Phone line / Router / Modem question

[ToeTag]

I have a Netgear n300 / dgn2200 adsl2 modem / router.

The problem started with really slow internet connections.  I did the ping plotter and shortly after starting the trace it would across the board at every hop go from 10 to 20 and all the way to 100% packet loss.  Then it would end saying the destination source could not be reached or somehting close to that.

So I get my ISP service tech out and he says that he checked the line from the street terminal to the dmarc at the house and all was fine there but I was getting alot of signal degridation at the router and it was likely a bad line in the house.  I mill around in the basement and it was daisy chained with my computer being at the very last stop.  So I think to myself this has to be it everything else was fine because tech guy said so.  The next step is to get my computer and plug it directly into the dmarc to check and see if it was infact an inside the house wiring issue.  There was no improvement at all.  

So I get on google and check for what the voltage should be on a phone line.  Most say between 46v and 50v.  SO I check the lines voltage at the dmarc and it was at 1v.  I checked it at the curb terminal and I see ranges of 3v and a few are at 54v and some had no signal at all.  My phone line it plugged into a 3v connection.  Is it not plugged into the right slot at the curb?  Because I hooked to a 54v slot and traced the line back to my computer jack it only degraded to 51.5v.  So it sounds like the wiring is solid from point to point i'm just wondering if the tech tested the right line or not.

[ToeTag]

well all of the lines seem to check out so I changed to a new router.  Still a crappy DL speed of .06 meg and UL speed of .70 meg.  However the packet loss problem has completely disappeared. I should be receiving 1.5 meg max speed.  Any thoughts?  What should I tell my ISP of Tech when they come back?

[The Fugitive]

Upload, download speeds, are all approximations. They "say" you will have 1.5 meg DL, but that is if only you and the old lady next door are on it. The reality is you and 20 15 year olds are on the same line and your all fighting for band width.

If your packet loss is gone and and your pings are stready you should be go for the game and "browsing" on the web.   

[ToeTag]

I know what over subscription on a line is.  However with a 1.5 meg "max" connection receiving 60 kb connection consistently is not acceptable. That pretty much leaves me with e-mail and chat as an option.  Heck the speed test web page times out before it finishes loading.

[guncrasher]

I had the same problem as you.  find out if you can get rid of dsl and install internet cable.  it is about the same and much faster.  just dont get satellite.



midway

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I had similar problems, after only 3 years of complaining they agreed to reroute my connection to another switch and now I have 16Mb speed.

[Meatwad]

What I dont understand is that people that have cable internet access at their house, but they will still keep dsl even with the price difference is either the same or $5 more. Speed difference is 3mb for dsl or 30 for cable

[ToeTag]

not an option here (cable)

[MrRiplEy[H]]

What I dont understand is that people that have cable internet access at their house, but they will still keep dsl even with the price difference is either the same or $5 more. Speed difference is 3mb for dsl or 30 for cable

Cable can be a two sided sword. DSL is private to the DSLAM, cable is a chained link where all subscribers share the line and the bandwith. This also means that if just 1 building switch has a problem, all others in the same chain are affected.

[Rob52240]

I've been doing telecom for most of my professional life.  DSL is prone to a lot more problems than cable.  Regardless of what they tell you your data rate is they don't need to provide you with anything close to it legally.  Phone companies will typically place the blame on customer premise wiring whenever possible, regardless of the problem.

Your phone line should have -40v DC on it normally and 100v AC when it rings.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I've been doing telecom for most of my professional life.  DSL is prone to a lot more problems than cable.  

I'd like to hear more about that. In my experience the cable has n amount more points of failure + shared bandwidth. Typically cable users experience problems where a few powerusers hog all the bandwith using p2p etc. Or they may hit into reliability problems like I did when I had cable, the chained connection started acting up always when a single switch in some building in the area needed a reboot or replacement. Actually that's how I learned about this stuff. I was talking to the ISP mechanic every week

[guncrasher]

ripley problems are mostly unique to each individual.  for example my dsl always got the same speed as their lowest price, while I was paying for their top speed.  according to them I was withing "the range" so they didnt see it as a problem.  when I got tired of complaining I cancelled and got cable.  I have yet to see speeds below 10k on cable and even if it goes as low as 5k that is more than 5 times the speed I was getting with dsl. 

so what I would recommend is try it.  if it doesnt work cancel it and get dsl back.  what do you have to lose not like you have a contract.


midway

[ToeTag]

next question....

The problem was the ISP.....they reprogrammed something and that created the failure....it got reprogrammed somewhere and my bandwidth is back.  That's the good news.  The bad news is it fried my router/modem to where I get 100% packet loss.  So I had to go buy a new modem and no packet loss.  The old router cost me 90.00 freakin bucks and its only a year old.  Is it possible that the "upgrade" that they made fried my equipment?

[Bizman]

It might just be incompatible with the ISP's new program. For a newish modem it sounds quite odd, though. I encountered such a problem with my (very) old modem when the ISP changed their hardware, they fixed the problem by updating their firmware. Worked well until their next update...

Since it is adsl you could possibly test it at some friend's house who also has an adsl connection, possibly from another ISP? I don't know the techniques used in your whereabouts, but where I live, adsl modems are interchangeable whereas cable connections are tied to the modem's Mac-address. If it works with another ISP's connection, you might try to update the firmware of the modem or just sell it as-is.

[Wayout]

Is this a new problem?  Have you ever had a good connection?

I get on google and check for what the voltage should be on a phone line.  Most say between 46v and 50v.

Do you have naked DSL (DSL with no dial tone) or DSL with phone service?  If you have naked DSL you shouldn't see any voltage on the line.  The lines you looked at with higher voltage either have dial tone or there is some sort of problem with the line. 

So I get my ISP service tech out and he says that he checked the line from the street terminal to the dmarc at the house

Pretty much a useless test.  Needs to be tested from the dmarc to the Central Office. The tech should be looking for loads, bridge tap and VP (vacant premise) drops.

Do you have a home security system that uses the phone line?  These will cause big problems with a DSL signal.  If so try disconnecting it and try your connection again.

Lastly, and this is the easiest test, move your router a few feet to one side or the other and see if there is any change in your connection.