having issues with DSL that I just setup, it keeps resetting itself

[Squirrel]

The unit is a 2wire home gateway 2701HG-B, wireless router and DSL modem in one. I just set it up taday, and every 5-20min the damn thing restarts on me... Any suggestions? I called tech support and they said that it might be a bad unit.
I am more worried that I have crappy phone wiring in this appartment, would this cause the unit to drop? Or that fact that it works fine (aside from the dropping) mean that the wiring is fine in the appt? TIA

[leftnotright]

Pick up the phone and let the dial tone release then listen. If you hear any crackling or popping then you have a dirty line.

If the router/modem is not a new unit, try trading it in for another one.

[Squirrel]

Pick up the phone and let the dial tone release then listen. If you hear any crackling or popping then you have a dirty line.

If the router/modem is not a new unit, try trading it in for another one.

no cracking or popping on the line, it's crystal clear...

The modem/router should be brand new from att, but it could be a bad unit, or possibly a bad refurbished unit.

The att tech support guy seems to think that they sent me a bad unit, but their system was down so he said to call back later... I told him that I had 2 other DSL modems that I could try out, but he said that they might net connect for some regional reason, which I have never heard of... is that BS, and shold I give the other modems a shot?

[leftnotright]

I know with cable modems the MAC address, usually on the bottom of the modem, has to be registered with the ISP provider before it'll connect. I'm not sure if that's how DSL modems are or not, so I'm not sure if you can try the other modems you have.

About things being 'brand new,' that's what manufacturers want you to believe, but that ain't always the case today. A couple of days ago I tore apart an Epson all-in-one printer and on top underside of the cover was stamped "Recycled Coating." Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..............

[Squirrel]

I know with cable modems the MAC address, usually on the bottom of the modem, has to be registered with the ISP provider before it'll connect. I'm not sure if that's how DSL modems are or not, so I'm not sure if you can try the other modems you have.

About things being 'brand new,' that's what manufacturers want you to believe, but that ain't always the case today. A couple of days ago I tore apart an Epson all-in-one printer and on top underside of the cover was stamped "Recycled Coating." Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..............

Ya, I know... They are getting a bit too lax on what they are considering "new" these days. I get the feeling that some companies are saying "It's new to you, ain't it?" And I have never had good luck with refurbished products (hem...Apple).

[XXnarg]

The condition of the line should not cause the modem to restart. It probably is a defective unit.

Leave the modem powered on but disconnected from the phone line and computer or router, and watch it to see if it restarts on its own.

You could try your other modems on the line - they won't hurt anything and may work. You'd probably need to setup your ISP login name & password in them.

A line can be bad in terms of DSL connectivity even if you don't hear any crackling/popping/static, or you can may still have decent DSL connectivity if you hear stuff. The DSL and voice signals are in different frequency ranges, and we can't hear high enough to detect the DSL signal. Also, keep in mind that there are DSL filters on those phones - hopefully.

OP, you did install your DSL filters, right?
...A couple of days ago I tore apart an Epson all-in-one printer and on top underside of the cover was stamped "Recycled Coating." Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..............Could that mean the coating was made from recycled materials??

[stufine]

i guess they did the phone line test to make sure you dont have the resistor/circuit board still connected? i do know it drops connection when someone calls but dont have much play time with one connected for any length of time
was looking for a link but didnt see anything yet.
the one i fixed was at the phone dmark box. in this apt. it was in the laundry room on the wall with the short phone line loop. once you take the cover off there was a small cover inside. pop that off and there is a small circuit board..some are completely sealed and cant really tell what it is.. has couple wires.. snip snip
not sure about newer buildings but common in older stuff. also no filters installed on other stuff will slow your speeds

[CovertCelery]

OP - a couple of questions come to mind.

1) Is this a new service you just ordered? Have you had DSL before you got the new DSL router/modem? If you did have DSL just fine before you installed this new router/modem - then the problem is most likely the router/modem.

IF this is brand new service, they might not even have you on the correct office pair... Sometimes what happens is that they'll send you the DSL modem, but they don't switch your wiring at your local cross-box...

I know I'm using terminology here, but simply best put... When you have just regular plain old telephone service, they use a different "type" or "designation" of copper pair to give you phone service... When you order DSL, a technician 9 times out of 10 will have to finish a service order at a "local wiring box" (what we call the cross-box). This cross-box feeds and services your local area, or neighborhood with copper pairs. There are different type of copper pairs coming into the box "feeding" service to it, and then there are pairs "leaving" from it going to individual houses...

When you say that your router/modem "restarts" on you every 5-20 minutes... Does it actually FULLY synchronize before you loose signal, or do your lights keep flashing on it constantly, and it cycles back to the beginning?

If it actually syncs up all the way (which means you will not have any flashing lights on the modem - all lights should be solid green, except possibly your "ethernet" light which might blink once in a while). If this is the case, you are having trouble with the copper pair - you should have them dispatch a tech out... Chances are very likely that they just have to cut off copper pair from your line that might extend beyond your physical address (sometimes this happens).


If it is not synchronized, then you will have at least one light flashing all the time... This means more than likely that you're not even on the right type of copper pair that will support DSL.

Have the tech you call up next check to see if they even have you on the correct pair yet. If you are, have them dispatch a tech out... If you're not on the correct pair, you'll just have to wait until the next technician finishes your service order... Same thing happened to me when I ordered DSL, and I work for them... I had to go and finish the service order myself - pain in the butt, but oh well - sometimes they get really busy...

Hope this helps.

[XXnarg]

IF this is brand new service, they might not even have you on the correct office pair... Sometimes what happens is that they'll send you the DSL modem, but they don't switch your wiring at your local cross-box...

I know I'm using terminology here, but simply best put... When you have just regular plain old telephone service, they use a different "type" or "designation" of copper pair to give you phone service... When you order DSL, a technician 9 times out of 10 will have to finish a service order at a "local wiring box" (what we call the cross-box). This cross-box feeds and services your local area, or neighborhood with copper pairs. There are different type of copper pairs coming into the box "feeding" service to it, and then there are pairs "leaving" from it going to individual houses...???? DSL was designed to work over 26 gauge solid copper wire. What other wire are you talking about?

It's relatively rare for a DSL circuit to require a rewiring of the outside facilities, and when it happens, it's usually because the existing copper has been spliced too many times or maybe there was a water leak in wiring concentration point. In that case they usually just grab a different pair back to the CO.

That 9 out of 10 times estimate of having to get new outside wiring is way off, IMNHO. The ratio is flipped the opposite way, unless the subscriber lives in an area with very old telco facilities.

We have a couple of places like that in the Chicago region.

For example, theres a several square block area north of O'Hare airport that has been passed back and forth between telcos over the years and the wiring sucks. They quit trying to provision DSL there because of it, even though O'Hare (high tech!) is a few blocks away. There are a few other localized areas in this region like that.

[callpocket]

Sounds like to me that the CSR is correct and they issued you a faulty modem. All this talk of wiring in closets and such is way down the line -- the ISP should know if there is a problem with the wiring of the building by now.

[callpocket]

This sounds like a classic modem failure to me. Sorry to all you guys troubleshooting line problems and building wiring. When the CSR is saying a fault with the modem, it's pretty obvious the ISP knows there is no suspected fault with the wiring of the building or a line problem. Give the ISP a break here and go with the faulty modem -- it's pretty obvious at this point the ISP people have a notion they issued a bad batch of modems.

[Squirrel]

OP - a couple of questions come to mind.

1) Is this a new service you just ordered? Have you had DSL before you got the new DSL router/modem? If you did have DSL just fine before you installed this new router/modem - then the problem is most likely the router/modem.

IF this is brand new service, they might not even have you on the correct office pair... Sometimes what happens is that they'll send you the DSL modem, but they don't switch your wiring at your local cross-box...

I know I'm using terminology here, but simply best put... When you have just regular plain old telephone service, they use a different "type" or "designation" of copper pair to give you phone service... When you order DSL, a technician 9 times out of 10 will have to finish a service order at a "local wiring box" (what we call the cross-box). This cross-box feeds and services your local area, or neighborhood with copper pairs. There are different type of copper pairs coming into the box "feeding" service to it, and then there are pairs "leaving" from it going to individual houses...

When you say that your router/modem "restarts" on you every 5-20 minutes... Does it actually FULLY synchronize before you loose signal, or do your lights keep flashing on it constantly, and it cycles back to the beginning?

If it actually syncs up all the way (which means you will not have any flashing lights on the modem - all lights should be solid green, except possibly your "ethernet" light which might blink once in a while). If this is the case, you are having trouble with the copper pair - you should have them dispatch a tech out... Chances are very likely that they just have to cut off copper pair from your line that might extend beyond your physical address (sometimes this happens).


If it is not synchronized, then you will have at least one light flashing all the time... This means more than likely that you're not even on the right type of copper pair that will support DSL.

Have the tech you call up next check to see if they even have you on the correct pair yet. If you are, have them dispatch a tech out... If you're not on the correct pair, you'll just have to wait until the next technician finishes your service order... Same thing happened to me when I ordered DSL, and I work for them... I had to go and finish the service order myself - pain in the butt, but oh well - sometimes they get really busy...

Hope this helps.

OK, sorry it took so long to answer. This is a new service to my new apartment, but I have had DSL in past apartments, with 2wire gateways.
As for the "restarting" here's what it does- The gateway will startup and have all solid green lights (apart from some flickering from data transfers). At this time the gateway is working just fine, including the wireless. Then, randomly the modem will make a slight click noise and either the power light or DSL light will flash red very briefly, and all the light will go out. Right after the brief red light, the power light will start blinking, then turn to solid green and the rest of the Green lights follow.
I called Tech support again, and they told me that they could see that I was connecting, but that my service wasn't scheduled to start until the March the 17th, so although I have my hardware, I should wait until the 18th and see if the problem still occurs.
I am a bit nervous about the wiring in the building because I was borrowing my internet from a neighbors unsecured network, and his has dropping issues too. I'm hopping that is just because he was using a D-link router, but who knows...

Thanks for the advice everyone, but it looks like I'm going to have to wait until the 18th and just pray every night that it will be fine.

Just as an example, the damn gateway went out on me 4 times during me writing this post!

And when I run a “Broadband Link Diagnostics” from the gateways fireware, here’s what I get:

Click TEST to run a series of diagnostic tests on your broadband link.
DSL Synchronization: UP
G.DMT Signal: UP
PVC Connection: Could not find an ATM circuit
PPPoE Service: -
PPP Authentication: -
IP Connection: An Internet address could not be obtained
DNS Communication: Unable to contact the Domain Name Server

[XXnarg]

Leave the modem turned on and not connected to the phone line or the computer.

If it resets when not connected to anything but power, it's definitely the hardware in the modem or its power unit.

[callpocket]

Leave the modem turned on and not connected to the phone line or the computer.

If it resets when not connected to anything but power, it's definitely the hardware in the modem or its power unit.

:iagree:

[.DC.]

???? DSL was designed to work over 26 gauge solid copper wire. What other wire are you talking about?

It's relatively rare for a DSL circuit to require a rewiring of the outside facilities, and when it happens, it's usually because the existing copper has been spliced too many times or maybe there was a water leak in wiring concentration point. In that case they usually just grab a different pair back to the CO.

That 9 out of 10 times estimate of having to get new outside wiring is way off, IMNHO. The ratio is flipped the opposite way, unless the subscriber lives in an area with very old telco facilities.

We have a couple of places like that in the Chicago region.

For example, theres a several square block area north of O'Hare airport that has been passed back and forth between telcos over the years and the wiring sucks. They quit trying to provision DSL there because of it, even though O'Hare (high tech!) is a few blocks away. There are a few other localized areas in this region like that.

I think CC was trying to put it into English and not "Bell-Speak" and go into what half taps are, etc..

If the line has not been "Conditioned" then yeah it could be the line.

But OP now says about actual service date is in the future still...there is a chance that that is an issue...but my $ is on the 2wire box being bad.

It would be nice if he had Glass to the B-Box and then just coper to his apt...

Now I wonder if the apt is old or new....if it's old...I've seen some nasty, nasty bean spliced jboxes and they also have old rag cable going underground building to building getting wet and shorting out. Which could explain the drops...the line shorts, resets, re-syncs and then 5-20 min later shorts again...

[Squirrel]

Leave the modem turned on and not connected to the phone line or the computer.

If it resets when not connected to anything but power, it's definitely the hardware in the modem or its power unit.

I'll give it a shot.

When the signal drops, the comes back on I get this pop-up saying "An unexpected problem has occurred (There was no SOAP-ENV:Body in the xml payload sent by the server.)"

Does anyone have a clue what this means?

[XXnarg]

...It would be nice if he had Glass to the B-Box and then just coper to his apt...Except that means a fiber DSLAM which is not that common.

Bad copper is not likely to cause a hard reset.I'll give it a shot.

When the signal drops, the comes back on I get this pop-up saying "An unexpected problem has occurred (There was no SOAP-ENV:Body in the xml payload sent by the server.)"

Does anyone have a clue what this means?Ignore an error message like that when the modem experiences a hard reset.

[.DC.]

Except that means a fiber DSLAM which is not that common.

Bad copper is not likely to cause a hard reset.Ignore an error message like that when the modem experiences a hard reset.

Well I did say it "Would" be nice didn't I??

Bell is rolling out a Fiber to the Bbox with cu for the last mile...not quite the FO to the premise like Verizon is...but it sure is a hell of a lot faster now that we have 6 megs vs 300K with the CU line we just got rid of. We were so far from the CO that a current day request for CU DSL would have been rejected by Bell...but now that there is Glass to our B-Box just a mear 900 feet away....it's 6 Megs! :D

As to the OP's issue...with apartments it could be anything...the house cabling can and is a lot of times really crappy with all kinds of short-cuts taken by the property owners...it's sad.

Hell there could be a tree branch banging up against a jbox and knocking his connection all off cause some one lost the lid to it...or some kid ripped it of 'just cause.

[XXnarg]

...Bell is rolling out a Fiber to the Bbox with cu for the last mile.."BBox" here in the Chicago area refers to the water turn box off at the curb, between the city water and the home owner's fresh water plumbing.

The boxes were made by a firm in Buffalo, NY, hence the term B-Box.

[.DC.]

"BBox" here in the Chicago area refers to the water turn box off at the curb, between the city water and the home owner's fresh water plumbing.

The boxes were made by a firm in Buffalo, NY, hence the term B-Box.

Got to love "Regional" differences =D