He thinks the problem is the computer... but why all the static on the phone lines?

I'd think that if you disconnected the computer and the phone still had static, that would prove that what he told you was wrong....thus the need to report it again.

Good luck!

Sue

maybe that wasn't a lose red wire, maybe it's not suppose to be connected. I would disconnect it and see if the problem goes away.

I would take the laptop to somewhere that has Wi-Fi like Bread Co, Dairy queen, starbucks and see if it works there!!

Your husband should not be connecting any wire to any other wire unless he absolutely, positively knows what he is doing.

If you're lucky you'll have a phone jack outside by where the phone line comes in. You can try plugging a phone into that and see if you have the static. That's usually what the phone techs do so I'm guessing you don't have one.

I'm not impressed with what I've heard. Just saying his computer worked, doesn't mean it's at full speed. Static will slow down connection speeds but there could easily still be a connection.

I'd start with unplugging EVERY phone and accessory in the house, including answering machine, fax, phones, computers, loose cords and anything else. Then check for static.

Then I'd check with the neighbors, especially anyone with DSL in your neighborhood. If they're experiencing the same issues, that tells you something. Then I'd call the phone company. Talk to them about the construction. Often they know when there's issues and will tell you. Find out when the construction will be finished. Get a complaint on record, since most phone companies will give a credit if there's issues for a certain number of days.

As you plug things in, do them one at a time. A bad phone cord or a bad phone jack can cause the problems you mentioned.

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is carried on the upper bandwidth of a POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) line. This is why you can be on the Internet via your DSL connection and still carry on a telephone conversation even though you only have one phone line.

If you aren't using a DSL filter, you shouldn't really be hearing static on the line. It would be more of a steady "hissing" sound. And if you do have a DSL filter, properly installed, then the DSL shouldn't cause any extra sounds on your POTS line.

If I were you, I'd do the following -- first, have your husband disconnect the red wire that he connected to the other red wire. Any problems caused by the problem on the line on the highway wouldn't have anything to do with the red wires, so if your service was OK previously without those being connected (and because your husband doesn't really know what he connected), they should be undone. Then, check to see if the static has been eliminated.

If you still have static after the red wires are undone, then physically unplug EVERY phone in the house from the jacks. Then, one by one, plug in a phone and check to see if there is static. Often a phone will "go bad" and cause static.

Thanks for the suggestions, I don't have time to respond to each right now since The dsl is working at the moment (but may not work for long).

I turned the phone on in here (an extension phone), left it on for a minute and the dsl came on. What could that mean??

Anyhow I thought I had found the problem with the surge protector. I didn't run the phone line through it to the modem and the computer worked earlier for about 10 minutes. DH says he will undo the one red wire in the phone box tomorrow to see if that does anything. We do not have a 'phone jack' in the box. Lindsey - DH is pretty good at wiring.. he did all the electrical and phone wiring in the room in the basement plus he ran the directv wires. No problems for almost 16 years now. He has made wiring mistakes in the past though, so this could be one too. (He says the second red wire is for the directv connection and shouldn't be a problem.)

I'll be back... even if it is from the library tomorrow. lol

Just found this:
Phone line noise
If you still don't have a good synch, no good dsl signal, but you do have a dialtone, then the problem might be noise on the line. Unplug ALL telephone devices except your modem. Unplug the fax machine. The only thing connected to the telephone line should be the modem. Turn everything off and on and give the modem a couple of minutes to synch up.

If this fixes your problem, something on your network is making noise on the phone line. DSL line filters may help. Put the dsl filter on the line of the device that is making the noise. I had to do this with my fax machine which was killing my DSL. Normally some filters are provided with your modem. They are also available at Radio Shack for about $6.
Although I already have filters on everything, I may want to try this anyhow. At least I will know it is the network and not my computer.

The advice by Lydia1959 is very reasonable.

I had a similar problem about 2 weeks after I first began my DSL service from ATT. They checked their equipment and found that the problem was at their phone exchange. Apparently, the frequencies had drifted off. It was fixed within an hour.

If your problem isn't consistent, it may be wetness or dampness in the line somewhere. If it's in one outlet in your house, it could affect all your outlets.

Or it could be outside.

Do all of the above, then, if the problem still continues, KEEP CALLING TO REPORT THE PROBLEM AND COMPLAIN!!!!! We had such bad static on our line, off and on, mostly on, for a year and a half. They would come out, tell us it was fixed, and it would be back. It was so bad, it hurt your ears, and you couldn't hear the person on the other end. In the end, they finally found the problem and fixed it, with a month's free service, after I threatend to drop them and go to digital phone service thru the cable company. I guess they needed some motivation to fix it.

Tami

Update on this! DH undid the wires in the box, tried just one red wire with one loose... but the phone would not ring when he did this. He then cleaned up both wires (one had some gunk on it he says) attached them both back together and ta-da! The problem seems to be fixed. The dsl isn't going off line (although it is super slow at times) and the phone line static is gone.

I can't believe the tech didn't check the box and wiring when he was here (even after my DH admitted to him that he had done some 'rewiring')... but I guess it is good on our part cause we won't get charged for the service call since the tech couldn't find the problem.

Thanks for everybodies help!