Internet service dropping. Can anyone translate this reply from my ISP? (3 Viewers)

[I'mARealWizard]

Seriously, I have no idea what half of the stuff is


Dear 'I'mARealWizard',

Thank you for your email.

We apologise for the inconvenience. We checked your account and connection is constantly dropping.

We would be glad to assist you with your concern. Disconnections are possibly caused by interference to the ADSL signal, an incorrect setup of the modem or an application terminating your connection to the Internet.

Please refer to the steps below to clear your premise of the possible cause of the issue:

Please make sure that you have the proper filters for each device connected to your phone line.

* For regular phones, use a regular microfilter.
* For cordless phone set, it is advisable that you use a central filter or a filter/splitter instead of a regular ADSL inline filter.
! * If you have both the modem and the phone on the same socket, please use a central filter.

To test your connection, please try to do the following:

1. Isolate your telephone line. Disconnect all the devices connected on the ADSL phone line except for the modem. Make sure the modem is connected to the wall socket and that its phone cord is less than 3 meters in length. Any other device such as filters, splitters, double adapters, Foxtel Digital, Back to Base Alarm System, Fax Machine, EFPOS, PABX (Commander System) as well as Homephone, phone handset must also be disconnected from the ADSL nominated phone line. The modem should be the only device using your phone line.

If the issue continues, leave the line isolated and do the succeeding steps.

2. Check for any Homephone issue, like no dial tone, has static noise on the line, unable to do either incoming or outgoing calls.
! 3. Change the modulation of your modem to G.dmt . Please refer! to the manual or contact the manufacturer of your modem for this setting.
4. Use a different phone cable, preferably 3m or less.
5. Connect the modem in a different phone socket
6. Reset and reconfigure your modem. To do this, follow the steps below:
a. Using a paper clip or a pin, press and hold at the pin hole button at the back of your modem for 30 seconds while the modem is on.
b. Once the ADSL light turns solid green, you may configure your settings already. Should you need the instructions for TPG provided modems, please visit our Helpdesk website at http://www.tpg.com.au/helpdesk/ and click on Modem Configuration. Make sure that the following settings are configured:

User! name: **MYSECRETUSERNAME**
Password: your password
Protocol / Encapsulation / Connection Type: PPPoE (sometimes, you'll have PPPoE LLC)
Multiplex: LLC
Security Protocol: PAP
VPI: 8
VCI: 35
Idle Timeout: 0

10. Use a different modem f! or testing or use your modem on another location. Please note ! that thi s does not necessarily have to be new. You may borrow one from someone you know and as long as you know it is working, you may try using it. If there's no available other modem, you may try to use your modem to other location/house to check the functionality of it. If still not feasible, you may contact your modem manufacturer to upgrade the firmware of your modem to the latest one or flash the firmware of your modem if it is already using the latest firmware.

For other concerns, please contact us at 13 14 23 or visit our Helpdesk website at http://www.tpg.com.au/helpdesk.

Kind Regards,
Andrea | UserID: 4477

An 'idiots guide' would be useful!

Many thanks in anticipation

 

---

[hughescov]

Hope this helps..

So they are trying to figure out if there is a problem your end.. if you do all the steps and there is no problem then it will be their end that's faulty.

First they want to make sure you have the correct filters, so a microfilter splits the phone line into two, so you can plug your phone in and modem. I don't think I have filters all over my house, I'm sure you just need one for where your modem is plugged in by an Ethernet cable.

Next step they want you to strip away all telephones and other devices connected to the phone line.. so it's just your modem that is connected in the house so that any chances of there being interuption from your phones etc are removed. So just plug the modem into the microfilter and into the wall socket.. preferably with a cable shorter than 3metres meaning that some cables lose reliability etc over longer lines, but this shouldn't be a problem unless it's really long like 20m +

I'm sure you would of noticed if your home phone had problems such as buzzing or no dial tone..

The G.dmt will be somewhere in your modem settings I think. Usually typing in 192.168.1.1 into the URL of Internet Explorer will load it up with a typical login of username:admin password:admin. You could try find the setting and change it from what is likely to be ADSL2 to G.dmt. I've not heard of this before though..

Try a differnet socket for your modem.. self explanitory

Resetting your modem is a common resolution so maybe try this first as it's simple. Should be a tiny hole on the back somewhere that you put a paper clip into to reset.. Reset it and let it boot up again, should sort itself out. Think you will need to put your settings in again which they have provided. This may be done through putting in a cd or through 192.168.1.1 or by using windows network tools that pop up.. I cannot remember.

Finally try a different modem if you have an old one, plug it in and see if it works better.

I always find with computers is there is never always a correct solution and that just messing around with it somehow resolves the issue.. One further thing I had problems before with my modem overheating so turning it off for maybe 10-20mins might help..

Not a very professional reply but just some knowledge from me, good luck..

 

[I'mARealWizard]

Thanks for that!

I was more confused about the many different types of filters that they were on about. I didn't know there were that many! I am using the ones that came with the modem that I paid for from them...

I've managed to 'flash' the modem - after learning how to by researching it myself ( :jerkit: ). And that hasn't sorted it, although I couldn't see the G.dmt setting!

I've done everything else though, so I'll try the modem setting agian and then let them know that it's their problem.

Thanks for the response! :wave:

 

[hughescov]

No worries! It may just be case of them sending you a new modem.. try swapping the filter too maybe.

I take it knew of the fixes worked and I assume this problem isn't happening over a wireless network (different resolutions if it is).

Doubt they will ever accept blame for the problem though haha

 

[I'mARealWizard]

No worries! It may just be case of them sending you a new modem.. try swapping the filter too maybe.

I take it knew of the fixes worked and I assume this problem isn't happening over a wireless network (different resolutions if it is).

Doubt they will ever accept blame for the problem though haha

Oh, it is happening over a wireless connection... :facepalm:

 

[hughescov]

So your connection over the wireless is dropping out? I assumed from the email you received that you had told them it was wired?

If it's your wireless.. things like limited connectivity and bad signal strengths?

 

[Nick]

If it is just wireless try changing the channel it is on also.

 

[Houchens Head]

If it is just wireless try changing the channel it is on also.

Yeah. I agree. Sometimes I get bored with radio 2 and change to Heart FM.......

 

[Coventry La La La]

A couple of steps to take

• Make sure you have the most up to date modem from your internet service provider (ISP)
  
• If you use a wireless router try updating the drivers (go to the companies site (i.e. D-Link) which created your router, find your router on there and download the latest drivers
  
• Log into your router settings and try tweaking your settings (allot of guides online will teach you how to do this and get the most out of your connection)
  
• If your wireless still under-performs it may be time to upgrade to a more rescent model (802.11n wireless is recommended)

It also depends on what ISP your with and how much meg you pay for.

 

[I'mARealWizard]

A couple of steps to take

• Make sure you have the most up to date modem from your internet service provider (ISP)
• If you use a wireless router try updating the drivers (go to the companies site (i.e. D-Link) which created your router, find your router on there and download the latest drivers
• Log into your router settings and try tweaking your settings (allot of guides online will teach you how to do this and get the most out of your connection)
• If your wireless still under-performs it may be time to upgrade to a more rescent model (802.11n wireless is recommended)

It also depends on what ISP your with and how much meg you pay for.

Thanks everyone for the comments.


The modem is only 8 months old, and I have updated the firmware on it.
It is an 802.11n wireless
I pay for ADSL2+ speeds (and only get 1.3 mbps download speed!)


How would I change the 'channel' and what would I change it to?

Apologies for sounding inept

 

[I'mARealWizard]

Holy crap, I've just changed the channel.

My speed has gone from:

Channel Auto (1) 1.35 Mb/s to
Channel 2 3.62 Mb/s to
Channel 3 9.77 Mb/s :laugh:


Thanks for the info!

 

[I'mARealWizard]

After 50 mins of elation, the signal drops again and then won't load certain websites (like google)

 

[Coventry La La La]

After 50 mins of elation, the signal drops again and then won't load certain websites (like google)

Are there any possible wireless interferences in your household? also is your connection secure as you don't want a neighbour jacking your connection.

Wireless can never be as good as wired so if you could re-arrange your set-up and use your devices wired the connection will vastly improve.

 

[I'mARealWizard]

Are there any possible wireless interferences in your household? also is your connection secure as you don't want a neighbour jacking your connection.

Wireless can never be as good as wired so if you could re-arrange your set-up and use your devices wired the connection will vastly improve.

Nah.

Only the laptops and my mobile.

Connection is secure

At least the speed has increased.

Thanks!

 

[Coventry La La La]

Found a nice guide online (not sure if you have already read it) hopefully it can help you out.

First off I need to mention that I live in an apartment complex, and getting wireless to work properly is extremely hard, and I guess I can say that I've learnt a lot form tweaking it so much. Recently I read a similar article on

Microsoft's website, but most of the stuff in there is impractical. All they seem to say is upgrade all your devices and buy more stuff.

So here are 5 tips that are guaranteed to make your wireless connection work better for free. These "tweaks" can be performed in most settings and it shouldn't be a much of a problem to implement in your home or even office network. Make sure you secure your wireless network too though.


Find the right channel for your router. First make sure that you don't have any cordless phone in your own house that might be causing interference. If you find that your wireless connection gets weaker whenever you get a call, try changing the channel on your cordless phone. Then download net stumbler on one of your computers with a wireless card (it should work with most cards).

Open it and check what channel other people are broadcasting on. People will usually be using either channel 1, 6 or 11, so try to stay away from these channels, but you never know. Then change your router's channel to some other channel no one else is using. You'll need to know how to work with the router configuration page to do this.Keep in mind though that other people might have cordless phones running on the same channel which might interfere with the your signal, so you'll have to use the trial and error method to find the perfect channel.

Switch to OpenDNS. Although this tip is more of a improve your "Internet speed" tip, its still good for getting better speeds through your wireless network. And since most people use their wireless network for Internet, I recommend replacing your ISP's dns service with OpenDNS. Instructions on how to configure your router to use OpenDNS can be found on their website. Basically its just copying and pasting a couple of IP addresses, so I won't mention how to do that here.

Move your router. Yes, although this is pretty self explanatory, most people ignore this tip. Try to move your router to a central location in your home. Although this might be kind of hard, since you're bound by the location of your high speed modem, phone line or even your cable line, its not always impossible.

You don't have to move the router from one room to another, just moving it from one side to another side of the room should suffice. All you need to do is get 2 long pieces of Ethernet cable, it doesn't matter which kind since most routers have "wire management" so it'll accept any kind of cat-5 crossover, rollover or straight through cable and use that instead of short cables. This will enable you to move your router so that it is a bit more closer to the center of your home or closer to your laptop if you only use a laptop.

Change your wireless card settings. Most wireless cards are configured to the default settings of using wireless QoS and so on, so you'll want to tweak it to make it interface faster with the network.

To start tweaking first press the Windows + Pause Break key if you are on Windows > Go to the hard ware tab > Click on Device Manager > Under Network Adaptors double click on your wireless and go to the Advanced tab. Here's what you can tweak on most cards:

Mixed more protection - Use CTS-to-self. This will make the speed faster since you are in a small home network
Power Management - Use the highest value, because this will make your card work faster. You might want to choose a medium or low setting if you want extended battery life though.

Roaming Aggressiveness - Use either the medium or lowest value in a home setting, so that your card won't keep searching for new connections, it'll just stay happy with the network in your home and won't connect to your neighbour's network.

Throughput Enhancement - Make sure you enable throughput enhancement to have the fastest speeds
Transmit Power - Use the highest option to connect to your network properly and get the fastest speeds


update drivers/firmware and maintain your network. Here are a couple of things you should do with your network:
Update your drivers for your wireless card (usually found on the manufacturer's website) and the firmware on your router. Go to the manufacturer's website to get the latest firmware. Instructions on updating your firmware can also be found there.

Give your network a unique SSID and encrypt it! Why? Because your neighbour might be accidentally using your connection and making it slower, or someone might be using your network to download stuff on the Internet... so it is best to give your network a unique SSID and use at least WPA encryption if WPA2 isn't a choice. More instructions on that coming soon...

Make sure to also change the password to the router so that some one else does not modify the setting. I recommend setting a big password so it is impossible to crack.

Make sure your laptop and the router are using the 802.11 (wi-fi) G standard. Sometimes, if your laptop is set to use only wi-fi 802.11 B, even though it supports G, your router will only communicate to it using B, and not G which is way faster.

 

[I'mARealWizard]

I tweaked some settings, but NetStumbler wouldn't scan, Access Denied!

Thanks though, you've been a great help (much more than my ISP!)

:wave:

 

[Coventry La La La]

I tweaked some settings, but NetStumbler wouldn't scan, Access Denied!

Thanks though, you've been a great help (much more than my ISP!)

:wave:

:wave: No problem my fellow 606 comrade.

 

[I'mARealWizard]

Hahaha!


Now they're asking me to reconfigure my modem. I assume that they mean my wireless router?

How do I do that?

Do I go into it and use the setup wizard again?

I hate being so IT dumb

 

[Coventry La La La]

I'm not sure. :thinking about: Hopefully this will be of some help.

Hello and welcome to Tom's Hardware Forums.

Your MODEM needs to be changed to reflect the new ISP's login details or you won't connect to their servers. Access the router using the following methodology which also includes advice on wireless security, although if yours is already set and your computers know the key, there's no need to change it. Have a look in the WAN settings page to chnage the ISP detail and use the password your new ISP gave you.

Use the cable that came with your router to connect to your computer then go Start then Run in XP - or use the Windows key plus R in Vista and Windows 7, then type in the following into the Open box, including all the spaces:-

cmd /k ipconfig /all

then press Enter and from the black form that shows up, take a note of the numeric code beside the Default Gateway icon - something like 192.168.0.1.

Type exit to close the black form.

Open Internet Explorer and enter that code into the URL address bar as though it was a website. You're then at the login page to the router's settings utility and admin will usually be the login with either admin or password as the password but your router's instruction manual will help you there.

If you're in, seek out Wireless and then Security and take a note of the key. Sometimes it may be a passphrase, some a simple set of letters and others a hexadecimal code. You also may as well note which level of security it is - WEP, WPA or WPA/PSK 2 and then either AES or TKIP. Your computer will already know this but it's handy information to store. Note also that hexadecimal only contains numbers from zero to 9 and letters a to f so there's no confusion of I and O with 1 and 0.

It's adviseable to keep a note of that security key in your Documents folder and also outside the computer.

 

[I'mARealWizard]

I'm not sure. :thinking about: Hopefully this will be of some help.

That's just getting into the modem settings, which I can get into with my eyes shut now! I've been tinkering with all weekend (it's Saturday night here!)

That's all fine and they've asked me to add @l2tp.tpg.com.au to my username in there - which is fine.

But why do I need to reconfigure the modem?

It's all very very odd LOL!

 

[hughescov]

Did you reconfigure the modem? What was the end result?

 

[I'mARealWizard]

Did you reconfigure the modem? What was the end result?

I didn't.

Some Tech Specialist called me and (even though he wasn't interested in anything that I had to say)

He 'talked me through' what his mind was saying...

We agreed the modem was fucked and they are sending a new one

 

[We'll_live_and_die]

I didn't.

Some Tech Specialist called me and (even though he wasn't interested in anything that I had to say)

He 'talked me through' what his mind was saying...

We agreed the modem was fucked and they are sending a new one

Was he a non english gentleman, that didn't really understand what you were trying to say?

 

[I'mARealWizard]

Was he a non english gentleman, that didn't really understand what you were trying to say?

No, he sounded Canadian/Maouri.

He was just talking through his diagnosis step by step - and I was trying to tell him information to help him along.

But when I spoke, he continued speaking without listening to me LOL!

 

[hughescov]

Hope they recorded that call 'for training purposes' haha