can’t connect directly to the modem anymore.”

Aniss’ room is located downstairs while his other roommates live upstairs. He said that he didn’t mind the move if it helped his three other roommates, but he hasn’t noticed any improvements after the change, he said. When his internet isn’t working, Aniss is often uncertain of how to find Internet elsewhere.

“I complete my homework between 9:30 p.m. and 5 a.m.,” Aniss said. “I can’t really go anywhere else to finish my homework at that time.”

The Meriam Library closes at 1:45 a.m., leaving Aniss without Internet. Another issue he faces is attempting homework that cannot be accessed via Chico State’s Eduroam Internet. As a computer science major, Aniss has to access websites that are blocked by Eduroam because the Internet views the sites as viruses.

Other students are being affected by the Wi-Fi not working properly. Aaron Saltzman, senior exercise physiology major, has been kicked out of online quizzes because of his lack of on-campus Internet connection.

He now takes Blackboard quizzes on campus computers to ensure the situation doesn’t occur in the future. He said his Internet connection would stop working in the middle of assignments, and while using Blackboard for other purposes.

“I was at home studying and my teacher posts online videos to Blackboard,” he said. “A 19-minute video took me 45 minutes to get through.”

While the situation is frustrating, Saltzman has grown accustomed to the problem. He’s lived in the same area for two years and has run into the same problems over time. He believes that there are too many students concentrated in one area that try to connect to Xfinity Wi-Fi at the same time, Saltzman said.

He has also attempted to use AT&T as an Internet provider, but found the Internet to be too slow. He said that his Internet bill is month-to-month, and he may cancel Xfinity in the future. Saltzman is also hesitant to contact Comcast directly because he believes the company would prove to be less than helpful.

“Comcast will say it’s not really their fault and place blame somewhere else,” he said. “I already know they’re not going to come out and with a snap of their fingers come and fix it for me.”

Comcast Xfinity’s website for customers has several tools to troubleshoot connectivity difficulties. The website also features a forum where customers can help each other with Internet issues. A Comcast representative could not be reached for comment.

While Saltzman has adapted to his Internet’s issues, he believes that more Wi-Fi function would enrich his experience at Chico State.

“I wish it was better,” he said. “It would make college a lot easier but nothing is going to change.”

Elizabeth Castillo can be reached at [email protected] or @ElizabethC718 on Twitter.