Checking Your Phone Lines

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Checking your Phone Lines.

This page will assist in defining the cause of a connection failure associated with your telephone lines or system. Many people today have a variety of appliances connected to their phone line, for example, fax phone’s, fax’s, modems, answering machines, call waiting, messaging services etc. At times this can cause problems with you Internet connection. If you try to get on the net and an error occurs prior to your modem dialling out, or you find your line dropping out once you have connected, you may have a problem associated with your telephone line.

Do you have Call Waiting?

Make sure that you DO NOT have call waiting turned on. When call waiting is turned on and you are on the Internet, it will cause your Internet connection to be cut off when your line receives an incoming call. To avoid constant disconnection’s caused by a call waiting service, discontinue the service.

Shared Phone line?

If your modem shares a line with a telephone, fax or answering machine, try disconnecting these devices before you connect, so as to eliminate these as the possible cause of your problem. Also ensure that no one picks up another phone whilst you are on line, as this can also disconnect you from the Internet.

Do you have a messaging Service?

If you have phone messaging service on your telephone, you will notice that when you pick up the line a shrill dial tone alerts you to the fact you have a message. If this tone is being transmitted through your phone line when you are trying to connect to the net, your connection will fail. Check for and clear any message from your line prior to connecting to the net, or disconnect the messaging service.

Is your phone line old or faulty?

The quality of your phone line itself will also dictate the efficiency and effectiveness of your connection to Australia On Line. If you have a noisy phone line, in that you can hear static or other noises over your line, your modem must distinguish between these noises and what is actual data. If this becomes too difficult, the modem will simply give up, and your connection will drop out. Note: The quality of your phone line is the responsibility of your telephone company and they are obligated to ensure that your line is of an acceptable Internet standard. A simple way to check the quality of your phone line is to pick up a fresh connection and dial a 1. There should be no noise or crackling on the line. If you feel your line could be responsible for your modem troubles, do not hesitate to request an inspection by your telephone company.

Are you connecting through a PABX or Switchboard?

The first issue is to ensure that your computer can get an external line – To do this you need to modify the dial-up settings, putting in the correct number (usually an ‘0’ ) at the start of the dial in number in order to gain access to an outside line. You may also need to add a ‘$’ value to the dial up networking properties - This causes the computer to delay for approximately 3 seconds before it continues dialling. This may be necessary to allow a dial tone to be heard so that the call can be placed. If entering an "0" does not solve the problem, call our help desk and we will step you through entering the $ value into your dial up properties. Note: Ideally the modem should have a separate phone line to the internal company phone system.

Are You Using A telephone Extension Cord?

Always try to avoid the use of extension cords, you should seek to place your Internet PC close to a phone line port. If you have to use an extension chord, buy a good quality one no longer in length than is absolutely necessary. Poor quality extension chords use thin cheap wiring and this causes slow connection speeds and drop-outs. Lengthy, or wound up, (and at worst, a poor quality lengthy wound up extension chord) will cost you money in phone calls, because you will drop out regularly and need to re-dial, furthermore, it will negatively effect the quality and performance of your connection.

Consider Ordering a Second Phone Line

When you consider the importance of your phone line to the quality of your Internet experience, if you are a heavy surfer, you may consider ordering a second phone line to dedicate to the Internet.