"I can't get online at all" (No Connectivity)

Many things can cause this problem, and here you will find solutions to the most commonly encountered causes. **NOTE** ACD.net Internet Support does NOT support customer networks or router configurations. If you have a router and/or a home network, we are not able to provide technical support for your network. If your network and/or router was set up by ACD.net, then you will be directed to the Systems Integration technician for assistance. On-site visits by these technicians--unless the problem is with ACD.net--will result in labor charges.

To find out why you can't get online, first you'll need to look at your modem. Do so, and click on link that describes your situation.

The LINE or STATUS light is ON, but the ETHERNET or LAN light is OFF
The LINE or STATUS light is OFF, but the ETHERNET or LAN light is ON
Both the LINE/STATUS and ETHERNET/LAN lights are ON

If the LINE/STATUS light is ON but the ETHERNET/LAN light is OFF

As mentioned previously, the Ethernet light only indicates that the modem can see whatever is plugged into the other end of the ethernet cable. If it can't see that device, then your computer can't see the DSL modem. In this scenario your modem can see us, but you can't see your modem. So:

• Check the connection between the modem and whatever device it is connected to. The modem could be plugged into a hub, switch, router, wireless access point, or directly into your computer. Make sure all the cables are securely plugged into their devices in the proper ports.
• Make sure whatever device the modem is plugged into is turned on. It sounds mundane, but many customers have gone days without service before they called in, only to find out the power cable came out of their modem or router, or a surge protector got switched off somewhere.
• Try a different Ethernet cable. If all devices are powered on and no changes have been made to what's plugged into what, the ethernet cable could be bad. **NOTE** The Paradyne 6310 and 6350 modem models are like most network devices--if you are plugging the modem directly into a computer, you MUST use a cross-over ethernet cable. These can be obtained from most computer stores that sell networking equipment (Best Buy, CompUSA, etc).
• Power-cycle whatever device the modem is connected to. This typically is a router, but can also be a hub or switch, or your computer. Whatever is at the other end of the ethernet cable.
• Try plugging the modem into a different device or port. If the modem is plugged into a hub or switch, try a different port on that device, as the port the modem is plugged into may have gone bad. If you're plugging the modem directly into a computer, try plugging it into a different computer. If you're plugged into a router try plugging the modem into the computer directly (remember you'll need a cross-over ethernet cable to do so). Make sure you have a firewall enabled before doing this (if possible). If you do not have a firewall you may want to disconnect the DSL modem from the wall jack to ensure your computer does not get onto the internet unprotected (the DSL line itself does not have to be up in order for your Ethernet light to be on). If your modem gets an Ethernet light plugged into a different device then you either have a problem with the original device or you are not using the proper ethernet cable type.

The LINE/STATUS light is OFF but the ETHERNET/LAN light is ON

The line light means the modem can see our equipment. If the modem can't see us, then you can't see us. In this scenario you can see the modem, but it can't see us.

• Check the cable connections to ensure they are securely plugged into the correct ports. The modem has a Phone port and a Line port. The DSL line must be plugged into the Line port.
• Make sure there are no line filters (included with some modems, and with all line-sharing customer equipment packages) on the line between the modem and the wall jack. Line filters are used on line-shared DSL lines (lines where the DSL signal and phone signal are on the same wires) to filter out the DSL signal so you don't hear it on your phone. Due to this, if you place a line filter between the DSL modem and the wall jack, you will filter out the DSL signal before it gets to the modem, resulting in no connectivity. If you have line-shared DSL, and are plugging a phone into your DSL modem, no further filters are needed for that phone--the modem itself will act as a filter. Filters are only needed for phone jacks elsewhere in the residence.
• Power cycle your DSL modem. Unplug the power from the back of the DSL modem and wait for 10 seconds, then plug it back in. It can take up to two minutes for the modem to fully boot up and try to sync with our equipment.
• Try another phone cable between the modem and the wall jack. Phone cables can go bad just like anything else.
• If the phone cable between the modem and the wall goes through a surge protector, bypass it. Surge protectors have been known to introduce noise and stress on the line. DSL signals are highly susceptible to changes in frequency, and are often disrupted by surge protectors.
• Test the modem in the test port at the phone box. Not all customers can actually carry out this test, but it is the best (and final) test a customer can do before getting us or the phone company involved. All homes have a telephone box where the lines come into the house. This box is called the network interface, or simple the NI. If you've ever had a problem with your phone service that resulted in no dialtone on your line, the phone company may have asked you to plug a phone into the test port in your NI. This is done to eliminate your internal wiring from the equation--if there's no signal at the NI, then there's no signal coming to the house.
  This test is also used for DSL customers, provided they have access to the NI (many apartment buildings do not allow customer access to their phone rooms, and those types of rooms typically don't have simple jacks to plug into anyway) and can get power there as well. For assistance in testing at your NI, you can contact our support department.
• Call technical support. If all else fails, the problem could be on the line itself. Contact our support department and there are some things we can check on our equipment to see if we can bring the line up (some customers that have had their modems turned off for extended periods of time--while on vacation for example--have needed to call support to have their port reset on our end in order to bring it back up). If our support technicians are unable to resolve the issue over the phone, a trouble ticket will be opened to have your line checked out. Commit time will vary depending on the amount of tickets and installs already scheduled.

Both the LINE/STATUS and ETHERNET/LAN lights are ON

This one is the hardest to troubleshoot, and generally will require you to contact technical support. It could be an outage on our end, a configuration issue with your port, a billing issue, etc.,.

• Power cycle your modem. Sometimes customers will show a Line or Status light even though there is in fact no continuity between them and us. This is most often caused by something causing noise or interference on the line that the modem is interpreting as DSL signal from our equipment. Rebooting the modem often takes care of this issue, and the Line will either stay on (indicating the problem still exists somewhere) or will go off (indicating the light shouldn't have been on in the first place, and customers can continue troubleshooting using "The Line light is OFF" instructions).
• Power cycle your equipment. Once you're fairly certain your Line light is on because it's getting signal of some kind, reboot your router or computer. Especially in the case of routers, if after rebooting it you can get online fine it means either your router is going south on you, or there is something on your network that is sending too much traffic out and is overloading the router, locking it up (this is the most common cause of this problem, resolving close to 90% of calls about this issue). If you keep having this problem--and all you have to do is reboot the router to get back online--it is recommended to have your PCs or network checked out.
• Call technical support. As previously stated, if the above steps don't do the trick then it is quite possible the issue is on our end. Call our support department and we can check your port configuration on our equipment, and ensure there are no billing issues.