Rural ADSL dropouts, 2 or 3 per minute

[bigjimbishop]

My pals have 1 Mb Haut debit (lucky ******s) with wanadoo modem and it drops out loads. Weather conditions don't seem to make any difference. All indoor connectors and cables are good.

Phone conversations are good quality.

Could it be too many devices connected to one line?

Is it a common France Telecom hassle in rural areas or crap modem?

I wondered about trying an ADSL router/firewall like Netgear DG834

Any other similar experiences/solutions?

[Mpprh]

Hi

I have Wanadoo ADSL in a very rural area, and do not suffer any similar problems.

It is worth plugging your phone number into : http://www.degrouptest.com

They give more detail than FT

Bonne chance

 

Peter

 

 

[Eslier]

The most likely cause is that there is a problem with the external FT line. If this is the case then you would most likely get intermitent crackling whilst on the phone too. It would be worth calling FT out to come and check the line.

Other possible problems could include a faulty phone somewhere in the house (I am assuming that they are all connected via ADSL filters) Try unplugging all the phones etc. and see if that helps.

The DG834GT is a great bit of kit. It won't solve the problem if the fault is with the line but it will automatically reconnect quite quickly if the signal temporarily drops out for any reason. If you get one then make sure you download the latest firmware upgrade from the Netgear US website as the reconnect function has been improved with later versions. If you buy the DG834GT in France, you can still load the PC software in English from the CD provided. If your French isn't that good you can also download a pdf copy of the installation instructions from the Netgear US website. Even if you get really stuck at any time you can phone the UK telephone helpline and they will be happy to register your warranty and help you with any problems even though you purchased the unit in France.

[Deimos]

When I added a 3rd telephone in the house I had a similar problem. The ADSL went really unreliable. It did not have a filter but I thought that should not matter as I did not really use the telephone (more as an additional “ringer”. However, even when it was sitting there doing nothing the ADSL was a bit unreliable. All went good again when I put a filter on the telephone (or unplugged it).

Could possibly may many things causing the problem, above is just what I experienced and may be one thing worth checking.

Ian

[Barrym]

I have friends who had a similar problem; when they told FT,  engineers came out and put in new cables all the way from the nearest village.

[Jo53]

We have been having problems for a couple of months now (Wanadoo ADSL in rural area). In September we had huge problems (no service for hours on end, then on again for an hour, then off again). The same thing was happening to neighbours, but we still had a nightmarish time getting anyone to acknowledge the problem (Wanadoo said it was FT, FT said it was Wanadoo). In the end it transpired that it was a problem with FT equipment a few kms away, and they eventually fixed it.

BUT it's never been the same since. Before the probs we had a fast service with no dropouts, now the speed is sometimes only just above dial-up, and many times it is necessary to press refresh to get a page to load, because it drops while loading. It's become hard to buy anything online because it drops while submitting order forms, etc. It also usually fails to connect to the mailserver the first time when sending an email, but then the mail sends fine when you press send a second time.

All this is driving me mad, but I just don't have the will to go through anymore complaint reporting to FT or Wanadoo. It's not our kit, because we haven't changed anything and it worked fine before.

I'm not a techie so I don't know if it's the same problem that you are having. Any suggestions appreciated! We have a Netgear router.

Jo

[Deimos]

I have always found FT far more responsive that and ISP (both for ADSL and dial-up). With FT you can report a fault (including an intermittent one) and they seem obliged to sort it out. In practice Wanadoo (nor any other ISP) don’t have too many engineers in vans driving round so it will almost certainly be as FT person who actually sorts it out.

Ian

[Liz]

We had a problem a few weeeks ago with ridiculously slow speeds on dial up.  We noticed that, as we drove up the lane past out neighbour's farm, the electric fencing was making ticking noises on the car radio (long wave) and we eventually pinned the problem down so something he has done to extend his fences to a new area.  He was very reluctant to admit it was his fault and for a few days swore that his own ADSL was OK.  Eventually his wife told him that she had been having problems with the computer as had another neighbour so he was convinced to move the fence further away and now, of course, the cows are in for the winter so problem solved.  We await developments next spring with interest.

The joys of rural life!

Liz (29)

[Deimos]

Another thing to check is what speed you (or rather Wanadoo) are trying to run your line at. Wanadoo (and others) seem very keen on running at “up to” 8MB and are rather optimistic about line performance. Wanadoo can test your line and reckon it will work, whereas FT can test it and say it wont.

For example, I an 3.5 Km from the exchange (by FT’s figures) and 1MB is reliable (dead solid). However, dynamic rates 2MB and above just don’t work. Wanadoo reckon the line is good for between 3 and 4 MB, yet FT say that 1MB is the limit.

If this is the issue you are more likely to get some sense from FT on 1013 (also free) rather than Wanadoo (on their premium rate number).

Ian

[escargot100]

Hi,

We have been having the same problems. We are in the middle of the country and FT and wanadoo insisted we could take the high debit ADSL. At last after two months they have aknowledged that it goes to the road at the end of the drive ok but into our house "we are just 50 metres too far!" any way they have reduced the debit which seems to be better (still ADSL) and reimbursed a months rental.All of this after 7 engineers all who insisted it was the computer and the 8th bothered to test the line from the exchange to see where the problem was.