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Dial Up Internet Connection Problems

Troubleshooting A Slow Or Dropped Dial Up Connection

Dial up Internet has been around for more than 15 years, and is a tested and proven technology. As reliable as any other Internet service, dial up has several issues that broadband does not have to normally contend with. Dial up connections are dynamic, and must be established each time a user wants to access the Internet, as opposed to broadband's always-on technology.

With this in mind, dial up Internet problems generally come in three flavors; getting connected, staying connected, and slow transfer speeds. Almost every dial up error or concern can be placed into these categories, and we'll look at the most common ones. If you are looking for a good dial up ISP, try Netzero. They have a good reputation for providing quality dial up with few connection problems.

 

Getting Connected

There are three primary areas of difficulty when trying to get connected, your hardware, software, and phone line.

***If you are not comfortable installing or uninstalling hardware, skip this section and take your computer to a professional***

Hardware can be a tricky problem. If your computer works correctly in completing all of its duties other than Internet access, the modem is the next logical place to look for a connection problem. In Windows navigate to the following folder:

Start » Settings » Control Panel » System » Hardware » Device Manager

Look in the Network Adapter tab of the device manager and see if there is a yellow question mark in the drop down tree. If there is, then the modem is not installed correctly. Right click in the device listing and choose uninstall. Restart your computer and see if Windows detects the modem and installs it. If it doesn't, check your modem's documentation for installation instructions.

If there is no question mark in the drop down tree, then the modem should be working correctly. This of course means the problem is elsewhere.

If the problem lies elsewhere on the computer, it might be best to get in touch with the customer care department of your ISP and let them troubleshoot your connection.

 

Staying Connected

The next most common problem experienced by dial up users is getting disconnected while downloading from the Internet. There are several possible causes including call waiting, your ISP, and your phone line.

Call waiting comes with almost every phone service package these days, so chances are you have it. If a call comes in while the modem is connected with your ISP, it is more likely than not going to disconnect you. This can be fixed with a simple modem command to temporarily suspend call waiting service.

This can be done by including the string *70, in front of your normal dial up connection phone number. Here is an example:

If your dial in number is 8005555555 then change it to *70,8005555555. The comma after *70, is very important and the command often wont work without it.

Your ISP may also be disconnection you. This happens most frequently during peak usage hours between 6PM and 10PM weekdays. There is unfortunately very little that can be done about this problem other than finding a new ISP. If you believe this is the case, be sure to call and inform your ISP that you are getting disconnected during peak hours. Most ISPs will expand their modem pool when they receive enough calls.

Line noise can also disconnect users with alarming frequency. This issue is discussed in detail in the next section.

 

Slow Transfer Speeds

The irritating noise that modems make when they connect is called a handshake. When this is going on the modem on your computer and the modem at your ISP are negotiating a speed in which to transfer data. There are two protocols being negotiated, one for speed and one for correcting errors. If the error rate between the two devices is too high, the modems slow down the speed of transfer. This is called stepping down. When the noisy handshake takes longer than normal to connect, it is usually due to the error rate negotiation.

This step down will slow the transfer rate, but will increase stability in the connection. This means that you will reliably download, just very slowly. Unfortunately once a step down has been taken, the only way to ever increase the transfer rate is to disconnect from your ISP and dial in again. It is possible to step down to the point where no connection is possible. If you think this has occurred call your ISP and let them know.

Noise over the phone line is another common cause for slow transfer rates. A 56Kbps modem used with an absolutely noise free line will connect at around 53Kbps. This is rare, and 33.6Kbps connections are more common. As the noise level increases, the transfer rate decreases. It is possible to have a line so noisy that no connection can be made, or worse yet an intermittent connection that becomes even harder to troubleshoot and solve.

The first step to diagnosing this problem is to unplug all phones and devices connected to the phone line except the modem. Then try connecting from different outlets throughout the house. If this doesn't fix the line noise problem, call the phone company and have them do a line check. FCC regulations require a service level high enough to reliably transfer data over public lines so in effect the phone company has to fix the problem if it is theirs.

 
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Accelerated dialup can increase your download speeds by up to 5x faster and represents a money-saving alternative to other forms of High Speed Internet Service.