Don’t Fire The Phone Company Just Yet

If you’re on DSL like many people, you may be having problems with your broadband connection. Don’t feel like the Lone Ranger. This appears to be an all too common problem. Even Darth Vader breaks the internet occasionally.

And don’t be like Chad Vader. Make sure your router or modem is plugged in and turned on!

I had the same set of problems. The first thing that I would check is your modem. If the light blinks constantly, or your modem kicks on and off frequently, you may have a modem issue. Most are interchangable, so borrow one from your neighbor. Ask your neighbors if their connection goes off constantly. Take notes and compare.

I’ve been through a couple of modems and the phone technician guy (he’s rude but smart) told me that modems are remanufactured — meaning cheap. One note of caution here: when in doubt, always unplug. Power surges and thunderstorms will kill your modem, thereby alienating you from the modern world… So, I strongly recommend you unplug whenever you can’t be there.

Another word of caution here — unplug your modem with the wire in the back, instead of resetting the button. That button has a spring in it, and you guessed it, the spring goes bad. Yep, already been there. The rude tech guy said that “we’ll try to supply one this time. If it breaks within a year, you get to buy the next one.” (sigh)

If you’ve established that your $100 modem is in good shape, then it’s time to focus on the phone line running from the pole to your residence. Phone companies are not responsible these days for phone connections from the pole. The tech guy replied, “those days are over bubba.” (sigh)

So here’s the deal… If you have an ancient phone jack like I did, you have options. Either pay the phone company about $65 to run you a new line, or DIY. I chose the second option.

The technician told me when I have internet connection problems, go outside and plug the phone line directly into the jack. I did just that, and I immediately started to get better signal. I concluded that my old phone connection was bad. I happened to have some phone wire with standard jacks on the ends, so I ran the wire through a window. I used phone jack splitters inside, and didn’t put up any on the wall, like they usually do.

But, weather still does affect the connection. During heavy rains, my signal will intermittently kick on and off. This isn’t going to go away. Until fiber optics is widely available to all, we are just stuck with this defiency.

My advice is — try to fix it yourself. And be nice to the phone technician. You’ll need him again, even if he is a rude person/une personne impolie. Example: Your brother next door takes the phone line out with his new RV, while entering the drive… (sigh with tension headache)