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General discussion

DSL disconnecting everytime the phone is turned on.

May 25, 2007 5:49PM PDT

Hello, I have an extremely frustrating and annoying issue that has been going on for about six months now. I am subscribed with ATT's SBC DSL service. Everytime someone calls me, or I turn on my telephone, my internet disconnects for about 15 seconds. After it reconnects, it will frequently disconnect randomly without anyone calling for a duration of about an hour or so.

I am going to list a few variables that may contribute to my problem. Please be patient as I may name a few factors that may not even effect my connection. I have 2 sets of phones in my house, a phone with a 5.8GHZ speed(Uniden) and a phone with a 2.4GHZ speed(Panasonic). I have DSL filters plugged into my phone jacks that are connected to my phones. Recently I have read that I should not use a filter for the phone jack that directly plugs into my modem. So currently there is no filter on the jack connecting to my modem. I also use a Linksys router and have another computer connected to the internet as well. If there are any other factors that may have contributed to the issue, I am more than willing to to provide more detail Happy.

I know it is not my modem or router acting up, as I have replaced both and still have the same issues. It is not the wires that connect from the jack to my modem, as I have also replaced it. If anyone has had the same issue or know a possible solution, I would be extremely grateful for any input. Thank you for your time. This problem has been extremely frustrating for me and to the 3 SBC technicians that visited my house and had no idea was what going on.

Discussion is locked

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Here you information
May 25, 2007 7:18PM PDT

DSL Filters on everything plugged into the phone line except your DSL Modem.

The 2.4gh phone is the culprit.

Can you change channels? If so, then change the channels on it. If not, then disconnect it and you should be good to go.


Neighbors that have a 2.4gh portable phone can also disconnect you.


Hope this helps.


Rick

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Just tested the 2.4GHZ phone...
May 25, 2007 7:48PM PDT

Thank you very much for your feedback Rick, however the 2.4GHZ phone does not seem to be the issue. What I've just done was disconnect the 2.4GHZ phone completely and leave only the 5.8GHZ plugged in. I picked up the 5.8GHZ and turned it on which resulted in an immediate disconnection from the internet. The most frustrating this about this is... Ive also plugged in the 2.4GHZ phone alone and tested it as well. It disconnects my internet just as the 5.8 GHZ phone did. This leads me to the conclusion that it may be the phone jack itself that is damaged, but is that a possible factor?

Also the statement "DSL Filters on everything plugged into the phone line except your DSL Modem." confuses me a bit. My apologies, but can you please provide some more emphasis on this? Am I supposed to leave in the filter that connects to my Modem or not? Thanks again for your time! I appreciate the help.

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The filters explained. . .
May 25, 2007 11:09PM PDT

DSL contains two analog signals.

1.) Analog voice frequencies with a bandwidth of 200 - 3400 Hz. This is your voice/phone connection.

2.) Analog frequencies with a bandwidth of 86 KHz - 1.1 MHz. This is your DSL (data) connection.

In order that the DSL frequencies do not interfere with voice, the filter is specifically a "band pass" filter. This means it blocks the DSL frequencies to each phone. DSL filters are placed in front of each phone or analog device such as an answering machine, FAX machine, or dial-up modem.

As to your specific problem you need to connect a standard, non-wireless phone to one of the jacks for a test. If the problem goes away, the cordless phones are the culprit. If the problem persists you need to contact your ISP for help.

Wayne

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Thank you
May 26, 2007 6:10AM PDT

Thank you very much, I am going to test a standard non cordless phone right now.

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Yet another problem
May 26, 2007 8:00AM PDT

So I have tested a non cordless phone(a really old model) on all three of my phone jacks in my house with a filter attached. All three times my internet disconnects. I have absolutely no idea what is going on. After my tests I have concluded that it is not the 2.4GHZ or 5.8GHZ cordless phones, not my modem or router, not the wiring inside my home, but possibly all of the phone jacks in the house. Now, I am not completely sure that it is possible for all phone jacks to be defective, its probably something internal that requires some serious repairing. If I have missed anything that may be a factor of the disconnections, please mention them. I have just scheduled for yet another technician to visit my household on Tuesday, yet I feel it will be another futile attempt to fix this issue. Thank you all for the help you have provided.

Also, do you guys think if i switched to Comcast Cable service, that my problem would be fixed?

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Comcast. . .
May 26, 2007 10:16PM PDT

I have the choice where I live of DSL, cable, and fiber. I have cable for one reason. Speed. DSL offering is around 1.5 Meg, fiber is around 5, and my Comcast/Time Warner/Roadrunner (pick one) runs a solid 6.5 - 7 Mb/s. And no filters to mess with, it'll never interfere with your phones. And it takes a standard modem and any router will connect to it.

You asked? Get cable. It's more expensive but I don't mind paying for reliability or speed. There's some good information here. http://www.broadbandreports.com/

Wayne

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Time to Rewire
Jul 19, 2007 8:46AM PDT

I had to rewire my phone lines from the network box outside to fix the problem. Because it's all "inside" problems, the phone company won't help either - at least not for less than $90 per half hour.

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Same Issue
Dec 26, 2007 5:17AM PST

Hey,
Did you ever figure out a solution for this? I am having the same problem. Thanks!