In this post I will cover the hardware side of connectivity, specially, issues related to the Modem. Every BSNL user with a DataOne connection is given an ADSL modem to get connected. The default lights that you will see coming up as soon as you turn the Modem on are Power and Ethernet/USB. When the link light glows up that’s when you initiate your connection through the PPPoE or a dialer. But what do you do when the Link light itself doesn’t come up or doesn’t stay on for longer? Follow these steps for some basic troubleshooting before calling up local exchange for further help.
Power cycle the Modem. This is the most basic step you can take up to try to fix the problem. Rebooting will let Modem re-establish the link with the other end in the exchange and may sometimes work as in my case. If it doesn’t, move on to next step.
Physical Connection - First check the connections to your Modem. Start with the cables between your Modem and the Splitter. Remove the cables at both the ends and connect again. Power cycle the modem and wait for few minutes and then check the connectivity. If it doesn’t help, check the cabling to your splitter and the main line that comes in your house and then to the Splitter. In my case, then main cable that comes into the house had a short point of contact and would occasionally come in contact whenever wind blows outside the house. It was apparently fixed after putting some adhesive tapes on it. Something that I couldn’t imagine!
Link light blinks all the time but doesn’t stay lit. This is a very common problem and you will have to start troubleshooting by first lifting the receiver of your phone and listen for any noise in the line. If there is lot of disturbance in the line, chances are less that you will get connected at all. Wait for some more time and try connecting again. If this is an ongoing problem, report it to the local exchange for further troubleshooting.
What’s next? - If you are through with all the steps above, it will be time to hand over the troubleshooting to the local exchange for inspecting the line. When you lodge a complaint with the exchange, tell them that the light doesn’t stay lit for more than few minutes and you would like them to re-inspect the line from exchange to your Modem. Then sit back and relax, it’s beyond your hands!
Still problems? - Lodge a complaint with the supervisor in the exchange and give him the docket/ticket numbers of previous calls and ask him to look into it. Couple of months ago I had to do that as the exchange guy couldn’t help other than blaming it on the Telecom infrastructure of BSNL. So go ahead and call up the exchange and speak to the person who would be in charge of DataOne related issues in your Zone.
