Wireless internet connection and cordless phone interruption

[CheekyMonkeyWrench]

I have DSL, and as soon as I pick up the phone, it cuts-out my connection for a couple of minutes.

Anybody else experience this, and have a possible remedy?

Thanks,
CMR

[Hector B]

Hey CheekyMW,
Wireless phone and wireless router may be running on the same or close to the same frequency. Should be easy enough to find out if you still have the manuals. Luckily my phones and wireless router don't conflict with each other. I just don't know what I would do without my laptop and phone out by the pool in the evenings.

[CheekyMonkeyWrench]

Verizon sent it to me in a box sans the manual. In fact, the darn thing was floating around unwrapped with a cat 5 cable.

What wireless router or modem do you have, and what frequency are your phones? I have a 900mHz and a 2.4gHz phone.

thanks
CMR

[PLUMBER RICK]

you can try to move the base unit farther away from the router. otherwise you need to get the 5.8 GHz. cordless phones.

rick.

[CheekyMonkeyWrench]

Thanks Rick,

I went through that whole routine with "John" in New Delhi.

3000 sq foot home, and the phone is pretty far away.

[Newman]

This might sound obvious, but have you tried changing channels on the phone - might help. As others stated wireless network is 2.4GHz and so is the phone. Try a different phone to eliminate that variable. Have you installed the DSL filters on the phone line, and with the proper orientation?

[wbrooks]

Yep happens to me every time the power goes out. The router and phone reset to default channels and the phone kills the wireless connection. The learn to live with each other after a day or so but it is really a PITA. I have 2 wireless phones. The 2.4 GHz causes me grief, the 5.8 GHz never interrupts the wireless.

[chrisexv6]

You should also be able to change the channel your router uses, depending on good the setup interface is (usually some form of web page at the routers IP....if you pull the make and model I can probably find where you need to go to see it). Depending on the router, it might be saved in non-volatile memory, so one change and you might be good to go (even thru power outages).

Otherwise your best bet is a 5.8GHz phone. The multi-handset ones work well for converting your whole house over, I have a Uniden that is a great phone and doesnt interfere with any wireless connections in my house.

-Chris

[Ken R]

Both the router and the cordless phone are 2.4 GHz systems. Wayne is correct in that after a power failure or a reset the router will go to "channel 11" this will most likely cause interference with the cordless phone. try changiong the channel on the router to one of the lower channels. You will also have to change the channel on all computers connecting to the router.


Ken

[wwsmith]

Cheeky, I agree with a lot of the feedback you have recieved here thus far. I do disagree with Ken and Wayne on the power failure in respect to the router reverting to channel 11. That should only happen if you manually reset the router. Otherwise it is saved in EEPROM in the device (along with your SSL, names, security, etc) and it would have to be without power for a VERY long time (years...) to lose it. Or perhaps it is a very low quality router?? I could possibly see that happening on some of the cordless phones however. One big clue Cheeky made was whenever he picks up the phone seems to be the biggest problem. Question I would ask is that picks up anytime, or just when picks up to answer the phone? First I would test using a corded phone and see if you still have the problem. I would then try changing the channel on the router as well to a lower number and see if that helps if you don't have the problem with the corded phone. You need to troubleshoot a little bit to narrow down your problem more. If you still have the problem with the corded phone (and I suspect you will) then the problem will most likely be on your line to the house. You mentioned you have your DSL from Verizon which leads me to believe you didn't get a clean line for DSL from your local phone company. You would be surprised the troubles that can happen on a dirty line. If the problem is just when you pick up the phone when it is ringing to answer it, then I have some additional suggestions for you. None of them are good......

Personally, I am anti phone company/monopoly so I use cable modem with Vonage and am loving it. And now that they have their WiFi mobile phones I can get cell, home phone (with all the bells and whistles), and high speed internet for $50 a month! But having spent several years in the telco business I am curious to see what you find out CheekyMonkeyWrench.

[wbrooks]

Your right the router channel stays put at 6, so it must be the phone that resets. Do you have any idea what the base frequency is as it relates to the channel ID? Just wondering why you say try a lower channel? Should we just set it to default at channel 1?

[wwsmith]

Wayne, you ask a very valid question. I may have mis-spoke a bit. I really should have said try a different channel. Typically the router of "g" type will be at 2.4 Ghz which is same as many cordless phones. I just suggest to get on a channel far away from the channel selected on your router as it can often help. I am afraid I am not informed enough to know the relationship between the phones frequency and the subchannels available in it. I will say that typically these issues between router and phone are experienced on the phone side (i.e. static, fuzzy sounds, etc). If it is causing issues with the router and/or internet signals it is more likely to be a line issue. To help figure it out is why I asked to check with a corded phone and determine if the same issue exists. If yes then most likely a line issue. If not then most likely the corded phone. I have a 5.8Ghz phone and do not have these issues, but did have static issues when using my older 2.4 and found better luck when I put the channel on my phone far away and in my case it was a lower channel.

Other things to think about are is it just a wireless problem? What if the PC is plugged directly in the router via a cat5 cable, does the problem still exist? Some tests like that can help narrow down from a wireless issue or line issue. There are a lot of variables that I don't know to really help troubleshoot your issue. Typically in my past experience I have seen if it is "when I hang up" issue it is not wireless related.

[wbrooks]

Thanks for the insight. It is definitely a phone / router issue. There is no issue with the corded phone or the 5.8 GHz phone. In fact even if the 2.4GHz phone is not connected to the phone line and you press the talk button to activate it, the wireless LAN drops :mad: . Will try setting the router to a different channel and let you know how it works out

[CheekyMonkeyWrench]

Thanks All!!! I really aprreciate the responses.

I have an Actiontec GT704WG wireless router, which came from Verizon. I'm sure it is a measly unit, but it was basically free. I have no idea how to change the channel.

I disconnected the cordless phones, and hooked up a corded phone and the problem was non-existant.

I tried changing the channels on the 2.4ghz phone, to no avail. I believe the 900mhz phone disrupted the connection without the 2.4 present.....I'll have to double check.

Thanks again!

[chrisexv6]

Manual is located here:

http://www.actiontec.com/support/broadband/gt704-wg.pdf

Read Chapter 4 (Using Advanced Setup), the beginning tells you how to access it. Later on in the chapter it shows how to change the channel the router uses. Also note you will need to change your wireless adapters as well (usually there is a config icon for them somewhere on the machine they are in)....so dont access Advanced Setup over a wireless connection, make sure you use a wired machine to connect to it.

The 900 MHz phone shouldnt interfere with your wireless network, wireless ethernet uses 2.4GHz.

-Chris

[wbrooks]

Most routers out there follow the same protocol.
When you are connected to the router open an IE window and go to address 192.168.1.1 if it asks for a password they are usually set to userid: admin and password: admin (just type admin in the listed fields)
Then poke around until you see a screen like this
http://www.nexicom.net/~wbrooks/router.jpg

[CheekyMonkeyWrench]

Chris and Wayne,

Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

I changed channels and both phones (the 900mhz and 2.4) still cut out my connection when i pick up the phone.

I just checked the DSL filters, and they say for 2 line phones. I don't have any 2 line phones, do you guys think that may cause a problem?

and i disconnected all of the cordless phones and hooked up a regular phone and it too cuts the connection when the phone picks up.

[chrisexv6]

Chris and Wayne,

Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

I changed channels and both phones (the 900mhz and 2.4) still cut out my connection when i pick up the phone.

I just checked the DSL filters, and they say for 2 line phones. I don't have any 2 line phones, do you guys think that may cause a problem?

and i disconnected all of the cordless phones and hooked up a regular phone and it too cuts the connection when the phone picks up.

Well that helps, looks like you eliminated the wireless phone as the cause (makes sense because you said even the 900 MHz cut out the wireless connection, which means it wasnt a frequency range issue).

How many phones are connected in your house? I would try disconnecting every phone but one (it can be a wired or cordless phone at this point), and only leave the filter for that phone on the line (unplug all other filters). Then see if the problem still exists. If it doesnt, then plug in additional phones/filters one at a time, testing the wireless connection each time until you find the phone/filter thats affecting the connection. If the problem *still* exists, it could have something to do with the filters, but Im not sure (only had one experience with DSL at my parents house, and oddly enough it was the phone companies fault :) ).

How is your phone wiring arranged? Incoming line goes to ? My in-laws have all of their phone jacks daisy-chained to one another........needless to say a setup like that would most likely *never* work with DSL. We ended up re-wiring my parents house the right way (incoming line to patch panel, Cat5E as phone wire from patch panel to each room in house). After rewiring my parents house the strange DSL slowdowns and the horrible signal to noise ratio improved dramatically.

One other thing to try is find the status page for your router, pick up a phone and check on the router to see if *it* dropped the wireless connection. It could be possible that the router is dropping wireless, which could indicate an issue with the router itself. (I dont know if we asked: when you pick up a phone do you lose connection to any PC that is *wired* to the router?)

Have you contacted Verizon? They should be able to do a line test to see if your signals are weak or dropping for some reason.

-Chris

[wwsmith]

Cheeky, Chris has a good point with checking the connection drop issue with a wired PC. Take one more piece of the puzzle out of the loop if possible.

It is not uncommon at all to have a house wired in series, especially in older homes. Having each jack wired as an end run is preferred though, and better for higher voltage cases such as DSL. But your DSL should still work if wired in series. The fact that the DSL filters are 2-line is not uncommon either. It should not matter for you and will just be working on the one pair for your single line.

If all else fails you might changing to another pair in jacks (for example you may currently be using the blue/white pair and you could change to the orange/white pair) which could be an issue, although less likely.

I didn't research too long, but it appears your box is the DSL modem and router in one unit. You should be able to log into it and go to a logs or status section and see if you are losing your DSL connection when picking up the phone or if the PC is losing the connection. I would suspect the DSL is losing the connection which would point to a wiring issue somewhere.

[CheekyMonkeyWrench]

Chris and Dubs,

Thanks alot for the help, you 2 are way more informed than Verizon's ppl in sub-Asia.

I have 4 phone jacks in the house. 2 have cordless phones, 1 is empty and the last one exclusively has the DSL line connected to my pc (i'm actually losing connection on that one too).

I checked all the filters and replaced them with the extra ones and the problem is still present.

the phone lines derive from a patch panel in my basement, and one goes to the downstairs phone independently, one goes to the master br independently, and there is one other line that goes from the basement to the attic and is spliced to the 2 remaining jacks (they have electric tape over the splice, doesn't look so great).**COULD THIS BE A PROBLEM?

i went to the router/modem gateway site and it says i'm still connected even though the dsl and internet light go off on the modem when i pick up or hang-up the phone.

verizon ran a line test from their remote "Asian" location and said everything seemed fine. Then the guy told me to contact the East Coast analog repair division, or something along those lines. He transferred me and the rep told me as long as I have a ringtone, there job is complete. I told him that the DSL tech support team said i had to contact his dept. and he said I have to go through the DSL division.....no answers.

i really appreciate you guys taking the time to help me out, Verizon has me locked up for a year in a contract and I am really getting the short end of the stick with them. unfortunately, high speed cable is not available in my area yet :(

[chrisexv6]

Id try disconnecting the basement to attic line from the patch panel completely.

DSL and internet light going off on the modem when you pick up the line sounds like the line is borderline strength and the drop from picking up the phone kills it completely.

Also check to make sure the jacks are wired correctly (red and green and/or black and yellow connected to the correct slots on the patch panel and the correct terminals inside each phone jack).

Absolute worst case: you can access one side of your phone service panel on the outside of the house. Unplug the phone wire that is in there (thats the feed to the inside of your house) and run a known-good phone wire, one end plugged into the service panel port that you just freed up, the other end to a DSL filter. Plug in a phone to the phone side of the filter and the modem to the other. Then see if picking up the phone causes you to drop your DSL connection. If that does drop the connection, the problem is Verizons. If that makes the problem go away, you've narrowed it down to something inside your house. Id be more suspect of that spliced line you speak of, and possibly mis-wired terminals.

-Chris

[CheekyMonkeyWrench]

Chris,

thanks again

all of the jacks are wired correctly, and i disconnected the dicey line to the attic.

unfortunately, the problem still persists.

i checked the box downstairs, and the red green yellow and black wires are all wired correctly.

i went outside, to the little gray box, and the green and red wires are connected to the only 2 terminals (2 screws), and the yellow and black are not connected to anything.

also, the yellow and black wires aren't connected in the nework interface (the box above the patch box) in the basement. but they are connected on the patch box and also connected in all of the jacks.

you said the issue at your parents house was the phone company's fault. what exactly happened there? somebody mentioned to me there may be a MTU (maintenace test unit) or a half ringer connected somewhere on the line, that the companies used to use for testing lines, but are now obsolete and interfere with DSL.

i'm pretty confident the issue is not inside the house, but it's like pulling teeth getting the phone company here. i really wish cable internet was available in my area.

thanks again!!!

[wbrooks]

Your problem is sounding like what happened when I added an alarm system and forgot to put in a filter. I wonder if your filters are the problem? Any chance they might send you new filters? If not tell them your DSL drops from phone A so you switched the filters between phone A and B and now phone B causes the DSL to drop, that should tell the tech that you have a bad filter and force them to replace it. At least then you would have another filter to test. If the DSL drops with a non wireless phone the filter would be my first guess. The phone company can also asses the quality of the DSL line remotely (thats how I found out the alarm was killing my line - Sir are you absolutely sure you don't have a phone plugged in without a filer - Yes I'm positive - You don't have an answering machine or alarm system by chance - D'OH :o )

[chrisexv6]

The problem at my parents house was actually two-fold, but the phone company wouldnt admit it until we did some testing ourselves. Basically we did the test I suggested: run a line directly from the gray box outside to the DSL modem. Then plug one machine directly into the back of the modem (to rule out an issue with wifi), then see what kind of performance you get. Directly from the outside, in our case, we were getting half the speed they should have (3mbps instead of 6mbps). When connected to inside wiring, we were getting the same speed but signal to noise ratio went way up. So it turned out there was a phone co. issue to the gray box, and an internal wiring issue inside the house. Once both issues were fixed, the 6mbps was constant and signal to noise ratio was in spec. Oddly enough, the signal to noise ratio issue was causing strange dropouts....not completely unlike what you are experiencing. Im not sure if your router has any status pages, but you might be able to see the SN ratio then do a search (try dslreports.com forums) for what a good value is. BTW, dslreports.com forums are a good source to bounce this issue off of, they have separate forums for each phone co and each region. Plus the phone cos. actually have techs that might help right over the forum.

If you connect directly to the gray box on one end and the modem on the other, you wont need a filter. Thats why its the best test you can do: rule out any inside wiring *and* a bad filter. If you *still* have the problem, its a 99.9999% chance its a phone co. issue.

BTW, the black and yellows not being connected is normal.

Good luck!
-Chris

[CheekyMonkeyWrench]

cheers Chris!!

thanks again

[CheekyMonkeyWrench]

Chris, WW, and everybody else who helped and may be interested in this.

I perused dslreports.com (thanks for the link Chris) and came across a little thing called and MTU (maintenance test unit, or half-ringer?). It appears it was used in past decades by the phone company to diagnose line problems. And it also appears that they interfere with dsl synching.

so i removed at the advice of somebody there and now......no bloody disconnects!!!!

here's a pic of the MTU inside my network interface

thanks again guys!

[chrisexv6]

Thats great! Glad to hear you now have reliable internet access again.

Funny......we all used to use dialup, and random disconnects were common, we just dealt with it. I guess we're just spoiled now! :)

-Chris

[CheekyMonkeyWrench]

exactly chris, except some of us road the dial-up bus for way too long :)

i had dial-up until last month, so give me a taste of speed and stability and i'm spoiled rotten :)

thanks again, your responses (and others) show the merits of the world wide web, would've never gotten this solved if it wasn't for you guys.

[wbrooks]

Forgot to add my update....
I reset the router default channel to 1 from 6 and no more problems.
Really appreciate the help.
1 thread 2 fixes :D