Strange Happening

[NY Tel Guy]

I was on the Internet last night reading various news pages when all of a sudden I wasn't able to go to a new page. I tried running a speed check and that didn't work so I turned off the ATA and also my wireless modem. After several attempts of turning them on & off I went to bed with the hope that it would be OK in the morning. It wasn't so I called Verizon. I was on the cell phone talking to a tech for almost an hour when he decided to get someone with more experience.
While he has gone I tried playing around with different passwords that I had used it the past and finally got one to work before the tech came back. I find it hard to believe that the password changed on its own and I am sure I didn't change it.
Just wondering if anybody has experienced this happening to their modem where the password changed on its own ??
I have the ATA in front of my wireless modem.
Is it possible to have the VOIP go out but still have the DSL working? I assumed that my problem was with the DSL so I called Verizon first but would a ATA failure prevent me getting the Internet ??

Verizon DLS in NJ?

Do you have an Actiontec DSL modem or a Westell 327W?
Either way, any "orange, amber or red" lights on these modems indicate a variery of failures, the most common being a Radius Authentication failure which prevents Verizon from validating your credentials. While this has nothing to do with voip or voipo, it will prevent both the Internet and any voip provider from working.

By the way: This is my 500th post here! Break out the cake!

[roehrle]

I have the Westell 327w. The light was red over the Internet
label.
"prevents Verizon from validating your credentials" ?

Any ideas on what caused the password to change??
First time in 2 years for that to happen....i think

[wagnerb]

Could be a modem hardware/firmware issue. Did you ask Verizon for a new one? Is your DSL a dry loop? I don't know if you got socked with the snow up there, but does your connectivity drop with certain weather conditions? Have you considered going hard wired as opposed to wireless. The former is less secuirty issues and IMO, better trade-off performance wise.

[NY Tel Guy]

I have the Westell 327w. The light was red over the Internet
label.
"prevents Verizon from validating your credentials" ?

Any ideas on what caused the password to change??
First time in 2 years for that to happen....i think

Every time your DSL connection signs on to the Internet, the DSLAM (cabinet your Westell connects to in the central office) sends a request to a totally separate server to validate that you are who you are supposed to be in the form of a username and password. Sometimes when this radius server fails, you cannot be validated as an authorized user of DSL through no fault of anything you did (or didn't do).
The offshoot is this: no authentication, no Internet, no Internet = no voip.

I'll bet you never had to enter the password in that 2 year period, right?
The authentication failure caused the red light to stay lit meaning that you had no "authorized connectivity" to the Internet even though you had a physical connection through your Westell.
Why did the password change? Dunno.... one of the Telephony mysteries of faith I guess....

Just know that without the green lights, you will lose access to the net and your voip connection if it ever happens again.
When these Radius servers fail, it usually covers a large area of customers who all have the same issue.

Dry loop and regular DSL works the same way in case anyone else was wondering. The only real weather issues that affect DSL is/are lightning storms which tend to cause random disconnects when lightning storms move through an area.

[roehrle]

I'll answer several question from previous posts.
I have a Verizon dry loop DSL for 2 years. I was on Voicewing before coming to VOIPo
I have the Linksys PA2Pt ATA from POIPo
I think I lost the modem password once before when I changed my password to Verizon Central. The VZ tech told me that caused my DSL to go down ?? This sounds strange but may be true ?
When I enter the Verizon Westell 327w from my computer I see that I can change my username and also my password. Before I can do that there is a box that appears that looks like a MSXP format asking for a password. Is this the same password the 327w is using?
If I was more knowledgeable about the modem I could have gotten back on-line without the help of the Verizon Tech. That's why I'm trying to clear up some of the many questions I still have and I appreciate you guys trying to help me get on-board.

[wagnerb]

I'll defer on the 327 then as it is beyond my knowledge, skill and ability. Maybe some Wi-Fi types on DSL Reports can help out on the Verizon forum?

[NY Tel Guy]

I'll answer several question from previous posts.
I have a Verizon dry loop DSL for 2 years. I was on Voicewing before coming to VOIPo
I have the Linksys PA2Pt ATA from POIPo
I think I lost the modem password once before when I changed my password to Verizon Central. The VZ tech told me that caused my DSL to go down ?? This sounds strange but may be true ?
When I enter the Verizon Westell 327w from my computer I see that I can change my username and also my password. Before I can do that there is a box that appears that looks like a MSXP format asking for a password. Is this the same password the 327w is using?
If I was more knowledgeable about the modem I could have gotten back on-line without the help of the Verizon Tech. That's why I'm trying to clear up some of the many questions I still have and I appreciate you guys trying to help me get on-board.

If you change your password on Verizon Central, it effectively changes your login for all account functions for your DSL. Your Westell has no Idea that you did this and you must also change the password in your modem setup page as well.

This is a common occurrence and a lot of people have done this.

So remember, if you change your password on the Verizon Central page - you will lock yourself out of using your account and your DSL modem will NOT be able to authenticate with the Radius Authentication Server. This applies to DSL accounts only and not FiOS.

Does that help?

[roehrle]

NY Tel Guy
Yes..so I'm not crazy. I thought that was what happened but it didn't seem logical. You would think VZ would give you a big warning when you change your password on VZ Central that it was going to cut off your modem. Probably would save VZ a lot of phone calls letting people know. I'm assuming that if you just change the password on the modem then you can't get on VZ Central unless you change that password also.

[NY Tel Guy]

NY Tel Guy
Yes..so I'm not crazy. I thought that was what happened but it didn't seem logical. You would think VZ would give you a big warning when you change your password on VZ Central that it was going to cut off your modem. Probably would save VZ a lot of phone calls letting people know. I'm assuming that if you just change the password on the modem then you can't get on VZ Central unless you change that password also.

Nope you are not crazy, in fact going forward with FiOS, Verizon dropped the requirement for a username and password for those accounts. This probably greatly reduces the number of "nuisance calls" to the help desks.

Changing the password on the modem "first" will just lock you out of the Internet and then you'll not be able to get to Verizon Central to change it there. You will also not be able to call them if you have Voip.
Think of it - changing your password out of sequence could cause the collapse of civilization as we know it....oh wait! Wall Street has already started that process.
So it has to be: Change password on Verizon Central (write it down!), then change it in the modems setup page.

Here is a step-by-step just in case........



If you have a Westell VersaLink 327W modem and have recently changed your Verizon Online password, you need to follow these instructions.

1. Open a Web browser and type 192.168.1.1 in the address bar and hit ENTER on your keyboard. The Enter Network Password screen should appear.
2. In the User Name field, type your Verizon Online user name.
3. In the Password field, enter your previous Verizon Online password, and then click OK. The Westell Advanced Home screen appears.
   Note: If the Westell Advanced Home screen does not appear, try again using the Westell VersaLink 327W default user name and password settings:
   
   1. Default user name: admin
   2. Default password: password
   
   
4. In the Connection Overview area, click edit. The Edit VOL Connection screen appears.
5. In the Account Password field, type your new Verizon Online password.
6. Click Save.
7. A confirmation box appears to make sure you really want to save your new password. Click OK.

[usa2k]

By the way: This is my 500th post here! Break out the cake!

Happy 500th yea of moderate posting habits!