| So
you’ve been getting disconnected from the Internet
regularly, and are looking for some answers? We at
Soft-Tech, have provided a list of common problems,
remedies, and things to check, in order to resolve a
very common, but annoying problem.
Picking
Up Other Phones on the Same Line
If
someone in your house picks up another phone that is
on the same extension (like a double-adapter) as the
modem, this can be one very obvious, but often,
unknown reason, for a line drop out. Informing other
family members not to pick up the phone will
fix this problem.
Telstra
Touch Phone
If
you received, from Telstra, a Touch Phone 2000 when
your phone line was installed and you have one
connected to the same phone number somewhere else in
the house; this could be causing the problem.
The Telstra Touchphone 2000 will draw some
electricity from the phone line every ten to
twenty minutes to keep the numbers that are
programmed into the 'speed-dial' buttons (the
Touchphone will even do this if there are no numbers
programmed - redial). The amount of current they
draw is enough to disrupt your connection to
Soft-Tech. Try unplugging all the other phones in
the house before you dial in, in order to determine
if they are causing your problem.
Faxes
Fax
Machines are a big culprit as well. Most faxes are
used to being on their very own phone line for
incoming and outgoing calls and will send a
current along the line to detect if the line is in
tact (some faxes will inform you if there is no
line attached). If you are connecting to Soft-Tech
using your fax line, it is recommended that you
remove your fax from the line also.
Telstra
Problem
Call
Telstra. We have had several customers who have
convinced Telstra that they have problems, and a
different connection point in the exchange fixed the
problem. One problem that is common is bad Line
Noise.
Call Waiting
Always
turn it of while on the net (dial #43# to disable
and *43# to activate when you have finished.) Most
people will assume that call waiting is not
available to their phone number, however Telstra enabled
call waiting in all of their Exchanges in early 1997
and is enabled by default when a Telstra technician
installs a new phone line.
Maximum
Time Used for the Period of Your Account Type
If
the type of account you have has a limit as to the
number of hours allocated, this will cause
disconnection. You are able to regularly check the
amount of time you have used on your account,
through our home page, which is http://www.st.net.au/.
Once you have bought up the home page, click on
Members Services. It will then prompt you to type in
your username and password. Once typed in, click on
OK, and a screen will display your personal details.
Below that, will be two options, one with the
wording "Change Personal Information" and
the other "Accounting Information". Click
on Accounting Information, and a screen will appear,
with four options, for various periods of time.
Select the relevant period, and click on Submit. A
screen will appear with a list of logon and logoff
times, along with the amount of data downloaded and
uploaded, and the amount of time used. If you scroll
down (if necessary), at the bottom of the page, a
list of totals should be visible.
If
you find that you have used all your time, and are
unable to login to check the amount of time you have
used, contact Soft-Tech on 1300 730 943.
Internet
Explorer Auto-Disconnect
Is
Internet Explorer set to disconnect after 20 minutes
idle time? Double click on My Computer and double
click on Dial Up Networking. RIGHT click on the
Soft-Tech icon, and select Properties. Under the
General tab, select the Configure button, located
just below, the type of modem specified. Click on
the Connection tab, and there will be an option
'disconnect if idle for more than...". If there
is a tick in the box just before this option, take
the tick out.
If
you open a connection using Internet Explorer and
use another program for 20 minutes or so, Internet
Explorer will consider idle time as time that
Internet Explorer is not being used. Even if you're
downloading a file using Internet Explorer for
longer than 20 minutes.
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