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.
This
is not a message or warning that our television receivers provide. Most likely this is a default message that
your TV displays when it does not detect a video signal on the selected input
setting. To resolve this:
Inspect the television receiver Bruce
Telecom provided. If there are no lights
active on it at all, please ensure that it is connected to a power source. Should you find that the receiver is
connected to a power source, but still does not have any LED’s active, please
call our technical support line.
If the LED on the receiver is on but is lighting
up red: This indicates that the receiver is in standby mode and needs to be
turned on in order to provide a video signal to your television. To do so, please press the “STB” button on the remote control, then
press the blue “Power” button located
at the top of the remote. If done
correctly, the red light on the receiver should turn blue to indicate it is now
active.
In the event that the LED on the receiver
is lit up blue, and your television is still displaying the message: Try the various input/video source options on
your television set. To do this using
the remote control Bruce Telecom provides, follow these steps:
- Press the “TV” button located near the top of the remote control
- Press the “TV INPUT” button located at the top left corner of the remote control. This should either open up your televisions Input/Source selection menu, or change to the next available input setting
- Try each input option available until you find the one the cable receiver is connected to
- Press the “STB” key on the remote control when done.
Should your television still be displaying
the same message after completing the steps above, try rebooting the Bruce
Telecom television receiver. You can do
this by unplugging the power cord from the rear of the unit for ten seconds,
and then reconnecting. Alternatively you
can press and hold the power button on the front of the receiver for 5-10
seconds until it begins to flash steadily.
If
you are unsure of what input/source the television receiver is connected to, or
are still seeing the message after trying the above steps, please call our
technical support line for further assistance.
Slow browsing speeds or issues streaming can be caused by a multitude of
factors, and typically our technical support team will need to be engaged to
find the solution. However, there are
several things that you can do to troubleshoot the issue yourself!
- 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.
- Try other websites or services: It is possible that the issue is not on your end, but actually with the site or service you are trying to reach. If this is the case, trying other websites or services should quickly and conclusively demonstrate this.
- Try another device: Similarly to above, occasionally the problem will be a manifestation of device specific issues. Try loading the same 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.
- Run a speed test: One of the best assessments of the state of your internet connection is provided through a quick test to determine the speeds being delivered to your device. For the most accurate results, we recommend testing on a device connected directly to the router via Ethernet cord.
You can run a speed test here. Once the test has completed, compare the results to your subscribed speed package.
While
your speeds may not be exactly on the upper limit of what you are subscribed
to, they should be close. If they are not close to your subscription,
please call our technical support team for further assistance.
