Service Difficulties and Faults

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ADSL troubleshooting

Why can't I connect to the internet?

If you can’t connect to, or lose your Internet connection, please perform the following tests before contacting Alltel:

1. Check the cables and power supply to your router or modem to make sure everything is securely connected and that the power is turned on.
2. Switch off the power to your router or modem and to any devices that are connected to it. After a few minutes, switch your router/modem back on. If that looks okay and all lights are flashing the way they should, turn your other devices back on. This is called power cycling, and 90% of the time it will fix the problem.
3. Check your password by opening the router’s/modem’s administration tool. If you’ve recently changed your password, it’s possible that your modem/router isn’t connecting to Alltel because it’s still trying to use the old password. Update the password if required. See the manual that came with your router or modem for instructions.
4. If you’re still having trouble, there could be a physical problem with your router or modem. Check the ADSL indicator light. If it is either blinking or completely unlit, switch off the power to your router/modem and disconnect any devices that are currently attached to it. Wait for five minutes before powering the router/modem back on.

• If the ADSL indicator light comes back on, try plugging your devices back in one at a time to see whether one of your filters or connections is faulty.
• If the indicator light doesn’t come back on, unplug the cable from the modem/router that runs to the phone line, and plug that end into a telephone to make sure you can get a dial tone. This will indicate whether the problem is with the Internet connection or with your modem/router hardware.
• If you have a hardware problem, you can either contact the supplier of your hardware for support or else replace the faulty hardware. Please note that Alltel does not provide support for third-party hardware problems.

If you’re still having problems after the above instructions, call Alltel’s support line on 1300 255 835 for further assistance.

What should I do if my router or modem loses sync?

If you can’t connect to, or lose your Internet connection, please perform the following tests before contacting Alltel:

Sync represents a connection between your router/modem and Alltel’s broadband service. The sync signal is a lot like a dial tone — if you don’t have one, you can’t make a connection.

Your modem or router will show whether it’s in sync using an indicator light that is usually labelled sync or internet or ADSL. Check the manual that came with your modem/router to see how it indicates Sync.

If you lose Sync for any reason, follow the instructions above for Why can’t I connect to the internet? to troubleshoot the problem and restore your broadband service.

Why can’t I connect wireless devices to the internet?

You may occasionally have problems connecting wireless devices to your network through your wi-fi router:

• difficulty locating or connecting to the network
• unexpected wi-fi signal strength or disconnects
• inability to access the Internet
• not automatically connecting to wi-fi when expected

If you are experiencing problems with your wireless connections, we recommend you perform the following tests before contacting Alltel:

1. Attach a wired device to your router to confirm whether the problem is with Alltel’s ADSL service or with your own wireless network. If you can’t connect a wired device to the internet, follow the instructions above for Why can’t I connect to the internet?
2. Move your device closer to your wi-fi router. Connection problems can occur if your device is too far away from your router, if there are too many barriers (including walls, furniture and people) between your router and device, or if there is interference being caused by other wireless devices.
3. Check the power supply to your router to make sure everything is securely connected and that the power is turned on.
4. Switch off the power to your router and to any devices that are connected to it. After a few minutes, switch your router back on. If that looks okay and all lights are flashing the way they should, turn your other devices back on. This is called power cycling, and 90% of the time it will fix the problem.
5. Change your username and password to ensure that there is no unauthorised use of your service.
6. Make sure you have available bandwidth. Bandwidth-intensive operations, including online gaming, P2P file sharing and uploading large files, can stop you from being able to connect your wireless devices.
7. If you have other wireless devices, try changing the wi-fi router to a band other than 2.4GHz to reduce wireless interference.
8. Turn the device’s wi-fi option off. Then turn wi-fi back on again and try to log in to your network.
9. If you are still unable to achieve a connection, the problem may be with your router or wireless device. You can either contact the supplier of your hardware for support or else replace the faulty hardware. Please note that Alltel does not provide support for third-party hardware problems.

How can I test my connection speed?

There are a number of free speed test tools available.
Alltel recommends www.speedtest.net Just click the big green Begin Test button to find your ping, download and upload speeds.

The following table shows the expected speeds based on your line distance from the telephone exchange. These can change based on the age, quality and joints in the copper wire that feeds your premises.

Why is my network connection speed so slow?

Go to Alltel’s customer portal to check your current month’s data usage. If you reach your data usage allowance for the month, your broadband speeds will be slowed to 256KBps until the beginning of the next billing period.

If you have not yet reached your usage allowance, check the following:

1. Switch off the power to your router/modem and to any devices that are connected to it. After a few minutes, switch your router/modem back on. If that looks okay and all lights are flashing the way they should, turn your devices back on. This is called power cycling, and 90% of the time it will fix the problem.
2. One common cause of slow internet speed is interference due to a poor quality connection from your landline. The most common reason for this is that you have devices connected to your network that are not using an inline filter, or that one of your existing filters is faulty. After ensuring that all devices are filtered, try disconnecting, and then reconnecting each one to see whether an individual device (or filter) is causing the problem.
3. Two other common causes for poor internet speed are spyware and viruses. Alltel highly recommends that you install security software (e.g. anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall) to help protect your computers, personal data and your internet connection.
   • If required, install security software on your networked devices. Security software is available to purchase from computer stores.
   • Manually run your security software to identify and resolve any problems that exist.
4. If you are using a wi-fi router, ensure that your wireless connection is password protected. If you don’t use a password, you’re inviting all of your neighbours to use your internet for free.
   • See the user guide that came with your router for instructions on how to password protect your internet connection and to implement any other security settings that it supports.
5. Ask yourself whether you’re expecting too much from your connection. Do you have multiple devices connected? Are you currently uploading or downloading huge files or doing other bandwidth-intensive things like P2P file sharing or online gaming? Do you have multiple background applications running, which is slowing down the devices you have connected to the internet? Are you using older hardware (routers/computers) that is not capable of the speeds you are expecting?

If you’re still having problems after the above instructions, call Alltel’s support line on 1300 255 835 for further assistance.

Why does my network connection keep dropping out?

Common causes of this include:

• interference causing a poor quality connection from your landline
• spyware and viruses
• hardware faults

See Why is my network connection speed so slow? above for troubleshooting instructions.

Why is my network usage so high?

If you are using a wi-fi router, ensure that your wireless connection is password protected. If you don’t use a password, you’re inviting all of your neighbours to use your internet for free.
A password will also help to protect your personal data and all of your devices connected to the internet.

• See the user guide that came with your router for instructions on how to password protect your internet connection.
• Change your password at regular intervals to protect your network.
• Check your own usage through Alltel’s customer portal.

Some activities may be using more bandwidth than you realise. For example, the following activities can use large amounts of bandwidth:

• Streaming videos such as YouTube use a lot more data than regular web browsing. For example, 1GB of data usage will let you surf the web for 20 hours OR watch five 4-minute YouTube videos.
• Peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing programs may be running in the background and sharing files without your knowledge. We recommend you change these programs so that they don’t automatically load on start up, and that you manually select to download and upload files.
• Online gaming can also use extremely high amounts of data.
• Computer viruses may also infect your computer in ways that can account for large amounts of data. We recommend that you regularly use security software to keep your computers and internet connections safe.

What happens if my Alltel broadband is unavailable due to an outage?

Occasionally Alltel may experience an outage. This might be the case if your modem has sync and is connected and your modem interface can be contacted, but you still cannot browse the Internet.

If you can still access the internet (e.g. using a 3G or 4G connection), you can check Alltel’s customer portal for details about any outage.

Why does my internet connection drop out whenever I pick up my telephone handset?

This is usually caused by a missing or incorrectly installed inline filter.

Ensure that you have an inline filter plugged in between the wall outlet port and every device sharing the phone line. Examples of devices that need to be filtered include.

• Telephone(s)
• Answering machine
• Fax machine
• EFTPOS machines
• Foxtel digital

Note that modems that are not sharing a single telephone outlet with one of the above devices should not be filtered.

If all devices are filtered and all filters appear to be correctly installed, you may have a faulty filter. Try disconnecting and then reconnecting each device connected to your internet to see whether an individual device is causing the problem.

Why is my phone line noisy when I use ADSL?

This is usually due to missing or incorrect installation of inline filters. Or if you have four or more telephony devices on your network, you may require a central splitter.
Find out more about filters and splitters.

Modems may cause electronic interference when close to cordless phone aerials.

Does other activity on my ADSL service affect download/upload rates?

Yes. For example, some peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing programs can completely consume your available bandwidth. Performance will often remain low even after exiting the P2P software as other users attempt to connect to your system for some time after you have disconnected.

Can I relocate my broadband service to a new business address?

Yes. As long as an ADSL connection is available through your new exchange.

Note that even if you’re keeping your existing phone number, we still need to check for ADSL availability. That’s because the service is connected to the physical PSTN telephone line and not to your phone number. Your PSTN phone line MUST be connected before we can connect the ADSL service at your new address.

If you are currently on a contract, and you choose to remain on the same contract at the new address, you can pay a relocation fee to continue your service (no cancellation fee will apply):

• $49.95 for 12-month On-Net contracts
• $99.95 for 12-month Off-Net contracts
• FREE for 24-month contracts

Transfers are treated as new contracts for the full period of either 12 or 24 months.