Other ways to connect

There may be occasions you will need to use your phone's mobile data to connect a laptop or table to the internet.

Sharing a connection this way is know as tethering (or hotspoting) and most modern smart devices can share their data connection with other devices in this way. The links below will provide information on how to do this with using your mobile device.

Note: IT Services are unable to provide any additional instructions or support for hotspot (tethering). We would suggest that you contact your mobile phone provider with any questions.

If you are teaching and have a laptop, each of our pool teaching rooms has a HDMI connection cable that would allow you to connect directly to the screen display. Running a presentation in this way won’t be affected if there were further outages.

If you are delivering a business-critical presentation elsewhere, you might also want to consider having a laptop available that can connect directly to be on the safe side. IT Services can loan laptops if you need one.

If you are working remotely, provided you do not attempt to connect to the VPN at the very moment of an outage, your connection should be stable.

The IT Service Desk can be contacted by telephone on 01509 222 333 or via email it.services@lboro.ac.uk

OneDrive is now the default place where data is saved when working in labs. When using computers on campus (in person or remote access) always remember to check that your work has saved / sync'd to your OneDrive account, (blue cloud icon in the taskbar) before signing out.‌

Allow time for files to sync to OneDrive before the end of your lecture:

• Applications other than Microsoft may take longer to sync depending on their file size
• Keep file names short in OneDrive. The path, including the filename, should not exceed 255 characters
• The status of files synchronising to OneDrive can be checked by clicking the OneDrive (cloud) icon. This will launch the activity window confirming sync or error status

OneDrive Sync failing

If the OneDrive client is unable to sync, make a note of the building, computer lab and *machine name you have been working on and contact IT Services as soon as possible.

*To check your computer name:

• type ‘View your PC name’ in the Windows search bar, bottom left corner to view the settings page

OneDrive Files On-Demand helps you access all your data stored within OneDrive without having to download everything, saving space on your device. There are also options that allow you to save your work without the need for an internet connection.

With OneDrive Files On-Demand, you can:

• Save space by making files saved online only
• Set files and folders to be always available locally (offline) on your device

Online only

The blue cloud icon next to a file or folder indicates that the file is only available online. 

Online-only files don’t take up space on your computer until you open it. You can’t open online-only files when your device does not have a connected to the Internet.

Locally available file

When you open an online-only file, it downloads to your device and becomes a locally available file. You can open a locally available file anytime, even without Internet access. If you need more space, you can change the file back to online only.

Right-click the file and select “Free up space” from the menu

Always available file

Files and Folders that you mark as “Always keep on this device” are always available, save / downloaded on to your device, but do take up space. They are available at all times, including when you’re offline.