I'm with Clearwire and is stinks sometimes. I definitely DO NOT recommend Clearwire. I was thinking of switching to AT&T one day, so I'd be interested to hear any responses.

What kind of service is it? DSL? Cable-modem?

Also, do you have a wireless router at home, or is the service just to one computer (i.e., do you have one computer wired with an ethernet cable to the dsl or cable modem?)

We have AT&T U-verse, which is DSL. It has never given us problems and its TV/DVR deal is a great value for the money, relative to Comcast.

Bird, I saw Clearwire recommended on one site and looked it up. It's available in Nashville, but its coverage doesn't reach out to where we're at (a bit west of Nash).
But it sounds like it wouldn't be worth trying anyway.
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Bill, it is DSL. It comes to their modem, then it goes to our Apple Airport which provides our wifi signal, which is only used by our laptop.

That's my fear, see? I call the dude out to check what's going on and he just goes, "I don't know what is" or "It's probably a problem with your Airport" or something stupid like that. Then I have to pay $80 for him to avoid the problem.
I'm not confident enough about AT&T's customer service not to expect that to happen.

But if other folks have had this issue, then I might know what to expect.

Hmmm. Yes, it's a bit of a gamble. We were having problems with our DSL cutting out, but I figured out it was the router (we didn't have an Airport, but same concept). I ended up getting a new router and that solved the problem.

Have you ever "rebooted" your airport when there's a problem? If it comes right back, that could be an indication. Also, sometimes there is interference coming from elsewhere causing the problem.

Were it me, I might google a bit - look for AT&T DSL Airport or something - see if anyone else is having this problem. You might even through in the word "Nashville".

When Andrew and I come next summer, I'll set aside some time for tech support. :-)

I have problems with my router (a Linksys) about once or twice a month. Most of the time it's just a matter of unplugging it at the wall and then plugging it back in. About every two to four months I have to do a reset on the router itself.

What's an Airport? Is that like an Apple-specific router?

Yes, an airport is a router - I'm not sure if it only works for macs, since it's probably 802.11 (but I'm not sure).

We had a linksys too - hated that thing :-) - we have a netgear router now that works a lot better.

We have a Mac but the netgear router works just fine with it.

I don't know what your DSL router looks like, but our AT&T router is a 2Wire Gateway. It never has connectivity problems.

I use it both for wireless (work notebook) and my desktop that is hardwired. Neither have issues.

On another note, I've found Thinklings taking a longer time to load when I first view the site and when I click on comments, links, etc.

On another note, I've found Thinklings taking a longer time to load when I first view the site and when I click on comments, links, etc.

I noticed that, too. I figured it was Jared's ISP that was jacking everything up. Either that or Bill's old Linksys router.

We had a linksys too - hated that thing :-) - we have a netgear router now that works a lot better.

We had some Walmart brand router at first and the thing was the pits. Every time our cordless phone rang it would bump us off the Internet. For the most part, the Linksys works much better. I keep it up in the attic (where it's probably, literally, 110 degrees today), because I have to keep the freaking Clearwire modem up there to get a decent signal. Despite the heat, it works pretty well except for the aforementioned problemos. This'll be the second Texas summer that modem has endured upstairs in the attic.

What does "WAN connection failed" mean?
What does "PPPoE Fail" mean?

I know that WAN is Wireless Area Network.

I'm not sure about PPPoE.

Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet

WAN connection failed - means you're getting disconnected from your WAN (your AT&T service) - again, not sure if that's a problem on their side or on yours.

I'm assuming the PPPoE failure is just a cascading problem off the WAN failure.

I know this is frustrating. I'm not sure I'd risk the $80, personally. But, in answer to your original question - no, it's not normal to have these outages.

I would think AT&T would be able to tell you if they are having spotty problems in your area. If they aren't, and everyone else seems fine, then it might be your airport. But it's really hard to tell.

Sorry, not much help :-(

I think it's a real possibility your problem is your router (the Airport), not AT&T; and if it's their problem, it's probably the modem, not the service as a whole. For instance, we had a problem where our connection was getting slower and slower and finally died altogether; that one turned out to be the modem, which was hoarding IP addresses. Earlier, we had an issue with the router fighting the modem for the IP address. I'm surprised they won't do tech support for you over the phone (that's how Embarq diagnosed our IP-hoarding router, which they then fixed remotely), but I'd suggest starting off by calling Apple tech support, telling them the problem, and seeing if they can find something wrong with the Airport.

Hi,

I used to do tech support for an ISP, so I can give you some pointers on troubleshooting DSL.

First, make sure that ALL phones that you have plugged into the wall have a DSL Line Filter. AT&T should have sent a set of these along with the modem. These filters prevent a telephone from interfering with the DSL signal. Everything that uses the same phone line as the DSL (except for the DSL modem itself) should have a DSL line filter installed. Related to this would be a home alarm system which might connect to the phone line. If you have one, it would need to have its own line filter installed. You might need to have the alarm company install this, if necessary.

Next, break down your home network. Remove the Airport from the system and plug your computer directly into the DSL modem. If the problem clears, then the Airport is the cause. If the problem continues, then it's either the modem or the DSL service.

Now, I'm not sure about the quality of telephone support that AT&T/Bellsouth has, but if you can, phone their support techs and ask them to look at the "packet flow" on your line. There are signal quality tests that they can run on the phone line that will indicate whether the problem is within their system, or if it's likely to be a modem problem. You may need to insist that they run the test, ask for a supervisor if necessary.

And finally, you do have the option of buying a new DSL modem that is compatible with the AT&T system. AT&T phone support would be able to help you configure a new one. If the new modem solves the problem, fine. If not, you would then know that the problem is with AT&T lines. You could then return the new modem for a full refund at whatever store you purchased it.

Hope this helps.

James

James, thanks so much. I believe I've got the filters going, but will check.

While you're checking, you might want to test the line filters. They can go bad, it's rare but can happen. I would suggest unplugging one phone and filter at a time and seeing what happens. If the problem clears, that would indicate that a specific filter is bad and should be replaced.

James

Heh - I forgot all about the filters . . . I remember having problems a few years ago and then realizing I'd plugged one of our phones into the wrong filter port.

James - thanks for commenting!