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Troubleshooting
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Troubleshooting |
- Introduction
- Telecommunications problems...
- What Telstra can check for...
- So what to do if you think the lines are the problems?
- Internet Access problems...
- Internet Connection problems...
Introduction
Here are a few hints and tips for those of you experiencing some problems with your connection to the world. We hope they are of some assistance. It is assumed that you have set your modem and software as described in the literature from your service provider and/or hardware suppliers.
Not ALL connection problems are Telstras fault just as they are not all your fault. Listed here are a few of the not so obvious things to watch for as well as some of the obvious.
Telecommunications problems once Connected.
Indicated by...Multiple attempts to connect to your service provider.
Dropped line while
connected to your service provider.
What to check for...
Faxes -
Especially those with the smart answer or TAD features that are supposed to detect the type of call in progress. Anything hanging off your line will effect your connection. The simplest test is to unplug everything except your modem and try again for a while to see if the problem persists.
Other phones -
Just because a phone sits there on the hook does not mean it will not affect your line. The worst offenders are the Telstra Touchphone 200. The memory in these phones is powered from the phone line and every 15 to 20 minutes it will draw a small amount of current to keep the chips charged. If you are connected at the time it will be enough to cause a dropped line.
Call waiting -
Any Telstra feature that intrudes on your line will cause your modem to spit the dummy while it is trying to talk to another modem. Check you have these features turned off if they are available from your exchange.
Connection speed -
It may be fine and dandy to have the latest 56K modem but the limit to the speed you can actually achieve is generally always the quality of the phone lines. All modern modems have the ability to check line quality when connecting and pick the appropriate speed. Make sure this ability is enabled in your modem. As a final resort lock the modem down to 2400 (or maybe even 1200) and try connecting at that speed.
What Telstra can check for... (if pressed...)
Low line levels -
This will be apparent from the way your modem is trying to connect to the other end. Your modem will issue it's connect tones and will then wait for the response tones from the other end. They should then do some data transfer to check the validity of the line at that speed. You might be able to actually hear the low level response from the other end and recognise your modems failure to respond to it.
Fluctuating line levels
&
Unbalanced lines - These 2 bogies are the cause of most headaches because they are the main causes of connections failing after the initial logon, ie: dropped lines.
This is due to the modem testing the line and finding it usable at a certain speed which then changes as the line is being used. Some of today's modems have the ability to 'retrain' while connected but both modems need to have this ability and have it activated for it to successfully work. It is also necessary for each modem to be able to step down in speed far enough to use the line if it is of very poor quality.
Check with your service provider to determine the lowest speed they have allowed their modems to step down to, as you can be sure Telstra will ask you "what speed are you trying to connect at." If you state 28,800kilobits/sec you will be told that there lines are only guaranteed for 2400kilobits/sec.
So what to do if you think the lines are the problems?
1) Complain to Telstra. If you log more than 5 complaints in a month then your service is upgraded in priority for repair (It was 5 times the last time we were able to glean this information from them, although it may have changed). One complaint a month after this keeps your line in that priority listing. So don't give up, the more complaint's the better if you suspect the line's are at fault.
2) Telstra have a test number called their "Fax Stream Test Number" on 1300-368-909 which has been found very useful for identifying line problems. You need to send a complex page from a fax in high resolution mode so that it takes at least 60 seconds or more to send for the equipment at the other end to do it's tests. It will then fax you back the results. This test has revealed very poor lines in areas where Telstra have sworn black and blue that the lines were perfect and the problems must be due to customers faulty equipment.
3) Contact your local Service Provider who is always ready to help, in most cases by putting you in touch with people with the expertise to identify your problem areas and get the right wheels in motion to fix the problems.
Internet access problems.
Indicated by...
Inability to connect
to sites.
There are many reasons why you may not be able to connect to particular internet sites, even if you have connected to that site previously. The internet is a very fluid thing, and servers come and go on a regular basis. The amount of traffic in an area and the number of users already accessing a particular server will also determine it's accessibility. The best approach is to keep trying and if no success on a particular day, try again on another day. If you still can't get in then the server has gone or you have the wrong address.
Pages appearing
blank or garbled.
It is well to remember that the software you are using to access the internet is getting larger and more complex with each new release. So there are many areas in which things could go wrong. A general rule of thumb is to distrust everything you are using until you have varified it's operation personally. Start with the terminal mode available in most PPP clients and make your connection manually. If you have bad or noisy lines then you may see strings of garbage characters in amongst the prompts. This will certainly give you garbage in any internet application you are using.
Always run through the settings of your web browser, ALL the settings, as these days they can be set up for languages other than english. Nearly all Internet Service Providers will require you to go through a 'proxy' and may have barriers in place to stop you if you don't. Check with your ISP about this and the settings of your software.
There are lots of other reasons which will produce these effects which will be expanded on in later versions of this page.
Internet Connection problems.
Here's some basics for others that can't get onto the net and hence to here (maybe a friend can show them this :-)
Can't Connect.
Does your modem get a dial tone? Check your phone connection using a phone plugged into the 'phone' jack on the back of your modem (if you have one) or have your modem speaker turned on and listen for the dial tone just before dialling.
Is your modem dialling out? If the modem gets the right commands to dial you will hear the dialling tones or pulses. If you are on an old exchange you may not have tone dialling and need to make sure your modem is set to pulse dialling.
Does the modem at the other end answer? The response tones you hear from the other modem can tell you a lot about the connection they are trying to establish.
Do you get a Carrier Detect (CD)? This is the clearest indication that your modem is not being recognised by the modem at the other end. If you have already been through the above steps and your modem dials, and the modem at the other end answers but no carrier is detected then they will hang up and give a 'NO CARRIER' error message. This means that they could not agree upon a speed at which they could talk to one another.
There are lots of other reasons which will produce these effects which will be expanded on in later versions of this page.
Even more line Problems? Here are some finds
from the net
go to NET Home Page
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Troubleshooting |