Poor ADSL connection.

[edyth]

I am having problems with my internet connection. I live in Aude and use FREE ADSL. I have had good service for over 2 years but for the past 3 days it has been awful. It connects as normal for a few minutes and then goes down for an hour, then a few more minutes and then off again.

 

Is anyone else having problems? I was wondering if the atrocious weather had anything to do with it. Or maybe my box has developed a fault.

 

Last night it was fine for a whole hour and I was able to sort out my emails etc., then this morning it is back to being a real pain.

 

Can anyone tell me how to check on the status of my connection? Or how to report a fault.

 

Thanks

Edith

[Tim]

It sounds as if you have an intermittent fault - the worse type to try and pin down I'm afraid, but you could try this link - it will give you a check on your connection.

http://www.internetfrog.com/mypc/speedtest/

 

Tim

[Martin963]

I can't help with the original post,  but our two month old Club Interrnet ADSL is now going off for 10 hours at a time (for the last two days).

I've rung them both times - at a total cost of €16.   The first time I was taken through a series of tests which appeared to show that the problem lay between the CI servers and our exchange,  as the part from me to the exchange was still working.   I was asked to wait 24 hours and then ring the premium number again,  although when I protested that this had already cost €8 I was assured that the second call would be much shorter,  merely confirmation that an intervention was required.

Although the ADSL and phone reappeared for a few hours it was off again yesterday so I rang,  to be taken through the WHOLE WRETCHED PROCESS again,  despite frequent protestations on my part. 

I know that Club Internet haven't done anything wrong,  but €16 is a lot of money in my old fashioned book,  and although it's working again this am (the ADSL and phone re-appeared some time during the night while the computer was switched off) I wonder for how long. 

To be honest I'm thinking of signing up for their €4 per month Hotline illimité so that I can HASSLE them for free whenever there's the slightest tiny problem,  maybe that way I'll get something done. 

I know it's been said many times and I know that these guys operate well within the terms of their contracts,  but really when anything goes wrong with ADSL it seems that often one ends up paying through the nose.   Coupled with the fact that it's already slow in comparison with town areas (I measured only 200 kbps with that frog thingy) AND more expensive than an urban service,  the unreliability thrown in is really making me wish I'd never signed up for the service.

My only recommendation - I believe some operators do not charge premium rates for the pleasure of informing them of problems,  and that will be high on my list of "wants" when I dump Club Internet next spring.   And I would now never dump France Telecom,  at least when I ring on the FT line I can quickly disabuse them of any idea that my line is at fault.

Sorry to moan,  as they say,  couldn't have happened to a nicer bloke!!

[John L]

[quote user="Martinwatkins"]

And I would now never dump France Telecom,  at least when I ring on the FT line I can quickly disabuse them of any idea that my line is at fault.

[/quote]

It is for that reason that I have used Wanadoo over FT lines for the last four years. It is also possible to walk into an FT shop and talk to someone about problems that may arise.

A big advantage in my book.

[Martin963]

How right you are.  I can't complain too much,  at least in comparison to the guy who posted some weeks ago who'd run up a bill for €400 + because he'd dumped FT before getting the ADSL VOIP to work.

I can now add to my previous,  in that the outages (how American,  down time?  - that's even worse) that I have suffered correspond horologically to thsoe endured by our friends up the hill who have Alice.   Suggests that whatever route the signal takes from Genis back to civilisation is shared by the two operators and is not functioning reliably.

[Tim]

Sorry to hear about your problems Martin. I agree with you, and others on here, that certainly, at the moment, there are disitnct advantages in sticking with Orange/Wanadoo - the idea that as a last resort you can march into one of their branches and actually speak to somebody is a definate plus. 

I worked for the main telecom provider in the UK for many years and I can recall very clearly the way the 'cheaper' alternative providers operated and I've no reason to assume that it's any different over here. Their first response to any problem was to blaim somebody else - normally us! It was quite normal for isues to be 'batted back and forth' before a resolution was found.

I'm in the position, at the moment anyway, of not having alternative provider in my area. But I have to say that I'm quite happy with the service ( oh dear, perhaps I shouldn't have said that! ) and I would have to think very hard before having a go with a 'cheaper' alternative.

Tim

[Martin963]

Fair comment Timco.  To be fair to Club Internet they haven't tried to blame anyone else (yet!).  It'll probably sort itself out when enough peeps complain (particularly in heavily accented French!) andin the meantime I do what I need to do (on the internet that is!) in the morning.   Far worse for our Alice friends who have no phone connection when it's "off".