Why do I get disconnected frequently, take a long time to connect, or connect at a very slow speed?
There are several things that could cause an unreliable connection.
Adding a setting to your computer, especially in newer computers, will often help.
Unfortunately, on some computers this will cause an error message to appear, until the setting
is removed.
To add the setting:
Click on the Start button
RIGHT click on My Computer
Click on Manage
This should open Computer Management - be patient, it may take a minute to open
On the left side near the center, click on Device Manager
On the right side, click on the '+' symbol next to "Modems"
This will cause a new item to appear just below Modems - double click the new item
Click on the Advanced tab
IN the "Extra Initialization Options" enter either AT+MS=V90 -or- AT+MS=V34
Click OK and close Computer Management
The first setting often helps, but if you continue having trouble, try the second instead.
Noise on the phone lines
often cause problems as well. They could be caused by a bad device on the line in
your home, or the lines running to your home could actually be bad.
Try temporarily
unplugging all of your phones, answering machines, caller-id boxes, surge suppressors,
satellite receivers, absolutely everything connected to the phone line and try dialing
in again.
If dialing in now works, you know the trouble was caused by one of the
things you unplugged - try plugging them back in one or two at a time until you
know which is causing the problem. The last common cause would be a bad modem in
your computer. Modems generally go bad because of lightning damage, but like any
electronic device, they may go bad randomly. If you suspect your modem might be going
bad, I would recommend bringing your computer in - we have replacements available
that will work with most computers.