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Troubleshooting Slow Connections and Disconnects
My 56K modem connects at 33.6 or less!I disconnected, now I can't reconnect!
I'm connecting at 38400, 57600, or 115200. Or am I?
What are typical connect speeds for 56K modems?
I connect at 56K, but before long my speed is slowed down to almost nothing. Whats wrong?
My 56K modem connects at 33.6 or less!
There is a very good chance that one or more of these things will help:
- You are using a 56K modem, right?
- And you have installed the right driver? If in doubt, refer
to your modem's installation CD or documentation. Also check the manufacturer's
Website. Often there will be a newer (less buggy) driver available for
free download. Modem problems often tend to disappear when you install a newer/better
driver.
If you've installed an updated driver, remember that if you repair your operating system with one those "restore" CD's they ship with PC's nowdays, you'll probably have to re-install your new modem driver afterwards.
- If you're using an external modem which has dip switch settings,
are they set correctly? Again, refer to the documentation or the manufacturer's
Website.
- If there is a telephone, answering machine, etc.,
plugged into the back of the modem, unplug it. The modem is supposed to ignore devices plugged
into it when it is online, but that is not always the case.Try
disconnecting additional telephony devices (fax, phones, answering
machines, alarm systems, etc.) from the phone line, even if
they're in a different room. We've heard from people whose
connect speed jumped 10K when they unplugged a fax machine or
cordless phone in another room.
- Also try running the phone line directly from the
back of the modem to the wall, without passing through surge
suppressors, splitters, phone line extenders, etc. This is a basic
and useful step in modem troubleshooting.
-
Office PBX systems generally create an extra digital/analog
conversion (more about digital/analog conversions below). If you have
to dial a number (usually 9) to dial an outside line, you're
on a PBX. If your phone has its own extension, you're on a PBX. The
solution in that case is to plug the modem into a direct outside
line. The office fax machine is usually dialed into a direct outside
line, so try that. This is why connections for motels are often poor.
- Maybe you need a new modem. They don't live forever. Old modems
don't typically just die. Instead, they gradually get less and less dependable.
- Finally, modems are not all created equal. Cheap modems are
cheaply made, and work as well as any other cheap tool.
Also, the computing world is infested with "WinModems". If your modem has "win" or "soft" in its name, or if the box it came in said "Especially designed for Windows 98" you likely have a WinModem. Cheap consumer computers of the kind you buy on sale at WalMart or Gateway usually ship with WinModems installed.
A WinModem uses software emulation to do things that require hardware in a real modem, and therefore can be made and sold very cheaply. Some are better than others. None are good. Cheapness is their only virtue. They work, sort of, under optimum conditions, but there are no optimum modem conditions in southern Colorado. The solution is to get a better modem.
To learn more about WinModems, see WinModems are Not Modems. Though mainly directed to Linux users, this site has a wealth of information useful for getting a WinModem to work on any platform.
About phone lines
If none of the foregoing helped, it may be that the phone lines in your immediate neighborhood are to blame. Here in southern Colorado, distance, obsolete infrastructure and Qwest's technological apathy (they laid off thousands of key people but kept the telemarketers) conspire to make poor phone lines our number one connection problem.
Multiple digital/analog conversions (places where the phone company has patched together new digital and old copper lines) will prevent the use of 56K technology and limit your modem to V.34 speeds (a maximum of 33.6K) or less. This condition will also cause a more-than-acceptable number of disconnects. Southern Colorado's telephone infrastructure is riddled with digital/analog conversions.
If you sometimes get fast connections and at other times get slow
ones, phone lines are likely to blame. Quality varies because your calls
do not always travel over the same path of lines and switches between you and us. There
is no real remedy for this except to disconnect and redial in the hopes of
getting a better connection route.
The fact that your modem can connect at 56K speeds to a long distance number is no guarantee that the same is true of local numbers, and vice versa. Long distance calls may be routed through telephone circuits which are significantly better or significantly worse than the local circuits used to connect to the Internet.
There's little you can do about poor telephone lines except to call the phone company and complain. Before you get your hopes up, be aware that the phone company is generally not sympathetic, and only guarantees speeds of 9600 baud (the speed of an older fax machine). If you can talk them into re-routing your line, give us a call and let us know how you did it.
I disconnected, now I can't reconnect!
Your modem is failing to "reset" itself. In other words, your modem thinks it's still connected even though you're not, and therefore won't accept a new connection. Some modems seem way more prone to this problem than others. Adding
ATZ&AT
at the beginning of your modem init string may help. The "ATZ" commands the modem to reset itself prior to dialing. More about init strings below.
About modem init strings
An init (short for "initialization") string is a series of commands that tells your modem how to behave when it makes a connection. Here is the simplest one, which just says, in effect, "Dial!":
AT
This one commands "Reset yourself, then dial!":
ATZ&AT
Here's a generic one that works for a lot of Hayes-compatible modems:
AT&F&C1&D2Q0&K3W2
Here's another generic one that's supposed to work for US Robotics modems:
AT&F1&C1&D2Q0L0&A0
Using the right init string can make a HUGE difference in modem performance.
To find the best init string for your modem, consult it's documentation and/or the support area of the manufacturer's Website. If that doesn't work, check out http://www.jenera.com/modems/, which lists init strings for thousands of modems, old and new.
Where you set the init string depends on your operating system. Look in places like Control Panel > Modems > Properties > Advanced > Extra Settings. Once you find it, you can start experimenting with new strings. Just be sure that you first write down the the init string you're using now, so you can put things back like they were if necessary.
I'm connecting at 38400, 57600, or 115200. Or am I?
No. These numbers (perversely labeled "Modem Speed" in the Windows Modem Control Panel) refer to the speed of your serial port. In other words, this is the speed at which your computer talks to your modem, not the speed at which your modem talks to another modem. You can play with this setting to see what seems to give you the more error-free connection, but it won't have a major affect on your modem speed. Generally speaking, 57600 is a good choice. If you're having trouble getting connected or staying connected, try changing this number to something lower.
What are typical connect speeds for 56K modems?
Your results will depend heavily on your phone lines. Typically, we consider 48-52K normal. Some people are getting better speeds, some worse.I connect at 56K, but before long my speed is slowed down to almost nothing. Whats wrong?
Your modem and ours can and do shift their speeds up and down during the course of the call to respond to changing line conditions. Some modems connect very aggressively at high speeds, but are then forced to lower their speed to a more stable level. Others may connect conservatively and upshift.Your connection slows down because the modems are trying to compensate for data errors and maintain a stable connection. Possible solutions include unplugging other telephony devices, fine-tuning your modem init string and playing with your "modem speed" setting.
My Lucent LT WinModem Won't Stay Connected
Try using the init string AT&FX:Set Windows 95/98 Dial-Up Networking to use software flow control. Here's how:
- Double click on the "My Computer" icon on your desktop, then double click the Dial-Up Networking folder.
- Right-click on your connection icon and choose "Properties".
- Click the Configure button.
- Click the Connection tab.
- Click the Advanced button.
- Put a check next to "Use flow control" and select "Software (XON/XOFF)."
- In "Extra settings," enter "AT&FX".
- Click OK to save changes.
My Mac Won't Stay Connected
The Macintosh uses an 8-pin serial port, rather than the 9- or 25-pin port on most other computers. As a result, Mac modem cables handle DTR differently, and DTR is often used as a disconnect signal.The classic symptom of unwanted DTR disconnect on the Mac is getting knocked offline when receiving a large stream of data. This may happen during a download, or when issuing a dir command in a command-line FTP program.
To disable DTR hangup, add &D0 (zero) to the end of your init string.
What About Call Waiting?
If you have Call Waiting, you should disable it when you are on the Internet. The "click" of an incoming call may disconnect you, though newer modems have improved error correction that is less sensitive to this.
You can disable call waiting on a touch tone line by placing *70, in front of the phone number, like so:
*70,555-5555
If your lines do not have touch tone service, and instead use pulse dialing, the command is "1170," (without the quotes).
Note: If you use this dialing string on a line that doesn't have Call Waiting installed, you won't be able to connect at all.
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