A lady had just moved into a new home… got her phones, internet, and cable TV working, with the help of a TV tech

He was even nice enough to install an ADSL filter to get her internet going.

After about 2 days, the internet stopped.

She called Optus technical support, and the support lady spend a good 2 hours trying to help, before saying that the problem was with the computer.

When I got there, the ADSL modem was showing all the correct lights, but I soon found out that the PC had no ethernet drivers.

In these cases, I usually just connect my android phone, switch on its USB tethered mode, so that it acts like a modem, and then download the drivers I need.

But the Windows 7 PC would not load the USB drivers for my phone.

OK, back to my office, and a virus scan detects no infection. I download the ethernet drivers from the HP website, and then the PC is back to working on my internet connection.

So what happened was: Optus tech would have guided the customer into removing the ethernet drivers (thinking they will automatically re-install after a re-boot)… and then ended up blaming a computer fault for the “extra” problem.

So, when I took the computer back, I assumed it would be a quick dropoff, plugin everything, check that the internet is working, and then leave…

But events often conspire against me.

Still no internet, but this time, I can connect to the modem, and I see it thinks there is no internet connection.

Maybe the modem is faulty, so I install a new modem, but I get similar same result: it connects, and both the link and internet light go on, but after talking to another Optus tech, I notice that the ADSL light has gone off. and the modem is trying to re-connect…

Thats odd! its almost as if there is no filter…. then the penny drops:

Excuse me Mrs customer: do you have any other phones connected in your house?

Mrs customer: Why yes! Besides the one in the computer room, there is also one in the kitchen!

A quick look shows that the kitchen phone has no filter. Once that is fixed, the ADSL light stops “dropping out”… but still no internet…

Back to Optus, and the tech says: hmmm, there is an issue on the line, I’ve raised a request, and if you wait on the line, it will be rectified in about 5 minutes.

After 5 Minutes, I’m asked to restart the modem… and finally, the internet is back.