Problems Staying Connected to the Internet
Why Do I Get Disconnected and/or My Connection Slow?
There are a number of possible reasons for disconnections, but most are easily resolved. Here is a list of possible causes and the resolution:
- Call Waiting
When you receive an inbound call and have call waiting enabled your phone line, the incoming call notification tone will not be understood by your modem causing it to disconnect. It can also be responsible for causing your modem to slow down or pause for extended periods of time.
To turn call waiting off, dial #43#, wait for the voice message and hang up.
To turn it back on, dial *43#, wait for the voice message and hang up.
If you use another phone carrier, please contact them for details on how to turn call waiting on and off your phone line. - Devices on Phone Line
Answering machines, touch dial phones, extension leads, fax machines, cordless phones and double adapters may introduce additional phone noise on the line even when not in use. Please try removing all telecommunication devices that share the same phone line as your modem to see if it helps.
Telstra’s T200 phone charges its batteries using current from the phone line for up to 20 minutes at a time and is a known cause of internet disconnection problems, at the very least this will cause your internet connect to run a lot slower and unreliably. - Software programs
Certain software programs on your computer (such as Microsoft Outlook Express) can be set to hang up your connection after performing specific tasks (such as checking your email).
To check these settings in Outlook Express follow these steps:
1) Open Outlook Express
2) Click on the 'Tools' menu and select ‘Options’
3) Click on the 'Connections' tab
4) Un-tick ‘Hang up after Sending and Receiving’
5) Click OK
To check these settings in Internet Explorer (Version 5 or above) follow these steps:
1) Open Internet Explorer
2) Click on the 'Tools' menu and select 'Internet Options'
3) Click on the 'Connections' tab
4) Click on the 'Settings' button
5) Click on the 'Properties' button underneath the 'Advanced' button
6) Make sure both the tick boxes are un-ticked
7) Click OK, OK, OK - Use of Phone Line
If you have a fax or answering machine that utilises the same phone line as your internet connection and you pick up the handset or playback messages whilst connected to the internet they may interfere with the reliability of your internet connection. - Noisy Phone Line
A noisy phone line is commonly caused by electrical interference being picked up through extension leads or double adapters which will interfere with your modems ability to communicate. If possible use the cable supplied with your modem and connect it directly to the phone socket.
Sometimes, the problem may not be in your house and may be in the street or phone exchange. It could be a passing problem due to high humidity, heavy rain or routine maintenance by your telephone company. To do a quick test (not always reliable) you can pick up the handset, press 0 and listen for any crackling or buzzing. If this is present then you can contact your phone carrier and request a MOLDS (Modem Online Diagnostic System) test. - Local Interference
Electrical noise near your modem can interfere with your telephone line and cause problems with your modems ability to communicate reliably. The common causes for this type of interference are:
- Mobile Phones (even when not in use)
- Florescent lights
- Electrical motors (e.g. drills, fan heaters)
These devices can still be used but try to avoid placing them within close proximity of your modem. - Distance from Exchange
The further you are from your phone exchange the less likely you are to achieve your modems maximum connection speed. At the phone exchange the quality of the phone lines varies and this is why sometimes you may get a ‘good’ line and other times a ‘bad’ line. Also during peak periods exchanges may reach capacity and your call may be diverted to another exchange further away further reducing your connection speed and maybe even giving you a busy tone. - Why can’t I connect using v90 or v92 (56k/56000bps)?
Whilst a v92 modem will still be able to connect to our equipment, the more advanced features such as ‘Call on Hold’ are not supported. If you are having problems connecting at v90 speed (i.e. anything over 33000bps) then this may be due to a ‘Pair Gain’ system or the way in which your call connects to us.
If you can connect using at a speed higher than 33000bps using another provider but not us, then this may be to do with the way your exchange connects to the telephone network. The v90 standard requires calls to go through ‘digital’ exchanges, if it goes through an ‘analogue’ exchange on its way to the destination v90 will not work and your maximum connection speed will be 33000bps. - Modem Problems
There are a number of issues related to the way your modem is setup that can cause problems with reliability, some of these are below:
- Port speed (The modem to attempts to communicate faster than it can reliably handle)
- Out of date modem drivers (Refer to your modem manufacturer)
- Internal modems (Rely heavily on your computers system speed)
- Heavy system resource use (e.g. games, multimedia)
To check/lower your port speed (in Windows 95/98):
1) Double click the "My Computer" icon
2) Double click the "Dial-Up Networking" icon
3) Right-click on your connection to the Internet and select the "Properties" option
4) Click the "Configure" button (down the bottom)
5) Click the "Maximum Speed" drop-down menu and select 57,600
6) Click "OK" then "OK" again. - Idle Timeout
The idle setting is often the cause of disconnections and can be easily fixed by following the steps below (Requires Internet Explorer 5 or above):
1) Open Internet Explorer
2) Click on the 'Tools' menu and select 'Internet Options'
3) Click on the 'Connections' tab
4) Click on the 'Settings' button
5) Click on the 'Properties' button underneath the 'Advanced' button
6) Make sure both the tick boxes are un-ticked
7) Click OK, OK, OK - Session Limits
Some of our dialup plans have ‘Session limits’ that restrict your access before you may be disconnected by our equipment automatically. A ‘Session limit’ restricts the amount of time you can stay connected to EFTel in one continuous block and are designed to give customers equal opportunity to connect to the network. If you reach your ‘Session limit’ and are disconnected, you can redial up again straight away. - Additional Configuration
The majority of modems are not ready to work their best straight from the factory, in the real world phone lines are not perfect (unlike their testing environment) and may require some tweaking through modem ‘Initialization’ strings. For more information on this, please consult your modem manual, manufacturer or our support team.
