Help, Need Someone Who Can Explain Some Internet Problems

[Annella]

I have a MAC OSX Tiger,  OS 9.2.2


For the last year, I will lose Internet.  It's just there....and then it's not.  Happens about once a month or every 2 months.  It will be off about an hour or so, and then for no reason at all.....come back on..grrrrrr frustrating!

I call Tech Support (ATT-DSL), and they go through all the spiel about testing the modem, all the stuff they can do. They have been out 3 times to switch out my modem.  By this time, I realize that it's not the modem.  I think they do this because they actually don't know what else it can be.

Okay, tonight it did the same thing.  I was on the phone for over an hour going through the familiar motions.  After the first Tech. did all they could do, they switched me to a more advanced department.  No big deal, done this before.  Like I said....been through it each time.  She tested the circuit and said that the circuit was down.  I asked her if everybody's circuit was down.  She replied that the circuit going to my house was down, but she can't really see if anyone else's was down.  While we're talking, THE INTERNET CAME BACK UP!  I asked her what happened, and she didn't know.  The Tech. is scheduled to come out again on Monday.

My Question:  Does anyone have any idea what's going on, or have you had any similar problem?  Is the circuit the wire leading to the house?  I should have asked......I really don't know.

There has to be some "Tech Savvy" person out there that can help me understand what's going on.

[lynnc35]

Sounds like that may be the case, I would highly suggest going to another company for your internet, if they cannot even tell you what the culprit is. It sounds like they just don't want to fix it to me, if this is an ongoing problem, you know people that want to take your money, but not fix anything for it.

[missijl]

Yeah, that's definitely not normal internet behavior. I wouldn't put up with it if it's doing it consistently. You pay to have internet 24-7, so I would probably change companies also.

[jordandog]

She replied that the circuit going to my house was down, but she can't really see if anyone else's was down.

Annella, the 'circuit' she is referring to is your relay circuit in your phone's outside box/hook-up. I would guess that you have a faulty piece of equipment there since the problem is intermittent. I went through the same thing 2 years ago, have AT&T as my phone and internet provider. They sent someone to my house after I basically demanded it (I pay extra for LineBacker protection) and he found my box's wiring was old enough to have started deteriorating AND, because I never locked it, it appeared someone had tampered with it. He showed me what he was talking about, put in a new box, new wiring, and relay. I went out and bought a small lock that day and have not had a problem since.

[Oryon20]

I have AT&T DSL and it is truly horrible, but my options are limited in that we don't have cable TV, so it's this or dial-up.  I would never pay the astronomical fees just to have cable interent alone, not bundled with a TV.

Our internet goes in and out a lot, especially at night time.  A tech has been out a few times and claims the signal is always strong.  It's always funny to me that it will go in and out for hours, and right before they come, it seems to be on consistently and stays that way for a while after they leave.

We've quit calling tech support.  From what I have gathered from talking to them, and looking around online, DSL can be very finicky.  If the wiring inside your house isn't very good (this is your responsibility, not AT&T's), it can cause problems, temperature changes can cause problems, interference from things like outdoor street lights in close proximity can, and on and on.

My thought?  I think they just have a weak network in many places.

I feel your pain, and hope it gets better soon.  But, as you probably have already figured out, don't hold your breath waiting for them to help/fix it.  If it's something going on with wiring in your house or at your house's box, you most likely will have to pay to have it fixed.  AT&T is only responsible for the line running from the house to the poles.  If you have another option at a comparable price available, it might be worth considering changing as long as you currently aren't in a contract.  Good luck.

[jordandog]

If it's something going on with wiring in your house or at your house's box, you most likely will have to pay to have it fixed.  AT&T is only responsible for the line running from the house to the poles.

That is exactly why I started paying a couple bucks/month for LineBacker protection! I am also limited in what I can use for phone/internet in my area and had so many problems over the years that I vowed to not have to pay them ridiculous amounts of $$ to fix anything going wrong.

[bostonphil]

Wow, after reading all your postings, I am glad that I am with my cable company and do not have AT&T.  I have Road Runner and while there are off and on problems, my problems are small when compared to what I am reading.   However, I have AT&T 3G for both my cell phone and my IPad.  And AT&T does pretty well on these devices --  usually ....      If you can get Road Runner through your cable company, it might be worth looking into.   

[bostonphil]

Well, after re-reading your posting, switching to Road Runner might not help.  We have power outages which are usually in an area or neighborhood.  They seem to happen once every month or two and last for several minutes to a few hours.  It is a real pain when it happens but it is not just myself so it helps to know that an area is out and it is not just myself.  It would be very frustrating to be the only one experiencing this problem and trying to deal with it.  I have dealt with customer service and tech support many, many times over the years.   Sometimes you get a person who is wonderful and other times you get someone who does not know what they are talking about.   It is very frustrating when you call tech support or customer service and get someone who gives you incorrect information or does not know what to tell you.  You expect tech support to know more than you.  I think that some of these large companies have contracts with call centers who have the account.  Some of the help persons sound like they are turning to a certain page in a manuel and reading right out of the manuel.    And they probably are.  They don't even know what they are talking abut sometimes.

[Shmooi]

I get the same problems as Oryon20 and yes, it ALWAYS comes back on right before tech support comes in to test it out. :/ I use Verizon dial-up since we've had to downsize on things.

[lvstephanie]

She replied that the circuit going to my house was down, but she can't really see if anyone else's was down.

Annella, the 'circuit' she is referring to is your relay circuit in your phone's outside box/hook-up. I would guess that you have a faulty piece of equipment there since the problem is intermittent. I went through the same thing 2 years ago, have AT&T as my phone and internet provider. They sent someone to my house after I basically demanded it (I pay extra for LineBacker protection) and he found my box's wiring was old enough to have started deteriorating AND, because I never locked it, it appeared someone had tampered with it. He showed me what he was talking about, put in a new box, new wiring, and relay. I went out and bought a small lock that day and have not had a problem since.

I agree that it is probably some wiring issue at your home. A friend of mine also went thru a similar problem, except that it was the wiring in his house. He had a house built in the 40s, so the phone and electrical wiring was getting really old. He had that all replaced, and added a few extra jacks around the house, and hasn't had a problem with his DSL since.

[Annella]

After these posts, I'm leaning towards probably the wiring outside.  My modular home isn't even 5 years old yet.  The land already had utilities on it though, and I wonder if some bad wiring was reused, or not even replaced.  Just strung up to the house.  Maybe the circuit box is old too. 

I always wondered if.....when the dishwasher, AC, Washer/Dryer, etc., going all at once could have an effect, but seems there's no rhyme or reason when it goes out.

Thank you to everybody who contributed here.  I at least have a place to start.  Not just talking to someone in the Phillipines trying to troubleshoot here in the US.  Is it just me, or does anyone else have a problem with dealing with customer service that's not even in the country?

[swogden]

After reading through all the problems all of you have experienced with DSL/Cable, I glad to have stayed on dial-up.   I've had connection speed problems with the wiring on the phone system  because our complex is on old copper wiring, not FIOS.  FIOS is coming in this summer and, hopefully, my ISP connection speed will be more reliable and higher come September.

Sounds like problems emerge no matter what you have and coping with tech services will always raise your blood pressure -- so stay cool and enjoy what's left of the summer.

[Annella]

Yeah, you can do all the troubleshooting, fix everything you can think of, replace what's suspicious, and still have a ghost in the machine that's elusive.

Welcome to the cyber life.