Finally found clueful AT&T DSL support....

[moriah]

.... after opening no less than five trouble tickets in two weeks.

I'd been experiencing slow speeds for a bit and it kept getting worse. The first three times I called they ran tests and swore it was fine.

The fourth time, their systems were down so they couldn't run tests, and sent me a new modem since the Speedstream 4100 I had was running hot. It also came with new filters, so changed out all of my filters. Put the new modem on, no change, but it has a better interface to read the signal levels. I also finally found a long enough extension cord to check the signal at the box outside, and there was a pretty big difference.

So I watched, and sure enough, I saw the signal levels dip and CRCs start going up, and called right then. FINALLY their tests showed something was up, and a tech will be out on Monday.

Since the house has an unmonitored alarm system in a locked box that we can't access, the guy recommended the tech do a "home run" and have a splitter set up outside so that the DSL service isn't running through the alarm.

I'm so happy I paid the $7 a month for servicing the in-house wiring...

[meegbear]

1. Could be a bad splitter ...

I have Comcast (ick) and I moved from one apartment to another in the same place, my line would get slow and at times drop. I had them check the line and they said the line was fine. I had bought my own modem a couple years ago and figured it shit the bed, so I had them come in to give me one of theirs.

The guy came by and he said before I do this, I want to check the splitter. He checked the splitter and found that the signal was almost non-existant. He said that was the problem; the outside checks showed that the signal was fine and since the TV only accepts incoming signals, it wasn't affected. He replaced it and I was fine.

[moriah]

2. For DSL, filters are usually the trouble.

I used to do cable tech support and I wish the cable provider here didn't live up to their name so well (Cox Communications) -- I know much more about how to troubleshoot them.

Voice-band noise on phone lines really disrupts DSL, so every phone in the house has to have a filter on it so that the only thing getting to the modem is the DSL signal.

The reason the alarm is a concern is because they hook up to phone lines, and I can't get into the box to replace the filter, if there is one. We need to isolate it away from the DSL line somehow, so that it doesn't add voice-band interference to the DSL signal.

[meegbear]

5. Gotcha ...

learn something new everyday. Hopefully, this'll be fixed quickly. :hi:

[Orsino]

3. I had a similar problem, even after the inside line repair.

The security system, we eventually discovered, simply did not play well with DSL. I paid for a second phone line for a while, then eventually went wireless with the alarm.

[BeachBaby]

4. Hi moriah...question for you.....

I'm currently using satellite internet service, and it SUX. Did ya ever hear of Wild Blue? It's expensive, it's SLOW, they have strict limitations on downloads, and God forbid it rains or gets really cloudy because we lose our connection.

We ended up with this because Comcast couldn't give us service (I live on a farm, and they're not going to run the wiring down the road for lil ole me).

How does DSL work? I don't have a land line phone (we have 3 cell phones), although I could always get one if need be; does DSL work with laptops? We have one desktop and two laptops, but the laptops are used the most. Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks! :)