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DEL.ICIO.USMaking the connection - broadband
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
My Internet service goes out more often than my stepdaughter.
Both my DSL and voice telephone service arrive at my home over the same wire. But that’s where the two part company. While my telephone service almost never fails, the DSL connection is a sometimes thing.
Don’t feel cocky if you have cable. Before I had DSL, I used a cable modem, and it also went out on a regular basis.
There’s no way your Internet service - at least for the immediate future - will be as dependable as your telephone. But I can help you ease many of the problems you are almost certain to encounter.
One problem I often see with both computers and networks is the devastation caused by fixing something that isn’t broken. So keep in mind that your connection can slow down for all sorts of reasons beyond your control.
For instance, just as on I-85, traffic can jam things up at a Web site. Too many people logging onto a site can bring speed to a crawl or put it out of business temporarily.
Your Internet provider can also have problems. If you go to the main Web page for your provider, you’ll usually see a link to a page that offers reports on any network problems. Keep in mind that some problems only hit part of your service. For instance, an e-mail server at your provider can have problems even though the Web part is just fine.
You’ll also find a telephone number to call if problems persist. The help you’ll get depends on the provider. In some lucky cases, you’ll get help tracing the problem - even if it’s in your own system. But at other providers, you won’t even get sympathy. If that’s the case with your provider, it may be time to take your business elsewhere.
To make things even more complicated, the Internet itself can slow down. If you’d like to check that, just head to an Internet traffic report here to get a traffic report. High traffic or equipment problems at one of the main server locations can slow down things for everyone.
But there are times when the problem is in your house, and there’s a trick for that. It’s way too simple to seem like a big deal. But using it can restore Internet service more than half the time. It should be your first move when your computer can’t connect using either DSL or cable.
Simply turn the modem off. Let it sit that way for a few moments and then turn it on again. You’ll be pleased at how often that works. Here’s why: Your modem must be in sync with the modems at your Internet provider. Restarting the modem requires it to establish that synchronization. (If you want to seem like a genius, move everyone from the room while you do this and make some impressive noises. No one needs to know how easy it is.)
The nice thing about this fix is that, even if the problem isn’t at your home, it does no harm at worst and can be a lifesaver at best.
Some problems aren’t as obvious or as simple to fix.
Last week, for instance, my connection slowed to a crawl. I ignored the problem, figuring that it was a temporary glitch on my DSL provider’s end. But things got worse, and finally my computer couldn’t connect at all. I tried unplugging the ethernet connectors both at my computer and at the router, thinking they might not be seated correctly. That didn’t help.
So I traced the cable along the wall to the router and noticed that it had developed a kink. Since I often make changes in hardware and move the desks around to do it, I probably created the kink when I pulled the desk away from the wall to get working room.
Keep in mind that this wasn’t a visible break in the cable, just a sharp bend. A bend like that can break one of the tiny wires inside the cable. But even when a wire isn’t broken, a sharp bend can still create enough interference between the wires to slow or stop a connection. Simply replacing the cable fixed the problem.
But since I have a beagle that considers cables a chew toy, I also used wiring molding to cover the cable for most of its run. Besides protecting it from the dog, the portion of cable that is covered will never kink.
The day may come when Internet service is just as reliable as the telephone. But that day is so far off that you can’t see it from here.
Permalink | Comments (10) | Post your comment | Categories: Columns
Comments
By ron
February 23, 2007 11:41 AM | Link to this
I have been on satellite internet since August and I have to say that problems have been at a minimum.I’ve only had to send one nastygram for slow speed and that’s it.I certainly hope service continues to be as satisfactory in the future.
By Bill
February 23, 2007 12:43 PM | Link to this
Ron, your comments interested me - I have had almost no experience with satellite. But the times I’ve used it - my sister lives so far out in the country that the cows outnumber the people - it has been slow compared to DSL or cable.
But - since that’s the only time I use satellite - I’ve wondered if her installation is a faulty one.
So thanks for the report on satellite. I’ll balance the view I’ve had based on using only one system.
By Grammarian
February 23, 2007 01:25 PM | Link to this
Link to this blog is titled: “Internet out more then Britney” Do you mean more “than” Britney? Come on, AJC!
By Comcast nightmare
February 23, 2007 01:25 PM | Link to this
Bill, I have had Comcast for close to 3 years now and every Fall season the internet would go out constantly. From Jan to Sep it never lost a connection. Sep rolls around, it would go out 10 times a day. Of course I’d call Comcast and the telephones techs would give me the same tired solutions. I would always receive credit for the outages but that was just appeasement. Finally this year they sent in a smart technician who installed a signal booster in my house and voila!, hadn’t had an outage since November. I guess that was the problem all along.
By Comcast nightmare
February 23, 2007 01:28 PM | Link to this
Rural folks will have WIMAX by the end of next year I think. Those on satellite will now have other options. WIMAX is supposed to be almost as fast as DSL.
By kf
February 23, 2007 03:55 PM | Link to this
i only got on here to correct the “then.” ha.
By Bill
February 23, 2007 04:04 PM | Link to this
Didn’t see the link they used with the “then” although I can think of typing mistakes I have made in print that still give me the chills. Once I used a spellcheck program and didn’t pay close attention and ended up with a story - luckily my editor caught it - that substituted the word ‘urine’ for a mispelled ‘unique.’
By John
February 23, 2007 04:24 PM | Link to this
I’ve almost never had a problem with Comcast. I think my Internet service and cable have gone out 3 times in 2 years—all during electrical storms. They were back running in short order. Comcast is far and away the best cable and Internet provider I have ever seen. As close to perfect as possible.
By js3
February 25, 2007 09:40 PM | Link to this
I use Comcast and over the last several weeks it has gone out of service several times during the afternoon. The cable television service is not interrupted. I contacted the company and after a telephone consultation they sent a tech out. He ran some tests and said that the problem was in their lines because they were absorbing a smaller vendors lines in the southwest area of Atlanta. The service was out this afternoon also.
That is an annoyance but I have another related issue … the wireless connection comes and goes. I turn the router off and then on and most of the time it works occasionally I also have to do the same with the base station. How can I prevent the wireless form dropping or is it just the fact that the service drops necessitating a reboot for the wireless?
By wabrooke
February 26, 2007 04:36 PM | Link to this
your losing connection on your net connection because of the cable signal dropping. More than likely, you’re not on a static ip, so when your connection comes back, it is refreshing, and you no longer have a valid ip. Or, it’s the fact that when the cable goes out, so goes your net connection, as they are on the same signal.