Broadband Troubleshooting

Most of us would feel upset when we are unable to connect to the internet or if we have issues like slow connection or frequent disconnections. But internet issue might not be necessarily with the ISP, it can also be a cable issue, modem or router and software that can switch off the internet connection. Users can feel at ease if they are able to identify where the issue which requires a just a basic understanding of how the internet works.

1. Broadbandinternet allows the transfer of data in a wide bandwidth at speeds of more than 1Mbps.
2. There are three types of broadband in use- ADSL, fiber optic and mobile broadband.
3. The ADSL connection works using a telephone line, the fiber optic broadband uses a dedicated fiber optic cable and the mobile broadband uses the mobile network to connect to the internet.
4. The fastest of all the three types would be fiber optic broadband and the least being ADSL.
5. The mobile broadband uses a USB dongle type modem which is connected to the USB port of the computer while the fiber optic and ADSL connection uses a separate device like router which in turn connects to the NIC (network interface card) using an Ethernet cable.
6. In a mobile broadband connectivity issues can occur if there is an issue with the mobile operator, USB dongle or the system software.
7. In an ADSL or fiber optic connection the issue could be with the provider, telephone or fiber optic cable, router, NIC, Ethernet cable etc.
8. Users should be able to identify the symptom or error message that is displayed in the computer to proceed with further troubleshooting.
9. These error messages would help the technicians of the internet providers to troubleshoot the issue.

Basic ADSL troubleshooting

1. In an ADSL connection users can check if the phone line is working or if it there is any disturbance in the telephone line.
2. Check for the physical setup of the connection by verifying the cables, ports and devices like modems and routers.
3. Verify the light status of the router or the modem.
4. Also users who are techie can verify the drivers of the NIC.

Basic Fiber Optic Broadband troubleshooting

1. Fiber optic broadband mostly will not have an issue with the users end.
2. However users can check the NIC drivers and any software or operating system which can cause an issue.

Basic Mobile Broadband troubleshooting

1. The most important issue that can occur in a mobile broadband is low or no coverage.
2. Mobile broadband modems has light indicator which glows to show the status of the connection.
3. Users might also check the connection manager software to know the signal strength and error messages if there is no internet connection.
4. Also the users might try to change the USB port of the modem if it’s not getting detected.

Users might be aware of situations where the issue could be with a virus, spy-ware, malware, etc, or multiple security software installed in a computer or software which connects to the internet automatically like fax machine software etc.