A customer(s) calls me out, as he is having problems connecting to the internet.
When I get there the modem router has power connected, but just the power light comes on…
Looks like a fault modem router, as I cannot connect to it from either PC.
The couple tell me they have another modem router, from before they met…
But it doesn’t have a power adapter. I’m told “you can just plug it into the power adapter of the other modem… Hmmm I don’t know… the modems are 2 different brands, so voltage differences could be a problem… but I’m told they have done it before.
When I connect it, all its LEDs blink at the same time…
To eliminate the possibility of an ADSL line fault, I bring in my known good modem, and it works just fine. But I don’t have a modem router with me. So they decide to get a new modem router from dick smith.
I get called again when they have the modem, so I go around again to setup their internet… This time, the new modem just shows a blinking power LED. The instructions say to run the installation CD, but the CD software say something about a hardware error.
I do what I normally do (connect to the modem directly using IE… but that also fails.
an ipconfig shows that there is no dhcp running…
I can’t believe this, but that makes 3 faulty modem routers!
Just to be sure, I bring in my modem again, but this time it cannot get an ADSL signal…
I tell the customers that they first need to call optus and get them to fix the line/exchange fault… But they will probably need to get dick smith to exchange the faulty modem…
What a nightmare… its been problem after problem. Sometimes problems will compound themselves like this (which make me look incompetent), but if it happens, it happens.
I leave my modem with them, so that once optus fixes the line, they can use the internet until they get the faulty modem router exchanged.
After a day or two, I’m asked to pickup my modem, as they now have everything going.
He tells me that they were a little concerned about me, as I seemed to be blaming the problem on an unusual amount of faults… but in the end, everything I said was correct: Optus admitted to a line fault (and they fixed it), Dick Smith replaced the modem router (which they tried and were surprised to see as faulty). And the customer was able to setup the new modem router, based on the information I gave them previously.