Troubleshooting Calling Cards

If you're having difficulty connecting with a calling card, here are some troubleshooting tips:

1. Before you plug your modem into ANY phone line, make sure that the system is not a digital phone system.

You can burn out your modem if you try to use it with a digital phone line.

Although digital phones often require a six-pin or eight-pin line in order to function, four-pin lines (the sort used with modems) will fit the slot used by digital phones. (On the UIUC campus, all yellow multiple-line phones are digital.)

If the cable you unplug from the phone or the wall looks thicker than the cable you ordinarily use with your modem, it's probably a digital phone line even if it fits into your modem. However, the cable may or may not be thicker than usual. If you're looking at a phone that provides multiple-line capabilities, chances are higher than average that it's a digital phone, although it's not guaranteed. If you think there's any chance you might be looking at a digital phone line, ask someone who can give you a definitive answer before using your modem with that line.

2. Are you in a hotel or someplace where you need to dial 8 or 9 to get an outside line?

If so, make sure that's the first thing your modem dials. You will also need a comma (,) after the initial number to pause for the outside line connection.

3. Are you in a foreign country?

If so, you'll have three different considerations:

1. the country codes and their interactions with your calling card,
2. the type of cable used to connect a phone or modem to a wall, and
3. your modem rating.
   

If you can determine a series of numbers you can use to dial from your location to the point where you hear a modem trying to communicate with you over the phone, you can probably get your modem to connect -- as long as the cable type in use matches the cable type your modem is expecting.

(Some countries use cables whose connectors match the size of U. S. phone cords or modem cables, but are not actually the same, as in the case of the digital phone line hazards mentioned above. Ask a phone company or Internet service provider in the area what standards they use.)

Additionally, modem ratings are different in different countries, because of different power levels and frequencies used. Make sure that the modem you have is rated for the country you're traveling to. (Talk to your modem manufacturer for specific details.)

Troubleshooting Option 1 and Option 2:

Can you dial the number completely, including the dialup connection number, and arrive at a point where a modem makes connection noises?

If so, your problem with the modem may be an incorrect series of numbers and pauses in the computer's dialing string, or it may be the phone cable you're using. (Note also the Mac OS X versions 10.0 to 10.1.1 bug.)

Understanding the problem:

If you can dial the number correctly from a phone but your modem protests, first determine that it's not a digital phone line by asking someone who knows the phone network in that location. Then unplug the cord from the phone you used to dial correctly and plug it in to your modem.

If your modem can dial it this way, you have a problem with the cable you're ordinarily using with your modem and should replace it. If this doesn't solve the problem, your issue involves your dialing sequence.

Correcting the problem:

The easiest way to troubleshoot a dialup modem sequence is to have all the dialed components in the same dialogue box (the one ordinarily used for the dialup phone number). Although the networking profile may offer you a large number of external options, including dialing 9, dialing 1, turning off call-waiting, and others, it will be easiest to trace the problem if you know exactly when each number comes in the sequence.

When troubleshooting options 1 and 2, the entry field that normally contains just the dialup connection's seven-digit phone number should contain all the dialing information being used, in the following order:

1. The calling card's 800 number
2. PIN and/or other 800 phone number menu navigating digits
3. The dialup phone number itself.

To try the simplest possible configuration, dial your calling card sequence all the way through to when you hear a modem communicating with you, and write down every single number you type.

Start with just that string of numbers in the dialup dialogue box, with no automatic additions from elsewhere in the networking configuration. Then add pauses when the voice prompts occur. Persistence is the best prescription for success.

Troubleshooting Option 3:

Is there a preconfigured calling card profile that matches your calling card or not?

Understanding the problem:

If there is a profile that matches your card but you can't get it to connect, one possibility is incorrect surrounding codes (such as initial 9, initial 1, area codes coming at the wrong moment, or call-waiting disabling).

Another possibility is outdated preprogramming for responses to prompts during the calling card sequence.

On the other hand, if there isn't a profile that matches your card, you can try to create one from an existing card preconfiguration. In either case, you'll be following similar troubleshooting sequences.

Correcting the problem:

First of all, try to dial your calling card sequence yourself, writing down every number you type until you hear a modem on the other end of the line. Then look through the list of calling card preconfiguration options to see which of them best match the sequence you determined that you needed.

With option 3, you're giving more control to the preconfigurations; the 800-number section of the dialing sequence is handled by the use of the calling card rules.

Unlike with options 1 and 2, t he actual dialup number (to connect to the modem) should be the only thing in the dialup number's dialogue box, and the area code should be placed in the area code line so that it will be dialed in sequence.

From the perspective of the network dialing wizards, you haven't changed the dialup number at all; you're just calling from a different location, one which requires a calling card to connect to it. Therefore, to troubleshoot option 3, most of your edits should take place in the "location" or "dialing rules" sections of the dialup configuration boxes.