DC10

We have just moved house and are decided to bite the bullet and sign up for a landline phone (not important) and ADSL (we need badly) contract. For the last couple of years we made do with mobile broadband, but it's overpriced and frankly not very good.

The house we have moved to has two existing phone sockets/ports.

The phone/internet provider has advised that our service is "connected" and given us a landline number. When I dial the landline number from my mobile I can hear a ringing tone on my mobile, but the actual landline is dead when you pick up the receiver.

Our modem seems to be functioning (albeit not with all the necessary lights flashing) fine but the landline and internet just refuse to work. Telstra have attended the outside of the property and advised there is no problem with their infrastructure up to the property boundary.

What can possibly be wrong and what can we do to sort this out? Are there different stages of "connection"?

Any meaningful help gratefully rewarded with beer

SoCalDon

Telstra Internet will not work until the service is 'registered' in Internet explorer or whatever your browser is. What happens when you try to access the Internet? When I was trying to connect our Telstra Internet, eventually a log on message popped up, I entered our details (user name and password) and the Internet started working normally.

Have you tried to access the Internet with more than one device? Worth a try if not.

spuddyo

See if you can identify which is the first socket the Telstra Incoming cable is connected too, and plug your phone straight into it. ( Look where the cable comes into the house ) Do not plug in a modem or filter, is there a dial tone ?

If so does the phone make outgoing calls, and can you ring it from your mobile ? Then try teh same thing from the second socket to see if it works too. If neither work, then the Telstra line is not getting into your house from their connection outside.

SoCalDon

Do you have a user name and password with Telstra? Something at BigPond.com?

Are there any other sockets around the house you could try? When you pick up the phone is it dead as a dodo? Is there a Telstra boxy thing outside that may be disconnected?

DC10

Thanks all for the replies

When the modem is turned on we can see the wifi signal on our mobile phones/laptops and (supposedly) login to that with password. Shows "connected" but then error messages when you try to navigate to any website.

I sneakily took my work landline phone home yesterday for the night and when I plugged that into the sockets there was no dial tone. There is a phone port in the living room and another in a bedroom and there is no dial tone from either.

The provider is Dodo (their customer service is another story...) and they say everything is connected as far as they are concerned. They had Telstra attend (we weren't home, but apparently that doesn't matter) and they said everything is working with their infrastructure up to the property.

SoCalDon

Sounds like the line is dead to me. If Telstra are certain that it works outside the property, you need to follow the wires around the house to see if they could be broken somewhere.

The modem having wireless is a red herring as that's what it will always do, whether it's connected to the Internet or not.

Good luck!

GarryP

Just means they are connected to the router.

Assuming that you have tried an Oz phone in both sockets, it would seem to be a break, probably where it enters the house (there is usually a grey box outside). I wouldn't discount Telstra being useless either and lying their heads off.

If nothing is obvious it's that hell that's known as an Oz tradie....

DC10

We had a phone contractor here this morning - had to arrange him ourselves as the providers had basically washed their hands and were happy for us to continue paying for a service we couldn't use.

He was able to identify and rectify the problem within about 15 minutes, although I still can't really understand what it was. Something to do with the last resident using the bedroom phone port as the main one and having some sort of unusual set-up - maybe "naked" internet? So the line needed to be reconnected to the living room.

This all seems a bit strange because the bedroom port was definitely not working either.

Anyway whatever it was we are in business now and I guess it's not often you have a contractor attend your house for only $100 these days.

Thanks again guys

Dreamy

I don't understand why Telstra wouldn't send an engineer out - even if they've done a line check and everything is fine their end, they usually send one out to check things internally - generally with the proviso that if it turns out to be your equipment at fault you get charged $120.

Glad you've got everything sorted though.

(Oh and Dodo customer service explains everything about why the dodo became extinct)

DC10

I think the Telstra guy happened to be in the area when the call came through but we weren't home, so he just looked at the outside.

My Dodo mobile contract is finally up for renewal next month after two long years and I will be thinking carefully before signing up again. About the only thing to recommend is the price, only $19.95 a month