This DSL sucks bad

NascarFool · Post by **NascarFool** » Sat Jun 08, 2002 12:12 pm

My DSL shuts off about 9 every night. It works so-so all day and then around 9 pm it quits. Earth-you-know-who doesn't understand why I am pissed about it. I've had this DSL for nine days now. Tech support told me it would be 24 to 72 hours to get it checked out. That was on the 2nd, when I called again they said three to five days. What a crock of sh*t. To cancel it, I wil have to pay $149.

dadx2mj · Post by **dadx2mj** » Sat Jun 08, 2002 12:22 pm

My buddy had EArthlink DSL he switched to Road Runner because I was always getting better download times. Months afterwards he started getting phone calls from them wanting him to pay the bill. To make a long story short they admitted that the acount had been closed but then for some reason that no body knows it was re-opened they also admited that they knew it had had no activity but they still wanted 2 months payment.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sat Jun 08, 2002 12:30 pm

First off, keep at them until they get it right. BE POLITE but firm.

Getting rude with customer support - or especially tech support - will NOT get your problem resolved. Trust me: if you piss them off they WILL make your life miserable.

Make SURE you first try the DSL directly connected to a computer WITHOUT a software or hardware router. Very often problems like you describe are actually router problems. Try it direct to a computer for now, and leave it that way if possible until the issue is resolved.

There might be (for instance) a MAC address issue and if you keep moving it back and forth between a router and a NIC the MAC address will change and that could be causing problems on their end. Also some modems need to be recycled if you connect them to a device with a different MAC address - my cable modem has that problem.

Secondly, if you've only just gotten the service and have been unsatisfied with it then there's absolutely no reason you should have to pay them ANYTHING to cancel it, as long as you didn't purchase the modem from them and you return it (I recommend you ALWAYS lease the modem. It's usually not much and if it takes a lightning strike it's their problem).

If you signed a contract to buy the modem then they could stick you for the modem, but since the service never worked properly I'd make a strong case to fight that and return the modem for a credit.

Hope you get it worked out!

NascarFool · Post by **NascarFool** » Sat Jun 08, 2002 1:20 pm

FP,
The DSL is connected to my main comp from an external modem. I use ICS for a connection on the laptop. The IP switches between two addresses, 66.32.x.x and 199.174.x.x, When the connection stops, the DSL light goes out. The modem has four lights, PWR, DSL, ACT and ENET. When it loses conntion, the DSL light will go out. I close the connection and the light comes back on until I try to connect. The DSL comes back on by morning. The DSL modem was "free" for taking a one year DSL package. They sent me an "Efficient Networks" DSL modem and Earthlink software that is incompatible with WinXP. (Software wasn't needed anyways)

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sat Jun 08, 2002 2:24 pm

Well if the DSL light is going out you either have a defective modem (unlikely that it would lose connectivity on such a regular schedule) or it's a problem on their end (very likely).

If you cancel your contract before a year, they basically are making you pay for the modem. However, if the service was never satisfactory you can make a case for returning the modem and being credited for it.

Sounds to me like they're having problems on their end and doing nightly maintenance around 9pm.

If you want to know what's REALLY going on, see if you can catch a phone tech working on a nearby house or panel and ask him about it. Most line techs - even if they know nothing about DSL perse - know if there's some kind of hardware problem or maintenance work being done on the switch for your area.

That's the way it is here - you call customer support but that connects you with someone in another part of the country who has no idea WTF is going on with your hardware. Talk to a line tech - those guys generally will give you a straight answer off the record, and usually know what's really going on.

NascarFool · Post by **NascarFool** » Sun Jun 09, 2002 11:08 am

8:46pm Saturday night, it quit again. I called Tech No-Support again to complain. He said it might be a street light causing it to go out or a HAM radio. I see no HAM radio equipment around here. I know a HAM radio anttanae (sp) is rather large and tall. (especially when the mountains are so close) Supposedly, a line tech is scheduled to call me sometime today. Tech support said if they don't call today then I am to call back on Monday. Then they will contact me within 36 hours. What a crock !

©LINT · Post by **©LINT** » Sun Jun 09, 2002 9:59 pm

This face is for earthl**K....... anyway, i have DirecPC. There Tech support rocks, i was also getting disconnected. They told me to call my 56k isp to get more DNS #... it worked... Hope you get your problem solved..Clint

chottoED · Post by **chottoED** » Sun Jun 09, 2002 11:30 pm

That's funny, I've got nothin but nice things to say about Earthlink DSL in Chicago...
I basically ordered the service and when everything was up and running... my connectivity was fairly crappy...
I POLITELY called them up and we went over a list of things to try ... or actually more like they read me a list and I kept responding done this.. done that also...
At the end, we basically couldn't resolve the problem and I said well if I'm not going to have a reliable connection, I'd like to cancel.. they never gave me any crap and let me cancel w/o penalty even though I signed up for a year... in fact the rep was very courteous and apologized that I couldn't get proper service.. we chatted about various other alternatives a junk..

of course... a month later, I discover it was a faulty modem that was the culprit and I called them back up with a new working modem... at which point the rep had my connection up and running (WOOHOO!!!) within 2hrs... and I've basically had about 96-98% uptime ever since... can't complain one bit...

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 5:58 am

He said it might be a street light causing it to go out

As bizarre as that sounds, it makes sense, since it seems to go out on such a precise schedule.

Crabcake · Post by **Crabcake** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 9:01 am

There is nothing bizarre about it. DSL runs at about the same frequency as AM radio and some neon lights. It is highly possible that your problem is caused by one of the above. Maybe certain lights near the line are programmed to turn on at that hour. If not the light, then maybe there's a radio station around there that goes on the air at that time. The next time your DSL line goes down again, call tech support right away. Ask the frontline tech to escalate your call to the level 3 tech. Be nice to the tech as they don't often transfer residential customer to level 3 people. Once you get to the level 3 tech, ask them to check to see if the cells are moving from the TUC to TUR. If they can get this far, ask them to flood the TUR with pings to see if any cell is lost. Once they do this and verify that there is indeed interference from the above sources, they will probably cancel your contract as there isn't much else they could do to solve your problem.

NascarFool · Post by **NascarFool** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 11:05 am

It was shutting down around 8:45 PM. Last night it shut off at 10:01, well after the street light was on. At 8:40 I was outside watching the stupid street light.

The neighbors probably think I was a peeping tom.

Gand1 · Post by **Gand1** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 7:22 pm

Pervert!!

No, I unfortunately have nothing of value to add to this thread other than I hope you get your problem solved...

Crabcake · Post by **Crabcake** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 7:31 pm

The interference could be immediate to your premises or it could be anywhere along the path of the line from the CO where the DSLAM is to your home. This path could be up to 4 miles long.

Tomuchtime · Post by **Tomuchtime** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 2:38 am

NF
Don't know if this will help but when I had a prob with mine going out I called Sprint(since it's thier line)
and asked if there was a problem with the lines.I did that before i called my isp just to eliminate one possibility at a time.The tech telnetted into my modem and noticed it was going out of sync. but didn't
quite straighten it out.I then called my isp and they contacted Sprint and made a temporary change untill i could d/l a firmware upgrade for my modem(since it was thiers and i hacked into it anyway looking for any clue).after I installed the .bin and did a reset things were fine.It was explained to me during the course of all this that the POTS -plain old telephone system is a prime candidate for all kinds of havoc and things like loose connections to moisture that wouldn't ordinarly affect a normal phone connection.So just to be safe i now run a dedicated line for dsl.As far as radio comms. go ham ops don't allways use large outdoor antennas and can run a lot of power with a suitable longwire well hidden.As the frequency goes up the antennas have smaller elements and are harder to spot.If you think that may be the trouble don't hesitate contacting the local ARRL chapter they would be more than happy to help.
Bill
Oh i allmost forgot,if you have a phone on the same line pull the filter out and listen as some times you can hear the rectified signals comming through the handset.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 10:13 am

NASCAR:
The timing is the key - if it's that regular it MUST be something being turned on every nigh.

if it's something outside the house like a street light you're basically screwed, but MAYBE it's something in your house.

Think carefully. Anything that comes on every night at around that same time in your home? Outdoor or indoor lights (flourescent, neon, mercury vapor or any other light that has a balast transformer - a regular incandescent won't affect it).

Anything else around the house that uses a transformer that comes on at that time? Water sprinkler pump maybe?

Next time it happens try killing all the electrical circuit breakers except the outlet for the computer and modem and see if it clears up (I'd cycle the modem off and on as well since it might not reset quickly by itself).

Did you do a self install or did they install it? Did they run a line directly to the phone box for the modem or use the existing wiring? If it's not a homerun to the phone box I'd insist that they do that to see if it helps.

Long-shot but it could be another device connected to the phone line. Some equipment is sensitive to electrical noise and may be picking up noise and injecting it into the phone line. Or you may have a faulty piece of equipment that's creating line noise.

If you haven't tried it yet, next time it happens try pulling all phone equipment off that line except the modem and see if that helps (again, you may need to cycle the modem to reset it).

Have you listened to that phone line on a phone extension when the problem occurs? Use a quality hard-wired phone (not a wireless). Press one button (like the number 1) and LISTEN (in a quiet room). See if you hear any line noise: crackles, pops, static, etc.

Hope you figure it out!