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[Zoe]

Hi  

I've been reading Kitz help pages and forum for over a week now .. Fantastic! - Very Helpful Indeed  8)

My Problem
On the 1st of April I got a call from AOL asking me would I like to accept a new contract.
I told the man that phoned...
That I wasn't sure because we have a very old master socket that needed replacing.
He Said... " Do Not Worry! - When you are on the new contract will will come out and take care of that for you. "
So in the end I excepted the new contract of....
Phone Line Rental - AOL
Phone Calls - AOL ( Free UK Calls )
Cost... £11.25 per month
Broadband - AOL ( LLU )
UpTo 24 Mbps
50 GB Download Limit
+ Free Router
Cost... £14.99 per month
Total Cost On New Contract ( Phone - & - Internet ) = £26.24 per month


NOTE : My old contract consisted of....
Broadband - AOL ( LLU )
UpTo 8 Mbps
10 GB Download Limit
Total Cost... £14.99 per month
Note: Phone line rental was with BT

My new AOL contract started on the 21st of April.
And I've had nothing but problems ever since  

The 21st came and I eagerly put my new AOL contract details into my router.
Everything seemed just fine at first. I couldn't actually believe just how quick and easy it had been to make the change over.
Apart from not seeing speeds anywhere near 24 Mbps ... Was Really Happy!
Happiness was short lived though  
And by the end of the first day I was already seeing symptoms of something being terribly wrong with my Internet.
1) Another forum I use started being scrambled at the top.
2) Started to see many Server Not Found / Page Not Found messages.
In the next few days....
3) My Internet started to constantly cut out ( Red Light On Router )
I phoned AOL but the lady wouldn't help me because I wasn't using the router they had provided me with.
A few days later...
I phoned AOL and asked could someone come out to replace my master socket.
Well after about 4 hours on the phone arguing with approx 6 different people...
AOL did send a Talk Talk engineer out - & - The Talk Talk engineer did NOT fit a new master socket  
However!
I will say he was very nice and did remove an old extension wire and the bell wire. And my down sync speed went up to about 9555 Kbps
my noise margin ( Down ) went from 9 - to - 12
But The Next Day... Problems Started Again!  

Internet Cut Off - & - Red Light On Router  
Not the ADSL light.
The actual Internet light that looks like a candle.

What I've Done...
Lowered MTU Today .. From 1450 - to - 1400
Changed Micro Filter
Checked router settings over and over again.

PS.
I have been checking out the Talk Talk forum ( Coz AOL Forum Closed ) and it is Full of people with my problem.
While I Was There...
I noticed that Talk talk staff are telling people to use OpenDNS.
First Question...
1) Can you use OpenDNS if you have your Phone Line with your ISP?
2) Is it legal for Talk Talk to be telling people to use OpenDNS  


Thanks In Advance!

Zoe

PS.
Just done at 7.20pm

Note : Upload is normally a little higher.

[roseway]

Hi Zoe and welcome

Just a few points in no particular order:

It's your internet (PPP) connection which is dropping, not your ADSL connection, so the problem is nothing to do with your physical connection. So changing the microfilter, although often a good thing to try, isn't going to help this time. Also, changing the MTU can often help with low download speeds, but won't affect this problem.

The part of your connection which is failing is the login to your ISP, and this could be caused by a problem with the ISP's setup, or could possibly be an incompatibility problem with your router. I think that the first thing you should do is try the ISP-supplied router instead of the one you've been using. At the very least, this will put you in a position where they won't refuse to help you.

I don't think that a change to OpenDNS will make any difference, but if you want to use them instead of your ISP's DNS server there's nothing to stop you doing so. You can probably set this up in the router's configuration, or if not you can change it in the PC's networking setup.

[Zoe]

Hi Roseway  

It's your internet (PPP) connection which is dropping, not your ADSL connection,

Perhaps I haven't explained it properly because I thought PPP Link Light was just another name for ADSL Light.  
But my PPP Link Light always stays a constant bright Green.
Only the Internet light ( The one that looks like a candle )  turns Red.

could possibly be an incompatibility problem with your router. I think that the first thing you should do is try the ISP-supplied router instead of the one you've been using. At the very least, this will put you in a position where they won't refuse to help you.

Can't see why my router would be incompatible  
However! - I know that if my problems continue then I'm going to have to give the AOL supplied D-Link a go.

Trouble Is!
Love my own router  8)
I only bought it in December and it's been a little gem up until now.
Always worked perfect when I was on the old AOL contract.
My Modem/Router... Netgear : DGND3300
I have done a Factory Reset and started again from scratch.

I don't think that a change to OpenDNS will make any difference, but if you want to use them instead of your ISP's DNS server there's nothing to stop you doing so. You can probably set this up in the router's configuration, or if not you can change it in the PC's networking setup.

Don't think I'm going to have much choice but to try if things continue as they have been.
My Internet can be good and strong for anything from a few minutes - to - Up To 48 hours  
And then all of a sudden.... Problem Starts Again!  

changing the microfilter, although often a good thing to try, isn't going to help this time.

Have had some intermittent noise on the line ( Before & After - New Contract ) that's why I decided to change my filter one last time.

Thanks!

Zoe

PS.
My Router Stats...


[attachment deleted by admin]

[Zoe]

Hi  


I've just gone again!

It's always the same  
Notice that browser becomes slower and slower to open.
Start seeing the Page Not Found thing when I click on a website.
Then how I know that my Internet light on my router has turned red without actually having to sit permanently watching it all day...
1) The little Globe Icon disappears from my Taskbar and it says - Local Only  
But Also...
I have a cool little Back Up and Sync software called Dropbox.
Before my new contract with AOL started - My Dropbox icon in my Taskbar was always...
a) Dropbox with blue cirlcle and white arrows meaning Syncing.
b) Dropbox with green circle and white Tick meaning Synced.
But since my new AOL contract started...
My Dropbox icon in my Taskbar loses both and becomes just a naked Dropbox icon when my Internet cuts out.
2) My Dropbox shows NO Synced or Syncing icon on it.
At this point I know that if I go down the hall and look at my router .... Red Internet Light!
If I was to try to click a web page... The web page would simply never load.


Thanks!

Zoe

[jeffbb]

Hi
There is a very useful tool for long term monitoring your line stats ,SNR margin,synch rate and many others . The results displayed graphically so that you can see trends and actually see exactly what happens on the line.
see routerstats  .

Regards Jeff

[Zoe]

Hi jeffbb  


Thanks For The Link! ... I'll take a look at that 

Something I Forgot To Mention Yesterday 
When I was on my old AOL contract....
The Domain Name Servers shown in my router always started with the numbers... 92
But since I've been on the new AOL contract...
The Domain Name Servers shown in my router now always start with the numbers... 62
Don't Like New Contract AOL Servers 


Thanks!

Zoe


PS.
Seem to be holding strong at the moment.
Just wish it would always stay that way 

[Zoe]

Hi  


Went red again about 10 minutes ago  

Checked Router Stats... Noise Margin Is Going Down Again  
Seems to start at 12 and eventually ends up a 9 or even 8.


Thanks!

Zoe

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Zoe]

Hi 


Just to note...

My mum has just made 2 phone calls.
The first one was to a mobile phone and the line was clear.
The second was to a land line and she could hardly hear the person on the other end.
Noise is always intermittent. ( Seems to come and go at will )
Can't replace the Filter any more.
Coz I've already gone through about 10 different micro filters.

AOL say there is nothing wrong 

Thanks!

Zoe

[waltergmw]

Hi Zoe,

Noise on a call could come from the far end's line just as easily as yours.
To check your connection to the exchange dial 17070 and then select optionn2 to listen for a quiet line.
There should NEVER be any noises, crackles etc. when doing the quiet line test.

If you hear noise you should report it to your provider as a phone fault and don't mention broadband at all.

Kind regards,
Walter

[Zoe]

Hi waltergmw  

AOL got me to do the quite line test last week. ( Didn't actually know what it was then )
But... They told me to dial the number and then my own number  
So a woman's voices starts telling me my own number - & - I'm trying to type in my number at the same time  

Will the quiet line test still work properly with my phone line being with AOL now?  

Thanks!

Zoe

[attachment deleted by admin]

[waltergmw]

Hi again Zoe,
If you are still on a line being provided by BT wholesale, then the QLT will work and you don't have to enter your number.

If you phone is being provided via CarPhone Warehouse's own (unbundled) network the QLT doesn't usually work but it should tell you your line number.

It would be interesting to see what happens.

Kind regards,
Walter

[Zoe]

Hi 


Can't decide if to try OpenDNS first with my Netgear router - or - If to try the D-Link AOL sent me 

OpenDNS
Don't know if I can with having my phone line with AOL
But this would save me having to try and figure out how to get my new Wireless Printer reconnected to a new Wireless router without having to reinstall from scratch.
I've only had the printer a few days. And with all my Internet problems... Not really had chance to study everything about it.

D-Link Router
Found this today : http://www.talktalkmembers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41190
The OP figured out he could set his Internet back to normal ADSL .. Which solved his disconnection problems.


Netgear Router
Does anyone know if there is a similar setting in a Netgear router as there is in the D-link.
You Know! - To change From...   g.dmt = ADSL1.   G.992.5 Annex A = ADSL2+.   G.992.5 Annex M = ADSL2+
I can't find anything in my Netgear User manual.

After the last disconnection... My Internet has now slowed to a crawl 
Second day of disconnections always seems to end the same way.
Until I am forced to reboot the router to get things going again.

Thanks!

Zoe

[Zoe]

Hi waltergmw 

If you are still on a line being provided by BT wholesale, then the QLT will work and you don't have to enter your number.

I'm not with BT any more 
My new contract with AOL included line rental.

If you phone is being provided via CarPhone Warehouse's own (unbundled) network the QLT doesn't usually work but it should tell you your line number.

AOL ( LLU )
When AOL told me to do the QLT .... It did just tell me my phone number 


Thanks!

Zoe

[roseway]

OpenDNS
Don't know if I can with having my phone line with AOL
But this would save me having to try and figure out how to get my new Wireless Printer reconnected to a new Wireless router without having to reinstall from scratch.
I've only had the printer a few days. And with all my Internet problems... Not really had chance to study everything about it.

I think you may have a misunderstanding here. DNS is the service which converts internet site names (e.g. bbc.co.uk) to IP addresses (e.g. 212.58.224.138). Most people use their ISP's DNS servers, but there are lots of others which you can use, and OpenDNS is one of these. So it doesn't have anything to do with who you pay for your phone line, or with printers, wireless or otherwise.

[Zoe]

Hi Eric

DNS is the service which converts internet site names (e.g. bbc.co.uk) to IP addresses (e.g. 212.58.224.138).

Oh! - Now I Understand!  

Well!
about an hour ago... I could only just manage to get here coz my Internet was so bad  
Read your reply Eric  
&
Thought... " Right! - That's It! .. I'm Gonna Do It!
And So I Did!
I'm now using OpenDNS  8)

So it's Fingers Crossed time now.
If I manage to go more than 48 hours without any problems.... Then I'll Know It Was AOL  

Thanks!

Zoe