dsl modem keeps breaking

[XWalrus2]

I have AOL with DSL, and i have an actiontec home DSL modem. I suspect that there is somthing wrong with our phone line, as I have had to send back four different modems. Every time, the modem is working fine for about 2-3 weeks, and then the ready light starts blinking, indicating it can't establish a connection. All four times, I have called AOL, and there has not been an outage on any of these occasions. I live in Georgia, and i am wondering what is breaking these modems. It seems spontaneous (no bad weather), and i think it may just be the bad quality of the phone lines here. Any suggestions?

 

[MattWray]

I would say it is not a hardware issue. Is this in your house? What type of cable is ran? If you have old cable, there can be noise on the line, not audible, that can knock a DSL out. Did you have your DSL installed, or was it a self-install? Usually there is some point-of-contact locally, so if necessary you can have a tech come check it... Thanks,

Matt Wray

http://www.netcomtec.com

http://www.total-tec.com

 

[CrashTestDummy]

Matt may be on the right track here...I too would agree that this is lees likely a modem issue and more of a cable/connectivity issue. Typically if a circuit continues to degrade as yours seems to be, then sealing current can be applied to 'clean and dry' the line. If you're running ADSL with a POTS splitter, then that would not be necessary unless you have a dedicated circuit just for the ADSL. If it's SDSL, then ask to have the sealing current sent down the line (just be sure to remove the modem first).

 

[sbcasi]

AOL's policy is to send a tech out to verify a good dsl before they will send you a new modem, I don't know how you were able to recieve 4 units without a tech visit.You need to find out the strength of you're noise margin(NM) either from a tech, your isp or by using the diagnostic feature of your modem. If the NM drops below 7 the modem will lose sync and start flashing, a 12 to 25 NM would be great.AOL did have a problem with these Actiontec USB MODEMS(overheating problem) and replaced them with either a Broadxent(ethernet & usb) modem or an Actiontec (ehternet & usb)you can connect via ethernet or usb.I think your basic problem is a weak signal. "never hack a crack for he may crack and hack back"