Phone Line issues causing Internet Disconnects
Note: This particular issue only affects associates who have DSL Internet Service and Phone Service from the same provider.
Please be sure to check out the Home Network page as well. In effort to help everyone create a more stable work connection, we've broken out the specific information we have collected regarding the different types of Home Network setups and the best way you can setup your Home Network to ensure a stable connection to our systems.
Description
When you have DSL Internet and Phone Service from the same provider, your internet connection and your telephone service actually travel on the same two wires. Issues with the line itself, malfunctioning devices or bad/missing DSL filters can cause phone and internet disconnects. Basically, one item is interferrring with the other. Typically, the phone line interferes with the internet connection and causes a brief drop in connection (that is usually quickly restored).
Ring events seem to the most common trigger because a pulse is sent down the line by your phone company that makes the phone ring on your end. Since this pulse is higher than normal, if there is a line/device issue, it is high enough to interrupt your internet connection.
The issue may have been occuring for a long time, but normal internet usage isn't affected (i.e. surfing, gaming, emailing) because the drop is very brief and your connection quikly resets itself.
Working from home, however, is completely different because you are now using applications that require a very stable connection with little to no drops.
Symptoms
Here is the most common symptoms we see for this issue:
- Applications disconnect or freeze when you receive a ringback from Avaya IPagent. Since Avaya IPagent is ringing your home phone, the pulse mentioned above is being sent from your phone company. Since our applications are sensitive to drops and require a stable connection, that brief drop is enough to freeze an application or disconnect it entirely.
Other Symptoms: If your line is having issues (i.e. a short in the wiring, faulty phone), merely talking on the phone can cause an internet connection drop. As before, if you are just web surfing and emailing, you won't notice this. Since your work applications are sensitive, they are affected.
Resolution
This is not an easy issue to resolve, but there are a few things that can be done by you before you have your telephone company investigate your lines:
- Unplug every other phone and device other than the one you are working on. If the issue goes away, then you have a malfunctioning device. If the issue doesn't go away, then your other devices are not the issue.
- Make sure every device plugged into a phone jack has a functioning DSL filter.
- If possible, check wiring for signs of rodent/animal damage. We have seen a few cases where rodents chewing on the wiring caused this issue.
- Recent storms or heavy rain? If the insulation on a small part of your wiring is in bad shape, rain or water can seep into the wire and cause this issue.
If none of the above works, contact your Telephone Company and ask them to thoroughly check out your lines.
More Information
For more information: DSL Reports
If you do a Google or Yahoo search for "DSL disconnects when phone rings" (or similar), you will find many forums where users are posting about this exact same issue.