How to Detect a Bad DSL Line

A bad DSL connection can result from an issue with the phone company or the wiring in your house. You can find out whether you have an issue with your wiring by viewing the lights on the DSL modem. The distance between your home and the server also has an effect on the reliability of your connection. In general, the speed of your service declines from a maximum speed of 24 Mbps to speeds as low as 2 Mbps for houses 3.1 miles or more from the server.

Check the front of the lights on your DSL modem. You should have a Power, Service, and Broadband or Link light. These lights should stay solid and not blink.

Check to ensure you have no loose connections between the DSL modem, router and your telephone jack. If you need to make changes, unplug the power to all of your devices before adjusting cables.

Install a filter between your phone line and telephone. If you don't have a telephone line, you don't need to install a filter. Check to make sure you have phone service by listening for a dial tone. If you don't hear a dial tone, then you also have a bad DSL line.

Shut down your computer and turn off your modem, router and any other devices connected to the modem. Wait up to two minutes, and then plug your devices back into the wall and power on your computer.

Press the "Win-R" keys, type "cmd" into the text field, and then press "Enter" to access Command Line.

Type "ipconfig" (omit the quotes), and then look for the IP address listed in Default Gateway.

Plug the IP address into your Web browser's address bar, press "Enter," and then enter the username and password to access the administration console. In most cases, either the username, password or both fields use the word "admin." Check your manual to find the correct default login.

Go to the "WAN," "Status" or "Connection" page. Write down the values listed in the Signal Attenuation section. If the attenuation shows 20db or lower, your DSL line is performing extremely well; a range between 20 to 40db indicates a good signal; and anything higher than 40db may indicate a bad connection or wiring.