DRC Forum » Personal Interests » Computers » DSL Help Guide: Troubleshooting your DSL Line (Tips) » Page 1 of 1

[|DRC| psycheus]

Ok a big lesson learned here from a problem with my own DSL connection from ATT.

Problem: Slow connection speed (tested at many different sites only getting 34k / 96k!!!) My connection was suppose to be at 3.0 M / 384 k.

http://psycheus.com/images/tmp2/att-speed-test-01-27-2007_12pm-sm.jpg

This "Tips Guide" goes for more then just slow connections, it will most likely work for no connection or problems with your connection.

Things I "hadn't changed but forgot to check" that the DSL tech reminded me to look at in my house. In most cases (and especially in mine) I overlooked the little things that I supposedly hadn't changed since the connection speed went south.

1.) ALWAYS RESET YOUR MODEM (AND ROUTER IF YOU HAVE ONE). This is always the very first step and from my many years of troubleshooting DSL connections I immediately did first and many times trying to correct the slow connection speed problem. NEXT ALWAYS RESTART YOUR COMPUTER!

99% of time this will correct problems with no or slow connections through your modem. If you are still having problems try the next set of steps...

2.) DSL Filters, installed on all non-dsl connections (ie phones in the house). In my case I had dual filters (one side was DSL/Digital Signal the other side was for phones). Only one of my three phones were switched but it affected the speed this much. Also I would like to note that I did this when I moved my couch and the location of my phone almost 5 months ago and hadn't seen an adverest affect until now. When testing just disconnect all other sources for your phone line (ie all other phones filters).

3.) Here is what ATT also had suggested to me about find a solution to the problem.

ATT Tech Support wrote:

---

Thank you for contacting AT&T Internet Services E-mail Support.

I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this connection issue may have caused you. I understand that you are experiencing slow connection. Do not worry; I should have no difficulty resolving your concern and I will be more than happy to assist you with it.

I ran some tests on your line and results came back with some errors. Please understand that the data transfer rates (throughput) change constantly, and are influenced by a number of factors, which include:

a. Bad filter
b. External interference
c. Internet congestion/traffic outside of our network

A filter separates the analog signal (used by your phone) from the digital signal (used by your DSL connection) that runs on the same telephone line. The help article below contains steps with pictures to help you check your filter connections:

http://help.sbcglobal.net/article.php?item=13

If you still have any extra filters remaining from your DSL Installation Kit, I suggest that you replace the one used by your modem. Make sure that the filter ports and the RJ connector (plastic jack at the end of the cables) are free from dirt and dust. Make sure all the cables connecting your modem, computer, filter and phone jack are properly seated and in the correct ports.

High Speed Internet is very sensitive to electromagnetic interference, or EMI. It is important to make sure that the DSL modem and telephone lines are placed in such a way as to minimize this interference, as well as placing them to provide adequate cooling. The following are a few of the possible causes of electromagnetic interference on a DSL line.

1. Halogen desk lamps near the DSL modem or telephone line, especially those with dimmers 2. Any electrical dimmer switch 3. Electronic devices, such as stereo speakers, PC speakers, televisions, monitors, microwave ovens, etc.
4. Routing the telephone line parallel to an AC power cord for more than a few inches 5. Electronic insect electrocution devices (bug zappers) 6. Low quality 900MHz cordless telephones 7. Any other emitter of high frequency electromagnetic radiation

Also, please make sure that the above-mentioned items are at least 2-3 feet away from your DSL modem. Please power cycle your DSL modem by following the steps listed on the link below:

http://help.sbcglobal.net/article.php?item=2

After doing the steps above, I would like to suggest running the AT&T Yahoo! Speed test for you to have the comparison with the supposed speed you have with us which is 1.544 Mbps to 3.072 Mbps for download and 384 Kbps for upload. Below is the link for the AT&T Yahoo! Speed test:

http://help.sbcglobal.net/dsl/speedtest/

Note: Please make sure that when you run the speed test, your AT&T provided modem is directly connected to the computer and there should be no running programs at the background. It should only be the speed test so that we can get accurate information of what your actual speed is.

Please remember to visit our help-site at http://help.sbcglobal.net/ for resolutions to the most common problems. We will be glad to assist you 24 hours, 7 days a week.

4.) Call tech support for more assistance. Sometimes there is nothing that you can do on your end to fix these problems and the only solution is calling in (which I might add I hate doing if I can help it).

Hope this helps your problem as much as it did for me. Mind you I have been dealing with all this for about 2 weeks of troubleshooting, calling tech support and finally getting someone to come out here to figure it out.
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psycheus.com
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