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Thread: Anybody work for Verizon?

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  1. #1
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    Anybody work for Verizon?

    I have had a problem with my internet going out for about 4 minutes at a time periodically throughout the day. Some days it happens more than others. It's not my computer because when my internet goes out, if i go to 192.168.1.1 DSL Link and Internet Status both say "not connected" and there will be a red light on my modem/wireless router. The problem is by the time I get done dealing with that awful Verizon automated system that I swear is going to drive me to suicide and talk to a person, the internet has come back so they can do nothing to diagnose it.

    Anybody here work for Verizon and know a tech support direct dial? Or maybe what the problem may be?

    It'd be nice if there were a tech support number that didn't go to India so that the couple of times I get a human before the internet comes back on I wouldn't get bogged down with "Hello, my name is Gary, are you having a wonderful day today sir? You are? Excellent! Ok, so do I understand that your problem is you have periodic internet outages? Great! So, let's first try to see if rebooting your router fixes it? Do I understand correctly that you have tried this 500 times in the past and it never works? Great! Ok, let's try rebooting the router."

  2. #2
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    Retired from them in 2003 .. Now onto your problem
    Since you are on DSL here are some facts & tips you may not know:

    How far from the central office are you ? ? (DSL maxes out at 18000 feet or so)
    Also, if on DSL, did you do the install yourself with the little filters at each phone ? ?
    DSL runs at 10MHZ or so and too many filters (more than 4) will degrade the signal.
    Best way to fix it, is to install a Whole House DSL Filter at the point of entrance and
    then run a CAT 5 cable from the DSL output of the Filter into the DSL modem / router.
    These filters run about $40 or so and are not hard to install. You can also call repair
    service and have them send a tech out to check the DSL line at your home. They have
    meters that measure the Signal Level, Frequency and Data Speed. Trouble can also
    be caused by foreign grounds or voltage on your cable pair & also if the bridge taps,
    which are additional spots where your pair also goes to, are not removed by the installer.

    Verizon, likes to have the customer Self Install DSL so they do not have to send a tech out.
    It will work IF you are very close, under a mile or so from the central office.
    When you wire in the DSL filter, at the modem connect the 2 wires from the Data / DSL out
    to the correct 2 pins on the RJ11 plug going into the modem .. same pins as the existing
    Red & Green wires go to. Note that you Remove all the little set filters after the filter is installed.

    It has 3 sets of connections:

    1 goes to the Telephone wires from the street

    1 output marked DSL or Data goes to your Modem
    Do not run this thru your existing in house wires.
    Run a seperate data cable to the modem from here.

    The other output is marked Voice or Phone and goes to the
    existing wires in your home that connect to all the phone jacks.

    You can get the DSL filter here:

    http://www.homephonewiring.com/materials-a.html

    I used the Large Outdoor Splitter in my own home, when I had similar issues about
    2 years ago and the line has NOT dropped off since I installed it
    Last edited by bruceb; 09-02-2008 at 06:47 PM.

  3. #3
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    I'm on a dry loop line so there are no filters anywhere. I guess I installed myself, got the little kit, but the day I was set to go active a guy from Verizon came out, installed some little black box on my telephone jack, then went out to the box, came in a few minutes later and said ok good to go. I am 3.5 miles by car from the office though, figure about 3 as the crow flies, so I'm pretty close to that 18000 feet number.

    It would stink if that's the reason. I was going to cancel today when they jacked my price to higher than cable internet, but then when they transferred me to cancellations the guy gave me one heck of a deal so I stayed.

    I wonder if it could have to do with my being in an apartment complex (one of those 3 story buildings of apartments neighborhood deals), though most people here have Cox cable.
    Last edited by athlonfan; 09-02-2008 at 11:24 PM.

  4. #4
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    Since you are in an apartment, you really can't run a line from the telco point of entrance to your modem, but you can do it inside your apartment .. It may help. Given your distance, call Verizon DSL
    repair and ask them to dispatch a tech out to check the signal levels and speed coming into your home. If they balk at wanting to do this, ask for Supervisor or a Tier 2 support manager. If need be, you can always infer a call to the local Public Service Commission in your state .. They will avoid your calling them to complain, I assure you.

  5. #5
    Member Nightblade's Avatar
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    Lightbulb

    I smell "Bridge Taps"

    see LINK

    or in English a 3 way splice

    Why does this matter?

    the digital signal tends to echo when it hits a 3 way splice and makes it hard for the modem to figure out what signal is the correct one

    while you can technically have a Bridge Tap on the line the closer it is to the modem the more detrimental it is to the signal

    also usually the term Bridge Tap is used by the Telco in reference to out side plant but I also look at the IW (inside wire) too, as you have to realize the Telco doesnt really care about your wire, and you dont really give a poopy whats the problem, you just want the service to work

    living in a Apartment just complicates the issue as it will depend on how they wired the building, but a lot of the apt's ive seen over the years, has all the main wiring come into the kitchen jack and it either "daisy chains" (strung out jack to jack to jack) or the kitchen jack has a splice to the other jacks in the Apt

    so I'd take a look at the kitchen jack and see how many sets of cables terminate at that jack, i use the term cable as each cable will have 1 to 6 pairs of 19-26 gauge solid copper wires in it, plz dont think Coaxial cable used for TV

    if you have 3 or more cables inside the kitchen jack, then you have a BRIDGE TAP

    if your jacks are daisy-chained then you will want to make sure your jack in not in the middle of the chain, as if it is you will want to "cut dead ahead" or remove the chain thats going past your jack

    as always not having the appropriate tools can make this a lot harder to find which cable goes to where, but you can use the tried and true plug n pray methodology to find YOUR cable
    -Don't Present me with a Problem, Present me with a Possible Solution-

  6. #6
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    I did mention bridge taps in my first post. But I did not really elaborate on how to find them as it is
    usually up to the telco tech to find them using a capacitance meter. And in an apartment building, not only can it be the IW as you mentioned, but the pair bring used in the Riser cable coming from the Basement Cross Box to the apartment may also appear at another apartment or floor. Very common. This way, if a pair goes bad, they can use the other wires to repair. Most old apartments were 3 wire from the cross box to the apartment, as old telephones needed a ground for the ringer. No longer needed on modern phones (say since late 1950's era)

  7. #7
    Member Nightblade's Avatar
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    I only mentioned the IW not the Riser Cabling as he really shouldnt get into the Riser

    hey Bruce i have a question for you about Verizon's DSL policies, Did they ever tell you techs what the maximum resistance was for a DSL loop? from getting a short at the Frame to the NID, SNI, CAC, or Demarc? and or tell you guys what the Attenuation or SNR should be? I'm just curious
    -Don't Present me with a Problem, Present me with a Possible Solution-

  8. #8
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    I never said the OP should mess with the Riser cable .. that would be for a Verizon tech to work on. As to your question about the local loop, I can't give an exact figure as each cable use different guage wires.
    Some are 26Ga and some are 24Ga .. on average I would expect a maximum loop resistance of about 1200 - 1800 Ohms or so ... I know DSL is limited to about 18,000 feet from the central office and this is not really due to the resistance, but the signal loss, as dsl runs at 10Mhz or so .. A Verizon tech, can test the line with a special dsl meter which will measure Signal Level, Signal Frequency, Signal to Noise Ratio and Data Speed. Not sure what the specs are for those parameters.

  9. #9
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    I also have DSL.

    I am not with Verizon.

    I live some 15000 feet from the DSLAM, out in the county.

    I loose DSL when it rains!!

    I have complained for over 2 years (since I have had DSL) but nothing is done...IF ANYTHING CAN be done!

    I was recently upgraded to the next higher DSL speed level, twice what I had earlier...now...I lost DSL when it rained within 60 to 80 miles of me! A HEAVY dew would affect this DSL...finally, after one of my email complaints... I received a reply from the tech support that "everybody looses DSL when it rains"!! hooooo boy!! with a tech support like that, I don't need to waste electrons on an email!!

    Having been in electronics all of my working life (now retired) I understand the timing aspect of DSL...that is the reason for the 18000 feet limit, more or less.

    I quit complaining, had my DSL returned to the original speed...and now, once again I only loose DSL when it rains in my county....timing!!

  10. #10
    Member Nightblade's Avatar
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    plain and simple you have a section of cable thats being exposed to the rain and quite frankly Verizon prolly just doesnt want to spend the money to fix it

    just make sure you do what you can

    1. every time you lose your connection: write it down in a log and call it in to verizon

    2. report it to your local state commission

    I had Mediacom Cable before switching over to Verizon ADSL2 (ADSL wasnt availible) and my log was rather extensive over 4 yrs of paying $50 to 60/month for cable internet that worked when it wanted too

    I called in over 120 repair tickets and everyone was NTF or No Trouble Found

    well Mediacom threatened to charge me for Repair Visits, altho they never enforced it, prolly becuz of my verbal assualts on the phone

    and my log was rather extensive recording date and time i NOTICED the internet connection was down, modem levels (much easier to document cable levels) which showed my daily fluctuation of service levels, the fact that the tech's NEVER once called me ahead of their arrival even tho it was printed on the repair ticket, the fact that MOST of their tech's didnt even know what frequency the internet ran on 117 mhz as apposed to the 450mhz they thought, pings to their gateway (proof that the modem was connected, sometimes and just couldnt get to the internet), level logs from 4 different modems (yes I have 4 different brand and models), levels from my own 2 different Comcast meters (yeah i was a tech for Comcast at the time)

    My main problem was losing connectivity, and my secondary concern was the 10k upload speed, downloads were typically 120 - 160kbps which while slower than their advertised 5mb download was acceptable


    what happened? well Mediacom never fixed the issue, they didnt even fix the wet splice i had in my neighbors yard 2 house down, I had to fix it myself, of course they threatened me with arrest, then the problem was in their fiber and infrastructure, once i filed my complaint with the ICC, Illinois Commerce Commision, and waited for like 3-4 months, I received a call from Mediacrap, offering me a rebate of $360 half off for one year, but i'd have to sign a contract for one year, WTF?!? ya thats what i thought too, told em no way, even tho they were offering me service for $20 for the year too, told em nope because I was waiting for Verizon to launch ADSL2 in my area, which was due anytime soon

    the moral of the story is, They didnt care about fixing the problem, just waived money in my face to shut up

    Verizon might fix the issue, but i've worked for Ameritech, Qwest, Comcast, and AT&T all in local tech operations, and I'd bet they wont

    So just keep a log, call in a trouble ticket, and file a complaint with your Corp Commission


    -BTW- after having some intial problems with Verizon and the Modem they sent me its been running like a champ
    Last edited by Nightblade; 09-16-2008 at 03:05 PM.
    -Don't Present me with a Problem, Present me with a Possible Solution-

  11. #11
    Member soulburner's Avatar
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    I don't work for Verizon, but I do for another phone company.
    If a tech comes out with a meter they will more than likely test the signal outside removing your inside wiring, if the signal looks acceptable they will charge you unless you have inside wiring. If you do the tech will test inside he should note the difference in signal level. One thing I have noticed is devices such as alarms and satellite receivers not being filtered cause alot of random DSL signal degradation.
    If you have access to your nid at your house I know in your case being an apartment maybe not. You hook your modem up at the NID and see if SNR and attenuation levels change. The tech will refer to these Signal Noise Ratio reading as Margins.
    There are 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary, and those who don't

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