[Hidden-tech] Suggestions on debugging a DSL/ router issue

[Jeffrey Peck]

I have Verizon DSL here in Hadley and I had the same issue of an  
intermittent connection during the rain about a year ago.  You could  
actually pick up the phone during these times and hear the sound of  
the loose connection (it sounded like if you were to tap on a  
sensitive microphone).  We called Verizon several times and went  
through their automated line tests and talked to representatives  
there, and after listening patiently to all of their excuses (such as  
suggesting a problem with our router, among others) they finally sent  
someone out.   And he was really good.  First of all he verified that  
the issue was the connection and confirmed this noise on the line.  He  
checked out all of the wiring in our house and replaced some of the  
wires here - for free.  He gave us his cell number and throughout the  
course of a few months of trial and error and us calling him to report  
the results, he replaced wiring down our entire street until it was  
fixed.  And Verizon gave us those months for free due to my calling.   
We have not had a problem like that since then (about a year ago).

The lesson is if you call them and are persistent that there really is  
an issue, they will send somebody who can help.  You have to go  
through all of their lines that are supposed to say (like "Try a  
different router.  Try unplugging your computer for five minutes.  We  
don't support your operating system.  The line test says it's  
working.  Etc.) and once they get the idea that you have tried all of  
their "helpful tips" to no avail and are still patiently waiting for  
consistent internet service, they will transfer you to the department  
that actually fixes things.  It helps to make a point if you tell them  
specific times it was down as well as asking to be refunded for those  
entire months.

I hope this helps,
Jeff

On May 8, 2010, at 5:48 PM, Cheryl Handsaker wrote:

>   ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's  
> area.
>   ** If you did, we all thank you.
>
>
> Thanks for all the suggestions.
>
> Oddly, the problem has not happened again since my post. Could be  
> upstream, unseen problems with Verizon cleared up or it could be  
> that my spouse took the mac laptop out for the day. Would we see it  
> in the router log if we were hitting from the inside through some  
> kind of virus?
>
>
> --- On Sat, 5/8/10, Cheryl Handsaker <charlemontwebworks at yahoo.com>  
> wrote:
>
> From: Cheryl Handsaker <charlemontwebworks at yahoo.com>
> Subject: [Hidden-tech] Suggestions on debugging a DSL/ router issue
> To: hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net
> Date: Saturday, May 8, 2010, 7:50 AM
>
>    ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the  
> member's area.
>    ** If you did, we all thank you.
>
>
> Hi all,
>
> I am looking for suggestions as to how I might go about debugging a  
> puzzling network connectivity issue that began yesterday.  
> Specifically:
>
> 1. Has anyone else experienced these kinds of problems with a  
> similar Verizon DSL configuration?
>
> 2. Does anyone have suggestions about how to approach gathering  
> additional information or solving the problem? Things to try or  
> questions to ask?
>
> The details - and my apologies in advance for the length of this  
> description.
>
> I am a Verizon DSL Business customer and have been since DSL became  
> available here in Charlemont in 2004 or 2005 (and before you all  
> dump on Verizon as an ISP, please know that it is the only game in  
> town). We have a router connected to the DSL modem and have been  
> using the same set up for years. While we've had intermittent  
> problems before, most have been traced to the quality of the phone  
> line and usually occur in the rain or snow. Yesterday was dry and  
> sunny for the most part here. To their credit, when a Verizon  
> technician actually comes on site, they have been very helpful and  
> knowledgeable. Phone support has been sometimes excellent and  
> sometimes dreadful.
>
> Beginning yesterday at about 7AM, we began to experience  
> intermittent connectivity problems. We begin to notice a degredation  
> in performance that gets steadily worse over a 10-15 minute period  
> until the network becomes unusable. This appears to be caused by the  
> network setup dropping packets - initially 10% packet loss, then  
> 25%, then 50%. At about the 50% mark, we reboot the modem and/or the  
> router and the network does not come back up and appears not to be  
> able to sync for at least 15-20 minutes.
>
> Our initial call to Verizon indicated that our old but very reliable  
> US Robotics router had failed. It appeared that all the packet loss  
> was happening at the router.
>
> We happened to have another spare but old router in the closet (a  
> Linksys, I think). We configured this and the network came up for a  
> while and then connectivity died in the same way as before, with us  
> showing packet loss at the router about 10AM.
>
> The Verizon phone support person, a good one, suggested maybe both  
> these routers needed a firmware upgrade due to their age.
>
> We decided not to mess with that because the network eventually came  
> back up (after a couple of reboots and about 20 minutes of  
> attempting to sync).
>
> At 1:30, same pattern of network failure occurred again. Rather than  
> upgrade the firmware in the older routers, we happened to have  
> access to a brand new router that we had purchased for someone else  
> in the fall that was not being used, this time a LinksKey. We  
> replaced the router yet again.
>
> At about 7:15, the same pattern of failure occured with the new  
> router. Verizon tech support, this time a dreadful rep, said she saw  
> no problems on the line and that this third router must be bad.  
> While on the phone, the sync completed and the network was again  
> restored.
>
> Thanks for reading this all the way through :-). Any ideas?
>
> Thanks,
> Cheryl
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Inline Attachment Follows-----
>
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