Debugging ADSL issues

[ffxx68]

Hi,

I am experiencing some problems with my 3700 router, in the ADSL modem part.

Since a few days now, I intermittently get the line down, no Internet access (though WiFi connection is up), with the world-icon Internet led red, or blinking green (while normally it's fixed green).

Looking at the troubleshooting section in the manual didn't help that much...

According to my network operator (I had a visit of a technician at home too), there is no problem at their end. I'm also starting to suspect the modem/router, as replacing it with an older and smaller one (different brand) while the line was down, ADSL is not giving issues.

So, I'd like to understand what the red light or blinking green means exactly, as well as if there's a way to collect debug logs from the router.

thanks in advance
Fabio

[VLF4986]

Hi Fabio,

I made an interesting discovery one day. While I was moving the router around, I noticed I would get intermittent disconnects. I found out every time I wiggle the incoming telephone wire going into the router around I would get a disconnect. I checked the connector on the end of the wire and it was good. It turns out the little copper connections were pushed down too far inside the router telephone jack. I took a paperclip and put a little 90 degree bend into one end and used it to pull each of the copper connections out so they would provide a better contact to the telephone connector.

You might try wiggling the wires into your router around to see if you might have a similar problem.

Basically -- The slow blinking green means the router is waiting to detect a DSL signal. The fast blinking green means a DSL signal is detected and the router is in the process of synching with the DSL signal. The red means your router is synched to the DSL signal however you are not yet authorized to use the DSL signal (not yet logged in properly). Steady green means you are logged in/authorized and ready to go.

You can view the logs by logging into your router at http://192.168.0.1/start.htm and then clicking on logs. The bottom of the router should show you the password and username.

Hope this helps!

Shawn

[VLF4986]

I typed a previous response however I'm not sure what happened to it whether it was not approved or did not go through??

I found that when I moved the wires around on the back of my router that I would get an occasional disconnect. This lead me to investigate why. It turns out when I wiggled the telephone (ADSL) line that I would get disconnected. Why? Well, to make a long story short the little copper connections inside the router jack were pushed in/down too far and were not making a good contact with the telephone connector when plugged into the jack. I was able to bend out the pins in the jack a little using a paperclip with a 90 degree bend on one end. Now, I have a perfect connection and have stopped experiencing disconnects.

The slow blinking green light means the router is waiting for a DSL signal. The fast blinking green light means a DSL signal is detected and the router is synching to it. The red light appears when you are synched however not yet signed into the DSL line. Steady green is when you are logged in to use the DSL service.

You can log into your router and click on logs to view the router logs.

Hope this helps!

[richud]

if its a V1, you are welcome to try the torrent firmware (top forum thread), it may solve your problem & at least get you access via telnet/ssh easily to see what is going on.

[ffxx68]

Thanks for both of you for your suggestions... will double check and let you know.

[ffxx68]

Below a typical disconnection log, but note how the "Internet disconnected" sometimes happens even in absence of a "DSL: Down" event. Also, sometimes after rebooting I get "DSL: Up" but not "Internet connected"...

Suggestions?

Is it the modem or the ISP?

[Internet connected] IP address: 82.55.233.200, Thursday, Jan 09,2014 22:56:12
[DSL Event] DSL: Up Thursday, Jan 09,2014 22:56:05
[Internet disconnected] Thursday, Jan 09,2014 22:55:21
[DSL Event] DSL: Down Thursday, Jan 09,2014 22:55:20
[Internet connected] IP address: 79.47.213.208, Thursday, Jan 09,2014 22:49:11
[DSL Event] DSL: Up Thursday, Jan 09,2014 22:49:05
[Internet disconnected] Thursday, Jan 09,2014 22:48:19
[DSL Event] DSL: Down Thursday, Jan 09,2014 22:48:18
[Time synchronized with NTP server] Thursday, Jan 09,2014 22:45:15

[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.3)] to MAC address CC:52:AF:2E:EA:93, Thursday, Jan 09,2014 22:44:28
[Internet connected] IP address: 79.52.224.216, Thursday, Jan 09,2014 22:44:22
[DSL Event] DSL: Up Thursday, Jan 09,2014 22:44:16
[DHCP IP: (192.168.0.2)] to MAC address 40:2C:F4:58:66:4B, Thursday, Jan 09,2014 22:44:13
[USB device attached] The USB storage device Hitachi HTS543232L9A300 is attached to the router. Thursday, Jan 09,2014 22:43:45
[Initialized, firmware version: V1.0.0.17_1.0.17] Thursday, Jan 09,2014 22:43:33io

[VLF4986]

It appears your router is losing synchronization with the DSL signal rather frequently. This could be caused by the ISP, your modem noise in the line or by a bad connection in the wiring.

If you have telephone service on the same line as the DSL signal, you might pick up the phone and hit a number and then listen for any noise in the phone line.

You could try a different modem to see if it has the same problem.

You could also try running a telephone wire from the phone box mounted on your house to your router and see if that stops the problem.

Shawn

[ffxx68]

Hi Shawn,

I also moved a bit the phone line wires and swapped the filter, with another one I had at home. Not sure yet it completely solved the problem, but today it's been more stable, so far... Another modem (a much cheaper one) did not show the same "sensitivity" though...

Thanks a lot for the suggestion anyway!
Fabio