I have used TalkTalk for my first experience of broadband. Very satisfied so far.....
But … I get Internet 'connection' problems for several days often, by coincidence, after periods of heavy rain. The router light for the internet doesn't come on and the DSL one flashes. Router is zyxel 600 series.

Phone works fine. Filter/splitter thingy ok. Wireless router has been checked and is ok. Master socket is ok – have used the little test socket to check too.

Other than just waiting till it chooses to work again you can sometimes get it to work for a while by using the phone. It's almost as if the electrical activity of the phone call helps it to connect. (Similar to when car won't start because battery is flattish then someone comes along turns the key and it fires!)

Could there be damp in a connection 'their' side? I have to pay for engineers call out if they can't find anything wrong on their side, as I just know I'm going to struggle to explain this to them.

roz bradbury, May 2008

ISPs often use that: 'If we don't find anything wrong on our side we will give you a huge bill' in order to deter people from asking for an engineer visit. This is because the engineering is supplied by Openreach (BT) and the ISP has to pay for the visit.

If you still have the problem using the test socket then it is definitely an external fault and you need to tell your ISP that and get Openreach on the case. (You can't call Openreach personally as they only work for ISPs.)

t, June 2008

If you have the fault when connected to the Test Socket then the fault is upstream of your wiring and so you won't be charged.

Water getting into joints is a common telephony fault.

BTW ISPs like to frighten users with call out charges because they have to pay Openreach.

t, May 2008

Hi Roz, I'm with talktalk and I had a problem around 9 months ago with the connection dropping out every few minutes and then difficulty in reconnecting I spoke to someone in their tech department and while I was on the phone to them they altered something at their end and since then I've had no faults at all

nigel, May 2008