He fixed his wife's dropping Zoom calls with help from ChatGPT

A Business Insider writer fixed his wife's dropping Zoom calls by skipping Wi-Fi and plugging her laptop straight into the network with a cable. He had never done the cable work before. He used ChatGPT, the AI chatbot, and sent it photos at every step.

What happened

His wife left on a business trip, and her calls kept cutting out during important meetings. He found an old Cat 6 ethernet cable in the data closet. Its end was cut and bare, so it needed a new plug. ChatGPT told him which tools to buy, how to strip the cable and how to order the eight tiny wires inside. It drew diagrams when words fell short.

The first try failed

His first attempt delivered only about 100 Mbps. That is a measure of internet speed, and the home connection is rated at 1 Gbps, or ten times more. ChatGPT guessed two wires were faulty and suggested an inexpensive cable tester. He sent a photo of the tester's flashing lights, and the chatbot read them and confirmed the guess.

He cut off the plug and started over with a simpler one that ChatGPT recommended. Speeds rose to around 850 Mbps. His wife's video calls have been perfect so far.

What is not known

The account does not say what was wrong with the Wi-Fi, or what the tools and parts cost. It also notes a drawback: ChatGPT sometimes gave advice far more complicated than needed, and he had to steer it back to the simple goal.