A question about phones and internet

DarkHououmon · **on:** November 18, 2007, 04:14:36 AM

I am asking this question on behalf of my friend, Truttle, who mysteriously lost his internet connection for days after receiving a telemarketer phonecall.

From what he told me, his connection was fine, until he got that phonecall. It was something to do with buying insurance. He claims to have lost connection right away, either when he picked up or when he hung up.

He also claims to have temporarily regained connection whenever he recieved a phonecall from a direct line, but cellphones had no effect.

He has a 2 wire Phone, and a DSL connection. Windows XP OS for his computer.

I did some searches on the internet and came up with nothing. Does anyone here have a answer to this?

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #1 on:** November 18, 2007, 04:28:50 AM

I know that if you're on dialup or high speed that shares the same connection with the phone and you use the phone while you're online, it usually punches through your internet, making you lose signal, but not for days. A surge is possible, though highly unlikely, but that would certainly harm the modem, weather it being internal or external, dsl or dialup. It's been pretty stormy here. Has he lost electricity recently, for even a second? It fried one of my computers when the electricity went out for less than a second. It was just enough to make the lights flicker. They didn't even go out all the way. When the power went out some years ago when I had dialup, it blew up the modem from a surge. This can also happen to dsl and cable modems, but I've never had that happen. It does not matter if he has a surge protector. They don't really work unless you buy those really expensive $80 ones. I personally use battery backup and I would recommend it to everyone who has a computer. After the power goes out, I can run the computer for almost an hour on the battery backup, which gives me enough time to shut everything down and finish my projects. I have a huge battery backup system in my office which will run up to 15 computers at once and power them all for 20 minutes. In this day and age, battery backup is essential if you want to keep your computer from getting fried. B)

DarkHououmon · **Reply #2 on:** November 18, 2007, 04:33:07 AM

Quote from: landbeforetimelover,Nov 18 2007 on 04:28 AM

Has he lost electricity recently, for even a second?

Yes he has.

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #3 on:** November 18, 2007, 04:34:27 AM

Oh god. That sucks. Tell him to call his ISP and ask for a replacement modem if they originally provided it.

DarkHououmon · **Reply #4 on:** November 18, 2007, 04:35:26 AM

So far his connection is working okay now, but he doesn't know how long it'll last. Should he still call for a replacement even if the internet is now working?

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #5 on:** November 18, 2007, 04:36:29 AM

Yes. Sometimes, they don't get fried all the way. They just start sucking and losing connection. <_<

DarkHououmon · **Reply #6 on:** November 18, 2007, 04:41:35 AM

Ah okay. But I think I'll wait and see if anyone else has any different idea of what might be going on before telling him. No offense. I just want to get a second opinion.

action9000 · **Reply #7 on:** November 18, 2007, 02:04:08 PM

Quote

They just start sucking and losing connection.

That happened to me last week. My modem started to randomly cut in and out every couple of minutes. We called the ISP and got a new modem. That fixed everything right up. B)

DarkHououmon · **Reply #8 on:** November 18, 2007, 02:49:12 PM

Would the same thing cause connection to be lost for days? Not a few minutes, not a few hours. Days.

action9000 · **Reply #9 on:** November 18, 2007, 03:05:37 PM

Depending on what, specifically, was wrong with the modem, I'd say it's possible that you would lose signal for days or weeks.

DarkHououmon · **Reply #10 on:** November 18, 2007, 03:11:37 PM

Oh I see.

Kor · **Reply #11 on:** November 19, 2007, 03:01:33 AM

Maybe you can get a cheap new modem and try it out, see if it is the modem or something else. I do hope it is something simple. I remember years ago I use to have to replace my modem a few times a year. It could be a brand thing, or it got zapped like someone mentioned earlier.

action9000 · **Reply #12 on:** November 19, 2007, 11:15:25 AM

If the modem was supplied by your ISP, they should replace it at no charge. If you had to pay for the modem yourselves, I don't know how that will work.

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #13 on:** November 19, 2007, 06:56:30 PM

I think he means a dialup modem. I've never heard of a high speed ISP that makes you buy your own modem (Except for illegal ones).

action9000 · **Reply #14 on:** November 19, 2007, 10:21:31 PM

Quote

I've never heard of a high speed ISP that makes you buy your own modem (Except for illegal ones).

I have. Some ADSL providers require the customer to purchase the ADSL modem. As a matter of fact, when we were on ADSL we had to purchase the modem.

Kor · **Reply #15 on:** November 20, 2007, 01:58:51 AM

I had to buy mine, though since it was new service they gave me credit, it wasn't applied for months later. That is why I got the wired instead of the wireless one. The wireless is more expensive and the credit didn't cover all of it's purchase price. Though taking months to be applied I still had to pay up front. Reminds me, I should get a new modem so when this one wears out.