Internet access via wanadoo (orange)

[powerdesal]

This may be a stupid post, but..... I am 4000 miles from wife and she has lost her internet connection in France and does not speak French - yet.

Scenario:  connection is dial up on wanadoo (now Orange) for 'x' hours per month. connection was working ok ( for about 1 week) but stopped last Sunday evening. Modem check from computer shows its ok but modem says cant find dial tone. Logical conclusion (I think) is that line and/or modem is faulty ..-.. but phone still works perfectly. Therefore line out is OK ..or is it???

Wanadoo help line say try new connection (luckily English speaker at other end) and give all new settings but still no joy. New call to wanadoo help line results in rapid fire French 'lady' who refuses to :-

a.  find anyone who knows any English

b.  Insists that the connection cannot possibly work because Wife is using phone line ( I think we/she is quite aware of that fact , being dial up!!!!!)

c.  Appears to fail to realise the connection does not work when phone is NOT in use.

My long distance interpretation is that either the modem to socket lead has gone faulty (where do get a new one from?) OR the modem is faulty. Is there likely to be an alternative failure point?

Wife is a v.good computer driver but not a computer technophile, anyone got any suggestions as I do not return to France for anothe 4 weeks.

Regards ( I am getting ear-ache at long distance!!!!!!!)

[Anton Redman]

Suggestions :

Check that a telephone is not plugged into the first socket in the house marked 'Tester@

Try with every 'phone in the house discinnected

Buy some 'Bluetack' and use it to get a little more presure on PC to phone jack connection

I doubt it is the modem to socket lead but in France they are available in the hyper markets

Check the phone in from socket is in the in socket of PC not the out socket

Plug cheap phone into out socket from PC and see if the 'phone works

Do they still tell the IBM joke - Ishallah, Boukram Marvish - God Willing (If Allah Decides), Tommorrow, Never

 

[Catalpa]

There were storms in this part of Manche - and elsewhere in the region - Monday and Tuesday night. Is there any likelihood that the modem has been fried? There is a good pc "doctor" in Avranches. Email or PM me if you would / your wife would like the details. I've been using Wanadoo for nearly 2 years now - probably the same tariff as you - and it has been very reliable over that time.

edit: no, probably isn't a fying problem as I see it was working till Sunday. Hmmm. [8-)]

[powerdesal]

Anton, thank you for your suggestions,

1. Never seen a socket marked 'tester' but incoming are two sockets, one immediatly above the other, both look the same.

2. Only have one phone in house which is a walk about with base station plugged into one of the above mentioned socket outlets.

3. Maybe!!

4. Wife should be getting one today, just in case, if its not faulty then we lose a few euros.

5.Lead from phone socket is into modem, it worked then stopped after c.9days therefore that is discounted.

6.Dont have any other phones to try with but have worked out a testing procedure for OH to try.

Here its Ins'allah, bukra, mumkin ( God willing, tomorrow, maybe) or m'affi (for not/none/never) same as m'affi mushkila. M'allish = no problem(ish)

Regards, thanks again.

[powerdesal]

Catalpa,

Thanks for the offer, if my planned test procedure does not solve the problem I will PM you.

Regards