WWYD with no internet for a week, if you lived alone?

[Creeperofhabit]

My friend's internet has been cut off because the provider have made a mistake (she told them she didn't want some extras on her sky tv any longer, but they've cut the whole lot off instead).

She can't work (health issues), lives by herself and doesn't see much of anyone. She relies on the internet to speak to her friends, use forums, watch her favourite TV, do hobbies, she also buys and sells things, now she can't do any of it for a week until they can put it back on.

She does have hobbies outside of the home, and a friend who lives an hour away who drops in sometimes, but due to the weather her friend can't visit and her hobbies (photography, magnet fishing, walking, fossils) are all not very accessible for now. She does live in a very picturesque part of the country though.

I've made a few suggestions. She's said she'll sort some things in her house but, she's quite organised and good at DIY anyway so doesn't have much to do to pass the time.

WWYD in her position? She says she's 'climbing the walls' after one day! I am two hours from her and can't visit because I've got a house move this weekend and will be working on the other days

I know It's a 'first world problem' but I feel sorry for her as she's a close friend and has had lots of bad luck in life (is NC with family, has a lot of illnesses, a lot of bad luck generally recently so I'd like to help her pass the time but my mind's gone blank!

When my Internet provider made a similar mistake I asked them to provide a dongle. They sent the dongle and a SIM with 30gb of data by first class post.

That’s absolute bs on the companies behalf. Even if it did think she was a new customer they could credit her account with the about it would normally debt it by so that she’s getting her service actioned as it should be as she’s paid for then do an adjusted bill if needed to put her back on schedule. No different to when people upgrade or downgrade with existing companies. They are fobbing her off.

When we moved our internet made us a new customer even though we wasn’t so it charged us an early exit fee, but they credited the account with the early exit fee because we never left we just changed address. I bet she’s being charged the earth too with sky.

Thank you for the advice. I've told her to be a 'Squeaky Wheel' and keep badgering them about it! Their fuck up, they need to find a remedy!

personally, read books and or if im eg using wikipedia when i am online then i save the articles of intrest in single file mht format, for pc, or if its tablet then added to reading list, same with mumsnet threads then as and when i can read the articles, or thread in more detail

I have loads of books to finish and numerous crafts going on. I'd be quite happy with the radio on gold leafing my latest project. I've been for long periods here without the internet because it often goes down in the deep countryside. I think I;d be happier without it altogether. I'd waste less time for a start.

I had no internet for a whole month last August, everyone I spoke to at my provider tried to help but couldn't. I resorted to phoning them and asking the questions that I'd usually ask Google.. it was a hobby of sorts for a while. Mobile signal is terrible here so data wasn't an option.

Can she hot spot off her phone or use a public library?

Could she not explain what has happened to a neighbour and ask to borrow their WiFi until its fixed?

Amazon would be my friend and I'd order a jigsaw puzzle or diamond art or something like that to keep me entertained for a bit.

Really? Which suggestions exactly?
Friend enjoys walking, photography and DIY that doesn't suggest massive issues with anything physical. Nobody's suggested rock climbing or anything requiring massive amounts of physical fitness.

Try different radio stations. Dust off cookbooks and fill the freezer. Small diy\improvements that you never have the time for. Work on improving sleep hygiene. Pop to the newsagents and buy different magazines\newspapers.

Yep I would make an enormous fuss, their excuses sound like bullshit. I would also use the phrase 'vulnerable person' quite a bit, and ask to speak to a more senior support person. They can definitely fix this unless it's a physical problem, she just needs to speak to someone with some nouse who isn't just following a script.

This is why we don't have the broadband and mobile with Sky, if we want to fiddle around with the TV package we don't need to worry about the phone or internet. Likewise never have an email address with your internet provider for normal use, obviously you can use it for throwaway stuff that isn't important.

I would:
Read, read, read
Drink too much
Have lots of baths
Sleep a lot
Sort out the cupboards and drawers (in reality I won't as I didn't during lockdown and I certainly wouldn't without podcasts)
Leave the house as much as possible!