at&t DSL

© Brooke Clarke 2010 - 2024


2024 April - May
2019 October 8
2019 October 7
2019 September 20
2019 February 20
    D-Link DSL-2740B
7 Aug 2018
27 July 2018
24 July 2018 - Statistics
23 July 2018 - Dial-Up attempt
12 July 2018 Another 7550 Modem
8 July 2018 It's the Modem
28 June 2018 Slow
2018 May 30 New 7550 Modem
19 Aug 2014 Outage
Change Channel 6 April 2015
Connection Problems 17 Mar 2015
New Modem
    Netgear ADSL2+ Router
P-Link 5 Port Switch
Modem Failure 19 Nov 2014
Internet Light Out 23 Nov 2011 11pm
Red Internet Light 18 Aug 2011
at&t Problem
Upgrade to Express
Background
2Wire Modem
Converting 2Wire DSL modem to Bridged Operation
Related
Links

2024 April - May - June

There was a power failure and after that there has been constant problems with both the DSL and it's underlying landline.
My first complaint was that there was no dial tone on the DSL line.  I was expecting that they knew it was a DSL line and would get both working.  BUT . . . .
the technician disconnected my line from the DSLAM and wired me direct to the Central Office.  That did restore dial tone, but killed the DSL.  He was not a "pair gain" technician so he reverted the wiring back to the problem state.

On the next phone call I was told that to restore the dial tone I needed to reboot the DSL modem.  That seemed to work.  Not sure if that even makes sense.  That's to say I now think the dial tone is independent of DSL and lack of dial tone points to a problem with the DSLAM.  For the next week the globe icon on the DSL modem comes and goes.

2024 May 22 In the morning the globe icon was lit, unplugging the modem did not turn off the dial tone.  Everything seemed OK.  When AT&T called in the afternoon to cancel the truck roll scheduled for tomorrow all appeared OK, but during the call the globe icon turned off, so I expect a truck here tomorrow afternoon.  As I write this the globe icon is blinking now and then.

It turns out I was correct in complaining to the CPUC when this problem started because the complaint was "no dial tone".  That's because the CPUC has jurisdiction over the telephone system.  (also see The End of AT&T Landlines)  But when I made a third complaint 17 Jun 2024, to the CPUC about my DSL not working I was told the FCC had jurisdiction.  My phone call was forwarded to the AT&T Office of the President where I again complained.  But also filed a complaint with the FCC.

2024Jun18:  I've had three calls from AT&T this morning.  But as of 2:43pm the DSL is still not working.  I was told it may take "days".

2024 Feb End of AT&T Landlines

My testimony before the CPUC was that unlike the AT&T claim that landlines were unreliable that they were in fact the most reliable communication system.  The problem is that AT&T is going out of their way to not maintain the system.

DSL is even more reliable than the copper pair voice system.  So I pay for DSL as my most trusted from of communications that I expect will work when the others fail.

2019 October 8

PG&E turned off the power for a lot of Northern California last night a little after 1am.  When it was time for breakfast my new point-to-point wireless internet service was non functional.  The problem is that the equipment on my neighbors house has a battery that's only good for a couple of hours, nowhere near enough capacity to last for days.  BUT . . .
The at&t DSL service did work around 8am and it started to handle my emails, but then it too died, I suspect because the battery in the DSLAM box went dead.  I called at&t and complained and now have a service appointment for Oct 19.  But by about 8:30 at&t had installed a generator at the DSL DSLAM site and my at&t DSL was back up.  It's what I'm using right now.

2019 October 8 DSLAM Backup Generator
2019 October 8
                  DSLAM Generator
Note that the DSLAM is fed data over fiber optic cable.
The electronics box (one the left in this rear view) is normally powered from the power lines on the nearby pole.
The box on the right has labels on the front, one of which says "generator". 
But the box itself is too small to house a generator.
Now it's clear that the box is the transfer switch between a generator and the PG&E AC power lines.

Note that everyone who has DSL it is provisioned as an add on to a underlying copper line connected telephone.
That telephone interface requires DC power from the DSLAM.  Because telephone service is under FCC Title II regulation,
the provider, at&t in this case, must keep it working in situations like this.

This is another reason why internet related services need to be under Title II.  That is to say they need to work in emergencies.
DSL being under Title II is now working.  My point-to-point wireless internet (WISP) service is not working because there's a dead battery between me and the WISP tower.


2019 October 7

Unplugged the DSL modem when the Ubiquity NBE-2AC-13 2.4 GHz Wireless Point-to-Point Broadband system was turned on.
The first CalSpeed test showed upload speed of 3 Mbps, 6X faster than the DSL speed of 0.5 Mbps.  The download speed of 6 Mbps, 3X faster than the prior best of 2 Mbps (and often much slower, down to nothing).

2019 September 20

For the past few days the internet has been extremely slow.  Web pages fail to load, and after clicking on reload page a few times will usually load, but it can take up to a minute to get them to load.  Netflix, YouTube or any video is near impossible.  This morning CalSPEED WIN Desktop and SpeedTest.net failed, see photos below.

CalSpeed: No network connection or ping allowed.
Contact your network administrator.
Calspeed
SpeedTest.net: Latency Test Error
Calspeed
PS FileZilla FTP transfer program showed 0.002 upload speed,
so only the thumbnail size photos at left were uploaded.

AT&T DSL level 1 support could see modem latency problems and so "rebuilt the circuit", i.e. reset the modem, which requires configuring including the at&t network user ID and password (different from the modem UN & PW).
But the above screen shots are after the "circuit rebuild", i.e. it did not help.  A service technician should be here tomorrow (Saturday) between 1 and 4 pm. Apparently level 1 support can not access the DSLAM information.

2019 February 20

For the past few days the Service light has been Red.  On one call the support person suggested removing all cables from the 7550 and then after waiting a minute or so plug in the power cable and wait for the LEDs to stabilize, then plug in the DSL telephone line and again wait for the LEDs to stabilize.  Then plug in the LAN cables.  This is restore operation.  But within a day or two the Red Service light is coming on a lot, so time for a new Router.

D-Link DSL-2740B

The first step in installing is to insert the CD-ROM and wait . wait . wait for the install Wizzard to run. At some point information is needed about the settings of your ISP, at&t telephone based DSL in this case.

A Major problem with this unit is that the status LEDs are on the top surface and so can NOT be seen at a distance.  Will need to make some sort of bracket to hold it vertical so they can be seen.

Country:
USA
ISP: note 1
ATT Tel (PPPoE)
Protocol:
PPPoE
Encapsulation:
LLC
VPI:
0
VCI:
35

Note1:  When ATT Tel (PPPoE) is selected the other entries auto fill.
Later you will need your at&t user ID and (3 letter3number) DSL password (both from at&t)

PS D-Link makes a number of DSL modems: N150, N300, N+300, N+300 Dual Band
This is the N300 DSL-2740B

Time will tell if this improves my DSL experience.
The URL for the D-Link is   http://192.168.1.1

Comparison to at&t 7550


Fig 1 Top - Front
D-Link DSL-2740B
                  ADSSL2+ Modem w/ Wireless N 300 Router
Fig 2 Back
Antenna 1
Green: DSL phone line
4 each LAN ports
WiFi On/Off push button switch
Reset hole
Power: On/Off push button switch
12 VDC input
Antenna 2


D-Link DSL-2740B
                  ADSSL2+ Modem w/ Wireless N 300 Router

7 Aug 2018

The DSL service got repaired.  It took a parade of technicians because the problem with the phone 25-pair cable caused the DSL quality to vary greatly over time.  So, for example, if a technician make some measurement, then did something, and made another measurement maybe half the time he would see no improvement.  Then he would do something different and maybe this time there would be an improvement.  At that point he declares the problem fixed and leaves.  Only to start the cycle over again and again and again . . . . . . . . .
 
Finally a technician who noticed that the test results were not stable started to log them and did that for an hour or more.  It turned out that a Time Domain Reflectometer (same idea as the Tek 1502) combined with the JDSU DSL tester let them narrow down the location of the problem.  This required opening splices in my pair and looking both ways and moving towards the problem.  After many hours of doing this they quit for the day and planned to come back and continue after the weekend, but the modem has not failed since.

In the process they came across a 3M 710 module where the wrong (blue) bar was used instead of the correct (gray) bar.  The wire here is 24 AWG which is small and the blue bar is designed for large diameter wire.  The 3M710-SC1-25 is for 26 - 25 gauge wire and the 3M710-SCL-25 is for 24 - 22 gauge wire.  (Ref. Modular Solutions for copper splicing, 3M pub 80-6113-2833-9 (2017).

Note when connecting a buttset at the input to the DSL modem you do not hear anything and going off-hook with the buttset has no effect on the modem because it's after the filter, i.e. there is no DC on the line going into the modem.  A Fluke 87 V DMM reads 0.85n ACV across the Red-Black, but it's not an RF voltmeter so probably not a valid reading.  The Fluke RF probe reads just under 500 mVAC.

27 July 2018

Here's a video of the 7550 modem.
https://youtu.be/iMagqPx-TGY

24 July 2018

Statistics

http://192.168.1.254/html/statistics.asp?showAdvance=56
Note Loss of Signal and CRC errors are big numbers.

  To Gateway To Internet
Max Allowed Speed (kbps) 3008  512 
SN Margin (dB) 10.6  17.0 
Line Attenuation (dB) 59.6  31.5
Loss of Signal 86  371 
Loss of Frame
CRC Errors 25717 


23 July 2018 - Dial-Up attempt

I've started a Dial-Up account and got a USR5637 USB modem.

The "featured programs" do not work on the USR5636.
While I can send and receive email and view simple web pages (like my PRC68.com pages) this modem will NOT surf eBay or similar complex web pages.  They require a higher bandwidth than it can cope with.  Also it can not run the Ookla Speed Test app, not sure why not?
USR5637 USB modem
Install Procedure:
Use CD-ROM and install driver software.
Connect modem to phone and USB port.
Start\Control Panel\Network and Sharing Center - set-up new dial-up account.
Need phone number, user name and password.
In my case drop area code and add 81 to select the home phone line.

Have not gotten the USR software to load.  Clicking on the Install Software button causes hard drive to hum, but nothing gets done.

Also need to check to be sure the dial-up phone number has no charges is off hook for many hours.  The at&t web page for that is useless.

I can now get email, but not surf web pages.

Update:  I've learned that the house across the street from me is having similar DSL problems.

19 July 2018

The at&t technician found some bridges on the DSL line, but that did not solve the problem.  Refereed my ticket to the Digital Electrical Group.  As of 2:08pm Tuesday 7/24/18 have heard nothing.

Ways to demonstrate the problem

Download the history .csv file from the Ookla Speed test (shows slow speeds),

The format is yyyy/mm/dd hh:mm:ss ??? CCC |location   |message
where CCC is a code: WRN (warning), INF (information), ERR (error), NTC (?) - highlight the errors

Run the web page viewer for the DSL modem http://192.168.1.254 and under the Advanced tab select Log.

This can be saved as a text file (here are some of the ERRor lines: (note that the three lines at 12:10 are about 5 minutes prior to the current time below at 2018/07/21 12:15:57, i.e. the modem has been up 00:05:45)
2018/07/21 12:15:57 EDT ERR | statsd          | if6stats: Failed to open /proc/net/dev_snmp6/sit1
2018/07/21 12:10:18 EDT ERR | pppd            | Cannot determine ethernet address for proxy ARP
2018/07/21 12:10:18 EDT ERR | pppoe-relay     | PADS packet from 00:30:88:10:3f:fe on interface nas1 does not have Relay-Session-Id tag
2018/07/21 12:10:18 EDT ERR | pppoe-relay     | PADO packet from 00:30:88:10:3f:fe on interface nas1 does not have Relay-Session-Id tag

Run the web page viewer for the DSL modem http://192.168.1.254 and under the Advanced tab select Technician Readout.

Item 14 Time Since Last Boot and Item 32 Time Since Last Sync should be many days, but in my case 32 is typically 0 days 14 minutes and once today got up to 3 hours,
right now it is 0 days 00:38:18, i.e. 38 minutes.
Item 40. PPP Uptime should be many days, now it's at 0 days 00:38:18, i.e. 38 minutes.
Morning of 7/21/2018 first thing checking Uptimes:
15 Current Time 2018/07/21 12:15:57 EDT
32 Time Since Last Wyunc 0 days 00:05:45
40 PPP Uptime 0 days 00:05:39

It turns out that you can access this web page when the modem is down, for example:
15 Current Time 2018/07/22 13:41:54 EDT
32 Time Since Last Sync 0 days 00:00:00
40 PPP Uptime 0 days 00:00:00
------------------
15 Current Time 2018/07/22 14:25:29 EDT
32 Time Since Last Sync 0 days 00:00:26
40 PPP Uptime 0 days 00:00:24
-------- just noticed item 39 PPP :ast Connection error
15 Current Time 2018/07/22 20:34:03 EDT
32 Time Since Last Sync 0 days 00:00:00
39 PPP Last Connection Error EXIT_PPPOE_TIMEOUT_PADO
40 PPP Uptime 0 days 00:00:00
From the LOG: 
2018/07/22 20:37:06 EDT ERR | pppoe-relay     | PADS packet from 00:30:88:10:3f:fe on interface nas1 does not have Relay-Session-Id tag
2018/07/22 20:37:05 EDT ERR | pppoe-relay     | PADO packet from 00:30:88:10:3f:fe on interface nas1 does not have Relay-Session-Id tag
2018/07/22 20:36:59 EDT ERR | syslog          | waitForPADO: time
----------------
15 Current Time 2018/07/23 13:31:28 EDT
32 Time Since Last Sync 0 days 00:00:10
39 PPP Last Connection Error None
40 PPP Uptime 0 days 00:00:07

Write down the time when the modem is not working

7/20/2018 Times when Service LED was off, red or blinking green.  Note these are times where I noticed that the modem had lost lock.  There probably were many other times where the modem lost lock and re-locked and I did not notice it.
8:53, 8:56, 8:58, 8:59, 9:31, 10:25, 10:26, 10:33, 10:34, 10:35, 10:36, 10:39, 10:40, 10:54, 10:58, 10:59, 11:02, 11:04, 11:05, 11:06, 11:07, 11:08, 11:09, 11:10, 11:12, 11:16, 11:17, 11:30, 11:39, 11:49, 11:50, 12"05, 12:09, 12:14, 12:18, 12:22, 12:26, 12:27, 12:28, 12:46, 1:00, 1:01, 1:02, 1:03, 1:11, 1:13, 1:30, 1:35, 1:44, 1:45

12 July 2018 Another 7550 Modem

The new modem arrived 7/11/2018, but the performance is exactly like the prior modem.
at&t 7550 DSL modem serial numbers in the past month or so:
13AK1....
16AK1.... (purchased from the local at&t store on 5/30/2018 - they will not take it back after 14 days!)
18AK0.... (new replacement modem sent from at&t level-2 support, but no improvement.
At appears that the first two digits are the year.

Expect a call tomorrow to schedule another tech visit since today's tech had nothing to offer to explain the problem.
The JDSU DSL tester in on the way. Scheduled between tomorrow (12 July) and 19 July.

8 July 2018 It's the Modem

About a month ago the 7550 modem just would not connect so got another 7550.  That's the only modem the local AT&T store stocks.  But ever since performance has been very poor.  When running the Speed Test app for Windows desktop in a 3 minute series of tests one or up to all half dozen tests shows speeds below 2 MB/s.  In all cases the upload speed is below the 0.512 I've seen since I've had DSL service (scan down page for examples).

The service tech came and first checked the speed at the demark and it was 4.8 MB/s down and 0.8 MB/s up.  That's the fastest DL speed I've ever seen.  Then inside, unplugged the phone line cable from the modem and tested using an SDJU and got the same result.  That means the filter, which at&t level 1 support said probably was the problem was OK.  The problem, just like a month ago, is the 7550 modem.

As part of my attempts to get the 7550 to work, I pressed the hard reset button on the back (see: Fig 2 paper clip RESET below).  After you do that it's necessary to reconfigure the modem using the at&t on-line web pages, BUT you can NOT do it yourself since the on-line procedure does NOT work.  So, save yourself a lot of wasted time and just call at&t support.

The local at&t store will not accept any returns after 14 days, so I called at&t support and got to a level 2 guy who said he would ship me a 2018 year model 7550.  Should be here by 12 July.

From the web page: http://192.168.1.254 -
Connection Information:
Software Version:  06.04.33 (there's a question about vulnerabilities to DoS attacks (Wiki)
Advanced Technician Readout:
54 Test ATM OAM End to End Ping Fail - probably not an issue
92 DSL Line Mode  ADSL_G.dmt (Wiki) a good thing
140 Current Rate Rx: 3008, Tx: 512 - these are the contract rates.  The actual performance is lower for both.
144 Current ATTN DR Rx: 3896,   Tx: 1024 - Note well above the 3000 and 512 that are the caps for my service, but the modem is not capable of delivering the capped values. Current Attainable Data Rates

The at&t 7550 is based on the Westell 7500 (manual.pdf). 

A JDSU DSL test set is on the way to replace the Harris T1000 which no longer starts up.

28 June 2018 Slow

I don't remember this problem, it's a new one.
For the past couple of nights Netflix and Amazon Prime have stopped to buffer to the point that they are not usable. Netflix has a screen where you can see their four servers and in the past these tested with a red X, when the servers came back to green check marks the movie would play.  But now all four servers show green check marks, but the speed test has numbers like: 0.5, 0.8, 1.0, 1.5, 0.4, 0.6 . . . . i.e. the problem is slow speed, not a dark or red LED on the 7550 DSL modem.

Running speedtest.net has much more variability than in the past where the download speed was about 2.2 Mb/s and the upload was always capped to 0.512.

This table was made after spending a half hour talking to at&t tech support. (only power cycled modem"

All using the San Francisco AT&T server (108.192.102.23):

Ping
Download
Upload
Test Result
19
2.60
0.44
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7433064402
19
0.76
0.42
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7433083554
19
2.58
0.44
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7433085751
19
1.36
0.42
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7433087808
19
2.63
0.41
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7433089963



disconnected switch (printers)
19
2.59
0.45
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7433131268
19
0.60
0.30
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7433131268

DOWNLOAD TEST ERROR

A socket error occurred during the Download test. A firewall could be blocking the connection or the server might be having some issues. Please try again later. 

Alternatively, check out our free Speedtest for Desktop apps for more reliable testing.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7433133616
27
1.76
0.40
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7433142634
75

7433142634

UPLOAD TEST ERROR

29


DOWNLOAD TEST ERROR

20
2.58
0.42
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7433182120
21
0.36

UPLOAD TEST ERROR

578
0.80
0.45
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7433196273
(Frontier server)
19
2.23
0.38
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7433200564
19
0.90
0.40
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7433202493
19
1.92
0.35
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7433205828
19


DOWNLOAD TEST ERROR


Loaded Speed Test for Windows64 - 47.7 Mb file: should have timed the download, at least 3 minutes. 6/29/2018 12:20 am
Ping
Download
Upload
Result
19
2.20
0.32
https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/d/9c774060-4c41-437f-a928-50f06d402445
18
2.35
0.40
https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/d/cd7bc13c-cbe2-4bf5-88db-7465e234caf0
17
1.63
0.35
https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/d/564673c5-97a5-45bb-923a-23714ad90e5e
20
2.42
0.43
https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/d/4578d6b4-b470-4c7a-bac0-aaa235df3ea1
19
2.07
0.40
https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/d/2333e891-85f8-4dee-ba15-ef0fdbec9fe0
18
0.65
0.39
https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/d/4a4c63b8-3a3a-4ffc-95f5-f6ce0411635c
19
1.37
0.30
https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/d/b625b56c-3000-42ed-8bfb-dbc4bcd04fbc
19
2.65
0.42
na
20


Could not connect to the Internet  Please check your connection and try again.
18
0.75
0.41
https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/d/ae80928a-2ac8-457f-b49a-95ca3e893afa
19
1.41
0.41
https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/d/b7a2de49-bcc3-442d-a018-3edd4ebd216c



6/29/2018 12:42

2018 May 30 New 7550 Modem

at&t tech support said it was a line problem and it would take a week to get a service truck here.  It turned out to be a bad modem.  I think the lady at at&t was having a bad day and took it out on me.
Pressing the paper clip reset (Fig 2) for more than 10 seconds will trigger a new on line configuration where you need to know your memberID and password.  Starting a browser (Firefox or Chrome) will send you there.
But there's a point were you are to download and install a Plug-In and then continue the on line configuration, but this failed for me and I needed to contact at&t support to get past it.
Here are some photos of the dead modem:

Fig 1 WPSbutton  (Wiki) no longer used
Netgear ADSL2+Router att 7550
Fig 2 paper clip RESET
Netgear ADSL2+Router att 7550
Fig 3 note top and side antennas
Netgear ADSL2+Router att 7550

11 Jan 2018

Having problem with email where incoming messages are duplicated.  Prior to 23 July 2018 I thought this was something related to the SeaMonkey email software.  But for the last couple of days the DSL outages have grown more common and there seems to be a correlation between getting the same email message three times.  So this problem may be DSL related?

19 Aug 2014 Outage

The Netgear ADSL2+ Router has this error screen when it looses the internet (Red or off Service LED).
These failures happen 4 or 5 times a month and last about 5 minutes. 

at&t error
            message NAD-2302

Change Channel 6 April 2015

The idea is that the modems default channel assignment may be all the same and so I'm getting collisions with my neighbors.
How To Geek - How to Find The Best Wi-Fi Channel For Your Router on Any Operating System
To change WiFi channel go to the modem URL:   192.168.1.254
Click on the WiFi button on the left.
Enter the Device Access Code (Note:  This is different from the WiFi Password.  The Device Access Code is on the Netgear ADSL2+Router label with the bar codes.)
Change the Channel (In my case it was on automatic and I changed it to a fixed channel number neither1, 2, 10 nor 11).
The WiFi devices worked without change, i.e. they found the new channel and already knew their passwords.

17 March 2015

Starting in Feb 2015 Netflix would stop and when the 7550 DSL model was checked the bottom LED (service) would be either off or blinking red.  Many times I started to call the at&t internet service number [ 1(877) 722-3755] but while still in the menu branches the 7550 service light went green so stopped the call.  That was a mistake.  Then I started completing the call and got a case number.  Then for future calls (just press zero many times) I got them to record that the same case number was the problem.  After half a dozen complaints they sent me to a different call center.  Yesterday they said it was not just me but many people on the same cable which would be fixed in a few days.  But my service seems to work, but slowly.

Checked with the Harris TS1000 and get the following:


Down
Up
Max rate
2368
825
B/rate
2368
512
Capacity
100%
62%
INT B/R
0
0
Noise Margin
+5.0
+18.0
Power
17.5
12.0
Attenuation
54.5
31.5

Note the up load speed difference from 825 down to 512 is caused by at&t throttling the speed.
Also note that the down load speed is 2368 kB/sec, NOT the 3008 kB/sec that's shown on the status web page URL:  192.168.1.254

There is also a Check Connection web page that shows IP Fail:

at&t
          7550 DSL Modem Check Connection
Not sure how bad this is.


24 Nov 2014


The web page for the modem (http://192.168.1.254) says download is 3008 kbps and upload 512 Kbps  
Note:  If you click on the link above and have a DSL (or maybe even a Cable) modem, you will see your modem web page, not mine.
Web page with phone line unplugged:
DSL DOWN

No DSL Synchronization
Internet Connection DOWN

No DSL Synchronization
User ID <deleted>
Downstream Rate -
Upstream Rate -
Internet IPv4 Address -
Internet Gateway IP Address -
Internet IPv6 Prefix -
DNS Servers -
Mode PPP on the device (Private IP for LAN device)
Timeout Never 

Web page connected:

DSL UP
Internet Connection DOWN

PPP not connected
User ID <deleted>
Downstream Rate 3008 Kbps 
Upstream Rate 512 Kbps 
Internet IPv4 Address -
Internet Gateway IP Address -
Internet IPv6 Prefix -
DNS Servers -
Mode PPP on the device (Private IP for LAN device)
Timeout Never 

But the Harris TS-1000 shows a lower speed.  
Note: Most of the operational data on the TS-1000 page was taken when the old at&t 2Wire modem that failed 19 Nov 2014.
That data is consistent with today's (24 Nov 2014) data.
Is the ANSI test the correct one, or should it be: Alcatel, ANSI, G.DMT, G.LITE or Multimode?  Let me know

ANSI Test


Dwn
Up
MaxF/R:
2424
825
B/Rate:
2400
512
Capac:
99%
62%
IntB/R
0
0
NseM:
4.0
19.0
Power:
17.5
12.0
Atten:
54.0
31.5
FarEnd Und:
004c

Using http://www.speedtest.net/
Ping: 23 ms, Download 1.86 Mbps (1800 kbps), Upload: 0.43 Mbps (430 kbps)

at&t Specifications (24 Nov 2014):

Broadband Service Product Name* Downstream Speed Range
AT&T High Speed Internet Basic
FastAccess DSL Lite
200 Kbps - 768 Kbps
AT&T High Speed Internet Express
FastAccess DSL Ultra
769 Kbps - 1.5 Mbps
AT&T High Speed Internet Pro
AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet Pro
FastAccess DSL Xtreme
1.56 Mbps - 3.0 Mbps
AT&T High Speed Internet Elite
AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet
FastAccess DSL Xtreme 6.0
3.1 Mbps - 6.0 Mbps
AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet Max 6.1 Mbps - 12.0 Mbps
AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet Max Plus 12.1 Mbps - 18.0 Mbps
AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet Max Turbo 18.1 Mbps - 24 Mbps
AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet Power 24.1 Mbps - 45 Mbps
AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet 300** Up to 300 Mbps

So it appears that my service is within specification but the web page built into the modem is reporting a faster speed.

New Modem 19 Nov 2014

Netgear ADSL2+ Router

Got this as a replacement for the dead at&t 2Wire DSL modem from the local at&t store.
They had it in stock.
Although made by Netgear, it's branded at&t and the autostart browser window and download software is at&t.

New Browser Window:  AT&T High Speed Internet Installation & WiFi setup.  OK

at&t DSL Netgear
          ADSL2+Router

Working.
Now to reconnect all the WiFi stuff to the new name and password.

P-Link 5 Port Switch

The above Netgear DSL modem has a built-in WiFi and  4 LAN ports, but I needed more LAN ports so got this switch.

P-Link 5 Port
                  Switch Model No.: TL-SG1005D
P-Link Model No.: TL-SG1005D
One of the ports is the input and that means that only 3 devices can be connected to the DSL modem since there needs to be a cable between the modem and switch.

Modem Failure 19 Nov 2014

Power light is either: off, blinking green, blinking red or solid red.
The other lights are mostly off.
There is dial tone on the modem phone line.
Checking with the Harris TS-100 DSL test set shows there's a DSL signal, although below spec.

Using a browser to look at the at&t 2Wire modem at http://192.168.1.254/ shows:

Info icon

Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage

 
 

What you can try:

 


 

More information


Time for a new DSL modem.


9 Sep 2014

Looks like there was a fine in the crossover box at the foot of my street and one of my wires was opened.
Here's the 2Wire modem data after replacing the wire:
Note the difference in the Current Noise Margin.

DSL Connection Details
DSL Line (Wire Pair): Line 1 (inner pair)
Protocol: G.DMT Annex A
Downstream Rate: 3008 kbps
Upstream Rate: 512 kbps
Channel: Fast
Current Noise Margin: 11.0 dB (Downstream) 22.0 dB (Upstream)
Current Attenuation: 56.1 dB (Downstream) 31.5 dB (Upstream)
Current Output Power: 18.9 dBm (Downstream) 12.4 dBm (Upstream)
DSLAM Vendor Information: Country: {0xB5} Vendor: {IFTN} Specific: {0x00}
PVC Info: 0/35


8 Sep 2014

For a number of days after trying to send email or download something an error message shows up and then I look at the at&t 2Wire modem and see the internet light is out and the DSL light is red.  In the past couple of days this is happening a few times a day so I called support.  After a half hour on the phone they said my data rate was 59% of what it's supposed to be and have generated a trouble ticket so that a tech can be here tomorrow between 8am and 12pm.

Here's the web page interface to the 2Wire modem (http://192.168.1.254)

DSL Connection Details
DSL Line (Wire Pair): Line 1 (inner pair)
Protocol: G.DMT Annex A (Wiki)
Downstream Rate: 2464 kbps
Upstream Rate: 224 kbps
Channel: Fast
Current Noise Margin: 6.0 dB (Downstream) 7.0 dB (Upstream)
Current Attenuation: 63.0 dB (Downstream) 31.5 dB (Upstream)
Current Output Power: 18.0 dBm (Downstream) 12.5 dBm (Upstream)
DSLAM Vendor Information: Country: {0xB5} Vendor: {IFTN} Specific: {0x00}
PVC Info: 0/35

Note: the Noise Margin: is 6dB for downstream and it should be more like 16 to 20 dB, (scroll down and look at other screen shots).

The Harris TS1000 ADSL Test set shows the following:

Note:  The first try on G. DMT failed.

Alcatel
FAIL Protocol error, retry: fail
ANSI
Down Max F/R: 1228, B/Rate: 1216, Capac: 99%
Up Max B/R: 197, B/Rate: 192, Capac: 97%
G. DMT
FAIL, Protocol error, retry:
Down MaxB/R: 1228, B/Rate: 1216, Capac: 99%
 Up MaxB/R: 192, B/Rate: 192, Capac: 100%
G. LITE
FAIL, Protocol error, retry: fail
Multimode
FAIL Protocol error
retry:
Down MaxB/R: 1228, B/Rate: 1216, Capac: 99%
Up MaxB/R: 193, B/Rate: 192, Capac: 99%

My service should be down 3000 to 1500 k bits/sec and upload 512 k bits/sec

D. GMT retry:

Test
Down
Up
MaxB/R
1325
193
B/Rate
1312
192
Capac
99%
99%
IntB/R
0
0
NseM
4.5
7.0
Power
17.0
12.0
Atten
62.5
31.5


Down: MaxB: 1325, B/Rate: 1312, Capac: 99%, IntB/R: 0, NseM: 4.5, Power 17.0, Atten: 62.5
Up: MaxB/R 193, B/Rate: 192, Capac: 99%, IntB/R: 0, NseM: 7.0, Power: 12.0, Atten 31.5

3 May 2012 08:30am

All the lights except power went out on the 2wrie modem, then there was a restart.  Light rain. Maybe done on purpose to reboot system?

Internet Light Out 23 Nov 2011 11pm

Called Thanksgiving morning 24 Nov 2011 - the tech in India tried all sorts of things working with the 2-Wire modem (http://192.168.1.254 ) and the Run System Setup Wizard,
but to no avail.  The DSL is working, the phone on that line is working, but no internet.  Every now and then the DSL LED blinks red but comes back to green.
25 Nov 2011 -  called at 8am and again they figured out that there was an external problem, transfered me to advanced support who said I should hear from someone by 1pm.

1 pm 25 Nov 2011 - Called with trouble ticket # - as was told no one was scheduled, he scheduled someone to be here by 8 pm tomorrow.

7:36am 26 Nov 2011 - The phone that has the DSL is totally dead, no dial tone, so can not be used for dial up.
2-Wire modem LEDs when there's no phone service
Solid Green: Power & Ethernet
Blinking Red: DSL
Off: Internet
If you have lost dial tone and call 411 at&t puts a higher priority on the repair than they do for DSL reapirs.  Called 411 at 8am to report no dial tone and they said then next available tech would work my problem.

10:00am Tech rebuilt everything from the CO to the Pair Gain DSL box.
Date Time Location
Ping ms Dn Load Mbps Up Load Mbps Mode
26 Nov 2011 10:50
San Jose
36
2.58
0.43
interleaved
"
10:52
SF
38
2.50
0.43.
"

Red Internet Light 18 Aug 2011

19 Aug - The technician disconnected the DSL line (it would have been nice to call first) and ran tests & made a repair.  He later said that the problem was the cable between the fiber optic box at the foot El Dorado Rd. and the crossover box at the foot of my street.  It was noisy and problematical.  He switched my DSL line to another group of pairs and now my DSl is working. 

New-Old Problem

20 Aug 2011 - The Channel: now shows Interleaved, but prior working details show Channel: Fast.
This was one of the indications after the long 22 March power failure problem.
Using:  http://www.speedtest.net/
http://www.pingtest.net/
It may be that along with switching my cable he also switched me to a different card in the FO box at the foot of El Darado.  That's where the problem was after the long power failure.

Date Time Ping ms Dn Load Mbps Up Load Mbps
at&t Pro Specification n.a.
3.0 0.512 Interleaved
Typical
23 - 28 2.6
0.43
"
There have been a lot of "Page Not Found" errors when surfing that are resolved after clicking on "Try Again".  This may be related to the long ping time?
20 Aug 2011
10:20 am
69
2.37
0.43
"
21 Aug 2011
3:00 pm
61
2.55
0.43
"
25 Aug 2011
5:00 am
68
2.53
0.31
"
25 Aug 2011 7:00 am
Tech at head end reset Fiber Optic card and the View Broadband Link Details changed to Channel: Fast.
But then he did something that caused the DSL light to flash red.
The system will automatically switch from Channel: Fast to Channel: Interleaved if the line has problems
and it's supposed to switch back to Fast when it line is clean,
but I waited 6 days and it did not switch to Channel Fast.  The implication is that there's still a problem on the line.
There's an all day today service request for a tech to go to the Fiber Optic box and fix the card.

Tech said the card in the Fiber Optics box was fried.  Put me on a new card.
25 Aug 2011 1:00 pm
21 (0%, 1ms)Note 1
29 ms (Note 2)

2.52

0.43
Fast
Note 1:  When using PingTest.net you get three data points:
Packet Loss: 0%
Ping Time: 21ms (San Francisco)
Jitter: 1 ms
Note 2 using SpeedTest.net (San Francisco)

20 Aug 2011 - Screen shot of modem (192.168.1.254 Broadband Link DSL Connection Details
Note the "Channel: Interleaved" - I think this should be "Channel: Fast" for Pro service like shown on the 18 Aug 2011 Screen Shot
2-Wire Modem View
        Broadband Details

The modem Internet light turns red and the internet shuts down.  On a call at 9 pm the tech rep in India said he had fixed it by doing a line test. 
About an hour later the same problem reoccurred.  This time I used the phone on the DSL line to call tech support and the line was a mess, that's to say a lot of noise and breakup of the phone menu so bad it gave up and connected me to a human without making any button presses.  The second tech had me disconnect the filter and splitter and connect the modem directly to the wall jack.  Then called back on a different number.  The effect of that was to stop me from hearing the condition of the line.  A tech is scheduled to be here tomorrow between 12 and 4 pm.  if the problem is in my house they will charge me $110.
The modem is fine, but the noise numbers are 3 dB higher than before. 

18 Aug 2011 - Screen shot of modem (192.168.1.254 Broadband Link DSL Connection Details
2-Wire Modem View
        Broadband Details

at&t Problem

I've spent the past week on the phone to at&t from 2 to 4 times a day, and many many house per day (support is available 24/7).  Each of the people I've spoken with makes a point of trying to make your experience interacting with them good in the hope that you will give them high ratings on their individual performance.  The problem is that they are not concerned with your overall experience with at&t and therein lies the problem.  Each person is an island and does not care about  your needs.

Upgrade to Express

In the process of fixing the problem the 2Wire modem was defaulted (pres and hold the reset button on the rear panel for about 10 seconds), so the old WRT350 wireless modem is no longer being used.  This required resetting the WEP code in all the wireless devices to the number shown on the bottom of the 2Wire modem.


14 March 2011 - While calling to change the day of the month for my home phone billing asked about faster DSL and now have the Pro service (3 M b/s) scheduled to start in a couple of days, i.e. 16 March.  The rate for the Pro service is still $14.95/mo.  (probably as part of the promotion. 
Note: When the promotion runs out I could switch the DSL service to a different line and get the promo rate again.
Note: at&t is very big on making their customers happy.
Note:  I can watch Netflix now with the Express service, but the Netflix quality indicator is at poor, not HD and when the scene is dark the image is pixelated.  But when the scene is mostly static the quality approaches HD.  With the Pro service the quality should be HD.  (It is)
17 March 2011 - It's sort of working.  Data after power cyclying the modem, router and desktop computer.
Date
Time
Ping ms
Dn Load Mbps Up Load Mbps
Spec


3.0
0.512
16 Mar
4:54 pm
26
1.24
0.43
17 Mar
1:14 am
24
2.61
0.43
17 Mar
7:23 am
23
2.58
0.44
18 Mar
3:05 pm
23
2.58
0.40
22 Mar
Wednesday 2:21am till 10 pm Power outage caused by severe storm
25 Mar (rain)
1:00 pm
62
1.29
0.11
26 Mar
9:00 am
62
1.28
0.11
27 Mar1
2:30 pm
64
1.14
0.11
28 Mar
5:30 am
59
1.29
0.07
28 Mar 11:55 am
61
1.17
0.06
29 Mar
8:30 am
62
1.27
0.06
30 Mar
10:00 am
61
1.22
0.06
30 Mar2
2:12 pm
64
0.93
0.11
1 Apr3
12:23 pm
26
2.53
0.44
2 Apr
6:56 am
28
2.59
0.34
DSL Connection Details
DSL Line (Wire Pair): Line 1 (inner pair)
Protocol: G.DMT Annex A
Downstream Rate: 3008 kbps
Upstream Rate: 512 kbps
Channel: Fast
Current Noise Margin: 13.0 dB (Downstream) 18.0 dB (Upstream)
Current Attenuation: 55.5 dB (Downstream) 31.0 dB (Upstream)
Current Output Power: 15.2 dBm (Downstream) 12.4 dBm (Upstream)
DSLAM Vendor Information: Country: {0xB5} Vendor: {IFTN} Specific: {0xFB70}
PVC Info: 0/35
Note 1: Sunday 27 Mar - there was a clip on form hanging from the front door saying "Your service has been repaired . . . "  But it's worse than before.
Needed to spend more than a half hour on the phone to get a new trouble ticket after a line check showed "No Signal".
They are scheduled to be here today (Monday 28 Mar 2011) between 8 am and 12 noon.  Noticed DSL LED was blinking red around 5 pm
Note 2: Wednesday, while waiting for the service tech to come and swap the modem noticed the DSL LED was blinking red so tested after it turned solid green.
Note 3: after the DSLAM card was configured.  An 8 hour power failure set the card to factory defaults.
at&t DSL
                  line check on local pole
Prior to opening the box tree branches needed to be trimmed back.
at&t DSL
                  line check on local pole
Tempo Sidekick T&N being used to check quality of line.  If the noise and balance are good for analog phone the line should (?) be good for DSL.  Truck drove back to Cross Over box about 5:30.

Using a hand held xDSL tester on the phone wire unplugged from the 2Wire modem shows an available speed of 3.7 Mbps with a 1.5 interleave factor, i.e. the reason for the slow connection is the Central Office (CO) has degraded me to the Express plan (not the Pro plan that I'm paying for.
sunSet xDSL
                  Tester
Sunrise Telecom Sunset xDSL tester

This was used at the demark (outside the house) and at the end of the cable that was unplugged from the 2Wire modem.  In both cases it shows 3.7 Mbps available speed and 1.5 interleave factor.

about 6 pm:
Called (800) 288-2020 and complained about slow DSL (1.2 Mbps DN) and they said I was part of an outage.
Need to call back after 4 hours (10 pm) and give them the outage number.

I asked Lou if my service was being degraded because of the outage and he said, No it was not.  So the outage excuse does not make sense.

29 Mar 2011 - spent the morning talking to at&t support located at some central location who rebuilt the head end software. 
This was done two times.
The outage given yesterday as an excuse was no longer an outage today, i.e. no change.
A service tech was supposed to be here between noon and 8 pm.  Got a call at 5:38 saying no tech today, but tomorrow between 8 and 5
to see if there's a problem with the 2Wire modem.  Note they can not run diagnostic tests on the modem remotely.
30 March 2011 -No Show, no phone call
31 March - Scheduled for 8 am to noon - no show, no call
31 March - Scheduled for noon to 5 pm - No Show, no call
1 April (April's Fool) - Scheduled for the morning (after 8am) & a call from a supervisor just after 8 am -
9:20 IE8 http://192.168.1.254 Broadband Link (view details)
DSL Connection Details
DSL Line (Wire Pair): Line 1 (inner pair)
Protocol: G.DMT2+ Annex A
Downstream Rate: 1536 kbps
Upstream Rate: 131 kbps
Channel: Interleaved
Current Noise Margin: 24.0 dB (Downstream) 6.6 dB (Upstream)
Current Attenuation: 54.6 dB (Downstream) 27.9 dB (Upstream)
Current Output Power: 12.4 dBm (Downstream) 12.4 dBm (Upstream)
DSLAM Vendor Information: Country: {0xB5} Vendor: {IFTN} Specific: {0xFB70}
PVC Info: 0/35
DSL Signal
                at modem cable connector
-----------------------
Power outage caused DSLAM card to revert to factory setting.
--------------------------
DSL Connection Details
DSL Line (Wire Pair): Line 1 (inner pair)
Protocol: G.DMT Annex A
Downstream Rate: 3008 kbps
Upstream Rate: 512 kbps
Channel: Fast
Current Noise Margin: 16.0 dB (Downstream) 18.0 dB (Upstream)
Current Attenuation: 55.5 dB (Downstream) 31.0 dB (Upstream)
Current Output Power: 15.2 dBm (Downstream) 12.4 dBm (Upstream)
DSLAM Vendor Information: Country: {0xB5} Vendor: {IFTN} Specific: {0xFB70}
PVC Info: 0/35



17 Nov 2010 - Tried using the Netflix option on my Home Theater system and after using a laptop to enter the validation code it started with a warning that there may be some problems and I agreed to that.  Watched a couple of movies.  When the scene changes or there's a lot of action in a scene the image quality degrades but the rest of the time it's about like watching a VHS tape except the sound is 5.1 or 7.1 surround and excellent.

26 Oct 2010 - the download speed now seems to ramp up to 160 k Bytes/sec and then stay there, so the performance has improved from what is was when first installed.  The overall experience is far better than the satellite service, I'm sure because of the ping time.

1 Oct 2010 - while paying the first bill that included the DSL service I noticed that the monthly fee was $19.95, BUT when I signed up (and on the flyer included with the bill) the monthly fee was given as $14.95.  After getting the $5 adjustment I asked about getting higher speed service and was told I could upgrade to Express service (1.5 M bits/sec) from my existing Basic service ( 786 k bits/sec) for no additional charge.  Supposed to be effective 6 October.

They said when my Central Office (CO) was upgraded I could get Pro or Elite service.
at&t
DSL Service
Download
M bits/sec
Upload
k bits/sec
Netflix

Basic
<= 0.786
<= 384 no
Express
<= 1.500
<= 384
works
Pro
<= 3.0
<= 512
better?
Elite
<= 6.0
<= 786 best?
Notice the AT&T quoted speeds are the max you can expect, NOT a minimum.
The Starband specs are the minimum speed.

7 Oct 2010 - Powered off the computer, modem and router.  Restarted as follows:
  1. Power up modem and wait until the DSL light stopped flashing,
  2. Power up the Router and wait until the lights stopped flashing,
  3. Power up the computer and ran a speed test:
    Download speed 1.32 M bits/sec, Upload speed 0.32 M bits/sec, ping time 20 ms, jitter 1 ms (S.F. server)
    this is close the the Starband 1500 service that was $99/month, except the ping time is 40 times better!

Background

I was using Starband VSAT for my internet connection and have just switched to at&t Basic DSL service.  I'm right on the edge of where DSL can reach, and have tried twice before to get DSL and both of those times the techs were unwilling or unable to get it to work.  This time it took two service tickets and about a week to bring it on line. 

Speed Tests


Starband satellite
att Basic DSL
at&t Express
Download
Speed
2,000 k bits/sec
608 k bits/sec
1,320 k bits/sec
Ping TIme
800+ ms
100 ms
20 ms

The DSL speed is about 1/3 the satellite speed BUT the DSL ping time is 1/8 the satellite ping time.  It turns out that the ping time is more critical than the speed, i.e. pages load much faster and email and ftp are much faster (i.e. about 8 times faster).  So ANY DSL connection is much better than a satellite connection.

Satellite Ping Time

The speed of light 186 thousand miles a second and the distance above the Earth of a geosynchronous satellite 23 thousand miles, causes a delay that can NOT be overcome by technology.  When there's any transaction between your computer and anything on the internet and a satellite connection is involved it's as follows:
so the total time is theoretically about 500 ms + a few ms. but in actuality there's some satellite software buffering that adds a few hundred ms.

at&t 2Wire Modem

I got the 2Wire modem, but in retrospect it would have been better to get the wired only modem because I already had a Cisco/Linksys WRT350N Router.

Installation Glitch


DSL Splitter and FIlter I connected the splitter to the wall jack, and a desk phone to the Phone output and the modem to the DSL/HPNA output.  But the phone had a lot of digital noise.  This was fixed by installing a filter between the splitter and the phone.

When the Panasonic KX-T824 telephone system was installed a new DSL splitter/filter was installed at the entry point in the garage.  Now the FAX CO line can be accessed by any phone in the house.  The main reason for installing the KX-T824 system is to allow any phone in the house to use the VOIP for outgoing calls by first dialing "9".
4-way phone switch
The filter feeds a 4-way switch allowing connection to either a PC, FAX or phone.
2Wire Modem
The cable from the splitter DSL port goes to the 2Wire DSL modem.
The modem can feed a computer is the stock configuration, or in my case a Router after changing to the bridge configuration.
Cisco Linksys WRT350N Wireless
                Router + wired
The DSL modem feeds the Cisco Linksys WRT350N Wireless Router + 4 wired ports

Converting 2Wire DSL modem to Bridged Operation

Connect directly between one of the output ports and a computer.
In a borwser input the URL 192.168.1.1/mdc
Enter your password.  If you forget your password click on the link that says something like get a hint to remember your pass word, it that doesn't work click the link that says something like inter the control number.  Then enter the number between the brackets [] on the bottom of the 2Wire modem and then enter a new password like 12345 two times and save changes. 

Now go back to the URL 192.168.1.1/mdc and log in using the passoword.

ATM PVC Search was: PPPoE change to: DIRECT IP
Advanced Configuration Server, Enable Routing (uncheck)
Save Changes.
At this point at&t no longer supports the modem.
To get back to the stock settings press and hold the red "reset" button on the back.  This is different from removing power.

LEDs on: Power, Ethernet, DSL
LEDs off: Wireless, Internet

Converting the WRT350N Router to work with the 2Wire Modem

Connect directly from output port 1 to a computer.
enter the URL 192.168.1.1 (note this is the same as the modem URL)
Under the SETUP tab and the Basic Setup sub tab
change the Internet Setup, Internet Connection Type from Automatic Configuration - DHCP to PPPoE,
change the URL from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.5.1

Under the status Router tab login status click Connect if it shows disconnected

and at the bottom Save Settings.

Power down the DSL modem and the router and wait 20 seconds.  Then power on the router and wait 20  seconds then power on the DSL modem.

at&t Branded 2Wire DSL Modem

It took a few years of trying to get DSL to work.  On the first couple of attempts when the modem was installed it did not work and after spending many days on the phone with tech support the modem was returned.

at&t 2Wire DSL modem
at&t 2Wire DSL modem



Related


Starband VSAT
PC Tech Support

Links

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