Sister in law is having problems with her net connection, everytime she tries to connect she just gets a msg saying no dial tone, she's told me that it was working fine and that this just started happening, ive tried a different line and a different filter but no joy, also tried the modem here on this PC and it connected fine so it cant be that, ive tried ringing her ISP (talktalk) but they are as much use as beans during a raid, as soon as i mention that the modem is a 3rd party modem they say they are not trained to deal with problems with this modem and to ring the modem manufacturers, even tho ive already told them that its not the modem... not sure what else to try.. any suggestions?

Lie and pretend it's not a 3rd party modem so they get off their arses and check the line?

Have you tried a different PC/laptop on the modem and line setup? We're not talking dial up here are we?

Aye well we can ring again and say we are using their modem and get them to check, no ive not tried changing the PC.. never thought of it tbh and no its not dial up its a BB connection

Talk Talk are an LLU provider (but I think they are still buying IPstream / Datastream DSL products off BT Wholesale until they get all their kit into BT exchanges. This adds a slightly different set of possibilities into the mix.

I run a Broadband repair centre for BT Wholesale and my advice on troubleshooting is this:

1. You seem to have eliminated the modem as the potential issue, but have you eliminated the cable from the modem to her socket? If you used your own cable to connect at your place then I would try the same at her place.

2. Check out her PC connection config. That could also cause a no dial tone error message. In my experience this is the most likely cause given what you've said above.

3. Test from the master socket (may be a BT one, may not be), even better, unscrew the front plate and test from the test port. This will eliminate all internal wiring issues such as flakey extension cables, doorbells, alarms, Sky boxes, etc.

4. Hassle Talk Talk to give the line a remote check as you have eliminted her kit as the source of the problem. If it is one of their own LLU lines then they should have the ability to do this remotely using either their own tools or the Openreach test portal. If it is an IPstream or Datastream line then they can use the free testing tools that BT Wholesale give them. This will also tell them if there is a problem that they should be reporting to BT Wholesale.

5. If all of the above fails, PM me with the phone number and I'll see what I can do from my end via the BT Wholesale test systems. If it is an unbundled line then I won't be able to do much though, the DSL equipment in the exchange will belong to Talk Talk.

Good luck.

Thx ganster, ill go through the things u said and see what happens

IT is dsl yeah?

I've had a neighbour recently who got the bt answerphone service. because it changed the dial tone when there's messages it fucks modems around something chronic. Set the modem to ignore whether there's a dial tone or not and dial anyway - it might sort it.

M