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dial-up help
| Please review the following information if you are having trouble with your dial-up connection.
Over the years of service FairPoint Communications has made many upgrades to it's network and equipment to provide you with the best service available. When you are connecting to FairPoint you are connecting to a great network with top shelf equipment.
Because of the quality of our equipment, network, and the people maintaining FairPoint, connection problems to FairPoint should be a rare occurrence.
The 2 most common problems our dial up customers experience are slow connect speeds and being disconnected from the Internet. We believe this is due to the number of inexpensive modems that have hit the market in the last few years, outdated modem drivers (software), and the number of modems that are near the end of their life span.
A modem that is malfunctioning may cause you to have trouble connecting to the Internet and to experience frequent disconnects.
Often this problem can be remedied by downloading the most current drivers (software) for your modem. (See Modem Problems)
In some cases, as a last resort, the solution may be to replace the modem. This can be easily done especially if you choose an external modem.
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Why do I have trouble connecting?
Dial-Up connection quality, especially in rural areas, can be affected by factors that may be out of your control including distance and transport of your modem's signal.
To get the maximum from the new 56k modems you need to have optimum connectivity conditions. Optimum dial up conditions in rural Maine, or anywhere else for that matter, are seldom achieved.
However, even considering transport issues between you and your local telephone company, it should be possible with a properly operating modem, good home wiring, and a decent connection to your local telephone company to connect in the upper 40k range. (See How To Determine Your Connect Speed)
There are a number of reasons for connection problems between you and your Internet provider. Assuming that your connection has not been "timed out" due to non activity, and the connection to your local telephone company is good (see Telephone Line Noise), the two most common reasons for connection problems tend to be either your modem (see Modem Problems) or the inside wiring in your house.
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| Why do I lose my connection?
There a number of reasons for a lost connection.
- Telephone line noise
- Use a good quality telephone cord to connect your modem to your wall jack. Be sure that the cord is unbroken and uncrimped.
- Unplug any unused extension phones in your house.
- Unplug all extension phones, fax machines, caller ID boxes, answering machines, surge protectors, etc. and try your connection. This will help determine if the problem is being caused by one of these devices.
- If unplugging all devices resolves the problem start connecting the devices one at a time until you are able to determine which one is causing the problem.
- Ensure that the wire from your jack to the telephone box on the outside of your home is of good quality, unbroken and uncrimped, and runs directly to the interface box without any taps or branches in between. One way to test this is to run a known good cable directly from your modem to the telephone box outside your house.
- Defective or improper modem drivers
- Check for updated drivers at the web site for your modem manufacturer. (See Modem Problems)
- Look for tips at 56k.com
- Idle connection timeout - if your connection is not used for an extended period of time, then the connection will be dropped automatically. Sometimes you can be timed out as a result of your own internal computer settings. FairPoint will only time you out (disconnect you) if your connection has remained idle for 15 minutes or more.
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| Call Waiting
If you have Call Waiting and are using a modem to connect to the Internet you will need to disable Call Waiting when you are on the Internet. If you do not disable Call Waiting you will usually be disconnected when a call comes in while you are on line. Disabling Call waiting can usually be done in your computer's Dial Up Properties. If you need help with this please contact the Help Desk at 1-877-667-4868.
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Modem Problems
Even a new modem can be the cause of problems associated with getting and staying connected. Many customers contacting the Help Desk with connectivity issues find that the problem is due to their modem.
We believe this is due to the number of inexpensive modems that have hit the market in the last few years, outdated modem drivers (software), and the number of modems that are near the end of their life span.
A modem that is malfunctioning may cause you to have trouble connecting to the Internet and to experience frequent disconnects.
Unfortunately, short of making sure you have the right drivers installed in your modem there is not yet a good in home test for confirming that your modem is working properly.
After confirming that the physical connections from your modem to your telephone company connection, are good (See Telephone Line Noise) you may want to check to make sure that the Modem Driver (software that controls your modems) is not defective or improper. This is often the culprit in many connection problems. To check out your modem drivers and updates do the following:
To determine what type of modem you have click below
After you have determined what type of modem you are using check out the listing of Modem Manufactures where you can get information on downloading and installing the latest drivers for your modem.
You can link to this site by clicking below:
Make sure that your computer is capable of downloading, installing, and running any software before downloading.
Here is list of Modem sites that may also be helpful:
56K Drivers
V.90 Site
Modemhelp.com
Modemhelp.org
Windrivers.com
IMac Support Center
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Telephone Line Noise
Telephone line noise that could disrupt an Internet session or that could cause a low connect speed may be caused by problems with the wiring between your computer/modem and your local telephone company.
If you suspect this is the problem it is suggested that you check out your inside wiring prior to contacting your local telephone company.
Most telephone companies do not guarantee Internet dial up connect speeds. Most telephone companies will guarantee only voice grade quality.
In general if you can make a voice call and not hear noise on the line the odds of the problem being the line to your telephone company are slim.
One exception to this could be if your local telephone company has several digital to analog conversions between you and their central office. To find out if this is the case or if there are any other known limiting connection factors, you may want to contact your local telephone company.
Most telephone companies will charge for a visit to your site if the problem is not on the telephone company side of your house and does not affect voice grade quality.
Here are a few guidelines that may help your connection:
- Use a good quality telephone cord to connect your modem to your wall jack. Be sure that the cord is unbroken and uncrimped.
- Unplug any unused extension phones in your house.
- Unplug all extension phones, fax machines, caller ID boxes, answering machines, surge protectors, etc. and try your connection. This will help determine if the problem is being caused by one of these devices.
- If unplugging all devices resolves the problem start connecting the devices one at a time until you are able to determine which one is causing the problem.
- Ensure that the wire from your jack to the telephone box on the outside of your home is of good quality, unbroken and uncrimped, and runs directly to the interface box without any taps or branches in between. One way to test this is to run a known good cable directly from your modem to the telephone box outside your house.
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| Why is my connection speed slow?
If you have a 56k modem with current drivers and you are getting connect speeds below 28k it is likely that there is something wrong. Assuming that there is not a problem with your cable from your PC or Mac to your telephone company, the problem likely resides in either your modem or is telephone line noise. Please see the sections on Modem Problems and Telephone Line Noise to see if this may be the problem.
You should also make sure that your PC or Mac’s internal modem speed settings are correct. If you need help doing this please contact the Help Desk 1-877-667-4868.
The only way to really insure a high speed connection to your ISP is with a non dial-up connection like ADSL. Dial up can be great for many applications on the Internet but if you need something more reliable and faster you should explore ADSL.
FairPoint ADSL is a reliable, blazingly high speed, always on, connection to your ISP, internet service provider. With ADSL a single telephone line can handle your telephone calls and your Internet connection simultaneously.
For more information on ADSL contact the business office at 800.400.5568.
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| My computer says there is no dial tone.
This is a message that your computer is generating to let you know that there is something amiss with either your Computer, your modem, or the lines between them and the line to your telephone company. This message is not generated by FairPoint.
It can also mean that all the circuits you your ISP are busy. If your modem has a speaker you may be able to hear the busy signal if this is the case (see Why do I get Busy Signals).
Here are some other things to try.
- Make sure that no one is using an extension phone in another part of your home.
- If you have a fax machine on the same telephone line, make sure that it is not sending or receiving a fax.
- Use a good quality telephone cord to connect your modem to your wall jack. Be sure that the cord is unbroken and uncrimped.
- Make sure that the telephone cord is firmly inserted into the socket labeled "WALL" on your modem and that it is also firmly inserted into the wall jack.
- Pick up a regular telephone on the same line and listen for a "stutter" or broken dial tone. If you hear a stutter dial tone, check your voicemail messages, then try dialing again.
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| Why do I get busy signals?
FairPoint is striving to eliminate all busy signals by using advanced planning to ensure that we have enough facilities for customer use.
There are two types of busy signals.
The regular busy signal indicates that all of our modem facilities are in use. In the rare case that this has occurred, please wait a few seconds and redial. In most cases this will be enough time for facilities to become available.
The "fast busy" signal indicates that there is an overload on the telephone company resources.
If you are getting busy signals please contact us at input@pfairpoint.net/a>. Please let us know the time, date, number you were dialing, and if possible, the type of busy signal (fast or slow).
This can help us track and resolve busy signals more quickly.
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| How to determine your connect speed.
If you are running windows the quickest way to determine your connect speed is to, with your computer connected to the Internet, double click the dial-up connection icon that is usually located on the bottom right of your computer screen. I usually looks like two computers with a line between them. This should tell you your connection speed.
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FairPoint CD Installation
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Windows Installation Instructions
- Insert the FairPoint Internet CD in the drive.
- If the FairPoint Internet screen comes up, skip to step 5.
- Double Click “My Computer”.
- Double Click the CD icon labeled “FairPoint Internet”.
- Click “Next” at the CD Software Selection Screen.
- After reviewing and accepting choose “ I accept the agreement”.
- Click “Next”.
- At the “Install Now” Screen, Click “Next”.
- After installation completes, click “Finish”.
- When the computer restarts, follow any onscreen instructions (such as logging on or disabling file & printer sharing) until the “User Information” screen appears.
- On the “User Information” screen, enter your QuickConnect code your phone number and your full name.
- Click the “Continue” button.
- After reading the message, click “OK”.
- At the “Internet Connection Wizard” screen, click “OK”.
- At the “You are ready to connect” screen, click “OK”.
- Double click the “Internet Explorer” icon on the Desktop.
Macintosh Installation Instructions
- Insert the FairPoint Internet CD in the drive.
- Double click the CD icon labeled “FairPoint Internet”.
- Double click “MacMozillaInstaller.sea”.
- Click “Continue”.
- Click “Desktop”, if possible (otherwise, go to next step).
- Click “Save”.
- When the files finish extracting, click “Quit”.
- Close the “FairPoint Internet” window.
- Double click the “Mozilla Installer” icon on the Desktop.
- Double click the “Mozilla Installer” icon in the “Mozilla Installer” Window.
- Click “Accept”.
- Click “Continue” at the “Welcome” screen.
- Click “Continue” at the “Typical Install” screen.
- Click “Install”.
- After the installation finishes, close the “Mozilla Installer” window.
- Double click the “Mozilla” icon on the Desktop.
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Important Information
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| V.90
Modem Information FairPoint
supports the V.90 compression standard.
In
order to obtain the best connection possible, it is extremely
important that you have the most current driver software installed
for your particular modem. In many instances, if the driver is
not
the most current, you will experience many connection problems.
Troubleshooting
Steps
Remember
this is only for modems that support the V.90 compression standard.
Determine
what type of modem you have
If
you are not sure of the type and the manufacturer, once you are
connected, go to
http://www.56k.com/trouble/noname.shtml
To
Update Your Modem Driver
Go
to
http://www.56k.com/trouble/noname.shtml#nowiknow which should
help you find your driver update.
If
You Are Not Able to Connect
If
you have problems, contact our Help Desk at 1-888-667-4868.
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The
modem in your computer uses a regular telephone line to
connect to FairPoint. Communication over the Internet is free,
but
communication between your computer’s modem and FairPoint’s
modems is not. You must be sure your computer is dialing a LOCAL
NUMBER or your telephone company will bill you for a long distance
call every time you connect to FairPoint.
NOTE: FairPoint Communications will NOT be responsible for any long distance charges incurred.
Some
areas require a “premium” payment plan with your local
telephone company. Consult your telephone book or directory
assistance if you are unsure. Please choose a number that is a
local
call in your area.
Customer
Service and Technical Support
Call
1-888-667-4868 or e-mail:
support@fairpoint.net
Business
/ Billing Office
Call
1-800-642-9901 or e-mail:
billing@fairpoint.net
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