Regular Disconnects- Especially when raining!
mmreif
Enthusiast - Level 1

I've had HS Internet since this past August...didn't have any real issues unti lthe weather started getting bad.  I didn't notice a pattern until a few months ago as I kept track of each disconnect.

Basically, every time it rains I lose internet signal.  If I turn off the modem and turn it back on, or reset it, the internet will come back for 30seconds-2minutes but then it's gone again. 

I've called Verizon about 5 times...twice they sent a crew out to check it.  Whatever the crew did each time, it didn't help the situation.  The first time someone came to 'fix' it  the connection stayed longer whenever it rained but would still disconnect after 10-15 minutes.

Does anyone have ANY suggestions as how to fix this???  I'm getting really frustrated... tihnking of switching to Charter but if it's a line problem and not a Verizon problem that might now work.

Please help!!!

Thanks,

Re: Regular Disconnects- Especially when raining!
jmw1950
Specialist - Level 2

The short answer is that it is probably NOT fixable. This is a known issue with old telephone lines. The problem is that it only impacts DSL service, not voice. Telephone companies are required to maintain even the oldest copper pairs to provide toll quality voice communication. Voice (and in many cases, ISDN) is a tariffed service. If you want it, Verizon has to provide it, and the tariff mandates that it be 'toll quality'. DSL is NOT a tariffed service, consequently Verizon is under no obligation to provide it. If DSL works fine, if not, they aren't going to invest money in replacing copper pairs to fix it.

What happens is the insulation material on  the old copper lines actually gets wet and absorbs some of the water. This can (and does) change the radio frequency characteristics of the line, sometimes quite dramatically, to the point that the losses in the line for DSL  signals can exceed what DSL can handle, and the service drops until the lines start to dry out. Improvements in the insulation materials used on telephone cables improved over time, and this probably isn't an issue on any copper pair that is less than 40 years old. The effects of the wet insulation  on the voice signal are tiny compared to what it does to DSL signals, so the voice quality may be degraded very slightly, but is still toll quality, and therefore meets the tariff requirements.

Fixing the problem would required Verizon to replace all, or some portion of the copper pair that connects you to the Central Office. It isn't going to happen unless they are forced to. Since DSL isn't  a tariffed service, they are not required to make it work, and it isn't likely to happen..

Before becoming a FiOS customer, when it rained, my transceiver stats took a big hit on the data rate (costing about 600,000 bps on the downlink). If I could hear thunder my DSL service was down. The copper pair the connects me to the central office is probably about 80 years old. (I don't have a network interface box, I have a porcelain connection block). Probably dates to about 1930...

One of the advantages of FiOS is that is truly weather proof.

Re: Regular Disconnects- Especially when raining!
smith6612
Community Leader
Community Leader

@mmreif wrote:

I've had HS Internet since this past August...didn't have any real issues unti lthe weather started getting bad.  I didn't notice a pattern until a few months ago as I kept track of each disconnect.

Basically, every time it rains I lose internet signal.  If I turn off the modem and turn it back on, or reset it, the internet will come back for 30seconds-2minutes but then it's gone again. 

I've called Verizon about 5 times...twice they sent a crew out to check it.  Whatever the crew did each time, it didn't help the situation.  The first time someone came to 'fix' it  the connection stayed longer whenever it rained but would still disconnect after 10-15 minutes.

Does anyone have ANY suggestions as how to fix this???  I'm getting really frustrated... tihnking of switching to Charter but if it's a line problem and not a Verizon problem that might now work.

Please help!!!

Thanks,



Got voice service? mattheww brings up a good point about DSL vs. Phone service. If you have the voice service, use it to your advantage. When the rain hits, listen for static on the line. If you hear static, call Verizon Voice Repair on a Cell Phone or another phone line, and tell them that you are having issues with Static on the line. Don't mention the weather outside, and don't mention DSL (though they can probably see it). They should be able to then run an MLT Test, which will pick up typically where the problem lays on the line. If it returns back iffy values, they'll have a tech coming out your way to take a look at what the deal is. The techs should receive the results of the MLT and where the problem is, but don't be surprised if it takes a few visits to figure out what the deal is.

Of course, if they can't solve the problem, just ask the tech why. They're friendly folks who have no issue generally with telling you what the problem is and why they can't fix it.

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