In order to connect to the internet through Bruce Telecom, the router will be utilizing a connection method called PPPoE. A necessity of this connection style is that the router “logs in” to our service utilizing a user name and password combination that is unique to your account. If a router attempts to establish a connection through Bruce Telecom and does not submit a valid username or password, the internet connection will be severely limited in both speed and access to websites.
If you are using a router issued by Bruce Telecom, this information will already be programmed into the router and it should be fully activated 15 minutes after it has been added to your account. If you are receiving the invalid login warning, please call our technical support line for assistance.
Should you elect to use your own router and have been given a plain “bridged” modem by Bruce Telecom, or if you are a fibre optic customer using your own router, please ensure that you have configured the routers connection settings to utilize PPPoE. The username will be your Bruce Telecom email address and the password will be the same one used to access that email account.
Our technical support team is available and
willing to assist you further if needed. Please contact our technical support
line and we will gladly help to resolve any trouble you are having.
There are many reasons
why your internet connection may be dropping.
If you are having this problem, we will likely need to work with you on
our technical support line in order to get to the root of the issue. However, there are a few steps you can take
to troubleshoot the issue on your own if you wish.
- Verify that the issue is not isolated to only one device. Sometimes the device you are using may be having issues. There are many possible causes for this, ranging from software to hardware issues and everything in between. However, it is also possible that the wireless signal to that specific device is weak. If you have determined that the issue is device specific, try rebooting your device and bringing it closer to the router. If that does not make a difference, and other devices continue to work, you may need to have said device serviced by a professional.
- Test for if the issue is specifically occurring to devices connected wirelessly. To do this, connect a PC or other device to ETH 1 of the Comtrend router and test for internet. If the connection continues to drop on wireless devices but remains consistent when hard wired, you have proven a general Wifi issue. The technical support representatives available on our support line will be best suited to assist further.
- If possible, inspect the router when the connection drops. If using one of Bruce Telecoms wireless modem/routers, check to see if the Internet light remains active and green. If the internet light is not activated, check if the DSL light is solid (if using a DSL connection) or that your ETH WAN light is active (if a fiber optic customer).
Issues with connection drops are absolutely not
normal, and do not represent the level of service we aim to provide. In most cases persistent problems with your
connection will require troubleshooting by our technical support team. Please do not hesitate to call our technical
support line for assistance towards a speedy resolution.
If you are having
internet issues, the routers provided by Bruce Telecom can provide you
information on their operational status through the lights located on the front
panel of the router.
- Power: When the modem has power, this light will be active and green. If it is red, or off, please call our technical support line for further assistance.
- ETH WAN: This light is relevant only for our customers using fiber optic service. The corresponding ETH WAN port on the rear of the router is where the Ethernet connection from the fiber optic terminal should be placed. If you are a fiber optic customer, this light should be active.
- ETH 1-4: This light is representative of the state of the four Ethernet ports on the rear of the router. When there is an active device connected to these ports, the corresponding lights on the front panel of the router will activate. If you are using a DSL connection and have our television service, the cable equipment we provide must be connected to one of the ports labeled ETH 2, 3 or 4. ETH 1 is for internet devices such as PC’s, gaming consoles or streaming devices only.
- WPS: When WPS mode has been activated, this light will flash steadily on/off, and go solid once a WPS connection has been made with your device. By default, we do not provide routers with the WPS feature activated. If needed, we can remotely enable this feature for you.
- 2.4G Wifi/5G Wifi: If the router is currently broadcasting an SSID on these spectrums, these lights will be active. If the wireless broadcast has been disabled, these lights will not be active. You can enable/disable wireless broadcast using the Wifi On/Off buttons located on the front panel of the router.
- DSL: If you are a DSL customer, this light represents the status of your DSL Link. If the light is active and steady, you have a DSL connection. If the light is not active, or steadily flashing on and off, then the router has not yet established a DSL connection and may require troubleshooting. When the router is first powered on, it may take up to 3 minutes for the DSL link to be established.
- Internet: Indicates whether or not the router has established an internet session. Once your DSL connection or fiber link has been established, this LED will activate and should turn green. If this light is not active, or is red, but you have an active ETH WAN LED/Steady DSL LED, please call our technical support line.
As always, if you are having any issue with
your router or services, please give us a call on our technical support
line. We will be happy to assist you.
If you are
unable to access the internet at all, please try the following:
Try another device:
Occasionally the problem will be a manifestation of device specific
issues. Try loading a website or service
on another device to test for this. If
you find it is working fine on a different device, in similar conditions, try
restarting your device and ensuring it is up to date.
Reboot the modem/router: Modems and routers, like home computers and
other electronic devices, can sometimes require rebooting to resolve
performance degradation issues. To
reboot your equipment, take the following action:
- Unplug the power cord from the modem, or use the power button on the back of the device. If using a separate wireless router, unplug the power from this as well.
- Wait 10 seconds, then plug the power back in to the modem. If you are using a separate wireless router, please wait until the DSL light on the modem is solid before powering the router back up.
Verify Cabling: If you are a DSL customer, please verify that
the modem has a DSL cord/phone line connected to the DSL port on the back of
the modem. Likewise, if you are a Fiber
Optic customer please verify that there is an Ethernet cord connected to the
ETH WAN or GB/ETH port on the back of the router.
Once you have completed the previous steps,
inspect the modems/routers lights.
Ensure that the Wireless lights are active, as this indicates whether or
not the wireless network is being broadcast by the router. If the light is not on, trying pressing the
“Wifi On/Off” button on the front of the modem.
If you have completed these steps and are still
not able to access the internet, please call our technical support line as soon
as possible for further assistance.
The Bruce Telecom
email server allocates 1 gigabyte of storage space to each of your Bruce
Telecom email addresses. What this means
is that you can safely store up to 1 gigabyte of mail content on the mail server. This limit is not applied to messages stored
solely on your computer or other device.
When your email address exceeds 80% of the available storage space allocated to it on the mail server, you will begin to receive automatically generated messages letting you know that you are approaching your maximum storage on the server. These messages will never contain a “log in” link or request your email password in any form.
If you receive one of these messages, you will need to access your Bruce Telecom mailbox and remove any excess mail. It is important to do so as soon as possible as, once the mailbox hits 1 gigabyte of storage, incoming messages will be unable to be delivered. Think of it like an overstuffed mailbox at the post office; eventually, nothing more will fit.
Generally, the fastest way to assess and clean up your mailbox will be to log in using our webmail portal. You can access it here or through the menus on our website. Once you have logged in, you will be able to view any and all email that is currently being stored on our server for you, and prune the mailbox from there.
If you are using a mail client, check your mail settings to ensure that the program is set to occasionally delete messages from the server. Often you can choose when and how this will occur. If you are using IMAPv4, your mail program should send the delete command to our server whenever you empty your deleted items folder in the program.
If you require additional assistance or
explanation of how best to manage your mailbox size, please contact our
technical support team and we will happily help you.
POP3 and IMAPv4 are both examples of mail
protocols that are used to send and receive email. Your experience using either protocol will be
largely similar; however there are some key differences that you may need to be
aware of:
- POP3: The older of the two protocols, POP3 allows your email program to send and receive mail through a central mail server. What is unique about the POP3 protocol when compared to the IMAPv4 protocol is that when utilizing POP3 your mail client will log on to the central email server and directly download any new email that has arrived for you. Typically, it will not leave a copy of these messages on the server for retrieval by other devices unless you have specifically enabled this option within your mail program settings. More current mail programs and many smart phone devices do have the option to leave a copy of messages on the server enabled by default.
A consequence of this style of email retrieval is that when a message is deleted on your receiving device, you may in fact be deleting the only copy of that message. Additionally, any folders you create within your mail program will not be shared with the server – they will only exist on your computer or device.
- IMAPv4: This is a newer protocol, relative to POP3, that still allows your email program to send and receive mail through a central mail server. What is unique about the IMAPv4 protocol when compared to the POP3 protocol is that when utilizing IMAPv4 your mail client will log on to the central email server and synchronize with its contents. To put it another way, the content on the mail server will remain on the mail server, and your mail client will display what is there without removing it. This ensures the mail is available for all devices that you have set up to access the mail account.
It is also important to keep in mind that this protocol is a two way street. More specifically: if a message is deleted on the server, it will also be deleted on any devices that utilize IMAPv4 to access the account. Likewise, if you delete a message on one of your devices you can expect it to be deleted from both the server and your other devices. This makes mailbox management simple, but should be kept in mind when deleting mail from the inbox on one of your devices. Similarly, any folders you create on your devices will also be synchronized with the server.
Ultimately, the mail protocol you utilize
is at your discretion – there are advantages and potential disadvantages to
either method. That being said, many
people find that the increased integration between devices that IMAPv4 offers
is both convenient and intuitive.
If you are choosing to
set up your Bruce Telecom email address in a mail client, you can set the
account up as either a POP3 or IMAPv4 account.
If you have chosen to utilize an IMAPv4 set up, please use the following
mail server settings:
Incoming (IMAP):
- Hostname: mail.bmts.com
- User name: the first part of your email address (everything before the @ sign)
- Password: your email password
- Port: 993
- Encryption: SSL or Auto
Outgoing (SMTP):
- Hostname: smtp.bmts.com
- Requires sign on/authentication: Yes
- User name: the first part of your email address (everything before the @ sign)
- Password: your email password
- Port: 587
- Encryption: SSL/TLS or STARTTLS
These are the settings that the vast majority of email clients and smart devices will use. If you have tried these settings, and are still unable to send or receive mail, please call our technical support line for further assistance.
If
you would like to set up a series recording, you can do so by using one of the
following methods:
- If the program will air in the future: Find the program in the guide, and highlight it using the arrow buttons on your remote control. Once you have highlighted the program, press the OK button on the remote. This will open a menu on the screen with several options, including Record Series. Navigate to the Record Series option using the Up and Down arrows on the remote control, and then select it using the Ok button.
- If you are currently watching a live episode: If you are in the middle of a live episode of the series you would like to record, simply press the Ok button on the remote control to open an options menu, then select Record Series by navigating to that option using the Up and Down arrows on the remote and then pressing Ok.
If
you are seeing this message when powering on your Set Top Box, most likely the
device is connected to the wrong Ethernet port on your modem (if you are a DSL
customer).
Please
ensure that the set top box has been connected via Ethernet to one of the ports
labeled ETH 2, 3 or 4 on the Comtrend modem, and then reboot.
If you are still experiencing this issue after
following the steps above – or are using a fiber optic connection – please
contact our technical support desk for further assistance.
If
you are seeing the “Video Signal Blocked” message, this means that you have
attempted to tune into a channel for which you are not subscribed. To resolve this, please follow these steps:
- On the remote control for the Bruce Telecom receiver, press the “STB” button once, then press the guide button to open the television guide.
- Check what filter is applied to the guide. This information is located directly above the date in the guide, and will say one of the following: All, Subscribed, HD, SD, or Favorites.
- Press the Guide button repeatedly until you have changed the filter to Subscribed. This will allow you to once again tune into all your subscribed channels.
*The guide
may close while cycling through the different filter options. If this occurs, simply press the Guide button
again to re-open the guide and continue changing filter options.*
The
remote control provided with your Bruce Telecom receiver is capable of
controlling most common television sets, but will need to be programmed to the
specific brand you are using. To do so,
please follow these steps:
- Turn on the cable receiver using the Bruce Telecom remote control. To do this, press the STB button once, then press the blue Power button.
- Turn on your television, either using the remote control that came with it, or the power button located on the television itself.
- Press and hold the Setup button on the Bruce Telecom remote, until you see a red light blink twice on the remote.
- Press the TV button once.
- Point the remote at your television. Press and hold the OK button, and release once your television set turns off. This can take anywhere from 5 seconds to 3 minutes.
- Once your television set turns off, release the OK button.
- Wait 10 seconds, and then press the blue Power button on the remote control. Your television set should turn back on.
- Press the STB button once, then press the blue Power button. The remote should now turn both your television set, and the Bruce Telecom receiver, off. Press the button again to turn both devices back on.
If
you have followed these steps, and are still unable to program the remote
control to operate your television set, please call our technical support line
for further assistance.
If
you are only able to tune into Standard Definition (SD) channels and no High
Definition (HD) channels – and vice versa – this is usually a quick fix.
- On the remote control for the Bruce Telecom receiver, press the “STB” button once, then press the guide button to open the television guide
- Check what filter is applied to the guide. This information is located directly above the date in the guide, and will say one of the following: All, Subscribed, HD, SD, or Favourites
- Press the Guide button repeatedly until you have changed the filter to Subscribed. This will allow you to once again tune into all your subscribed channels
NOTE: The guide may close while cycling through the different filter options. If this occurs, simply press the Guide button again to re-open the guide and continue changing filter options.
