FAQ - Dialup, General

I have a 56K modem. Why isn't my download speed even close to 56K?

There could be several reasons - and most of them aren't your ISP's fault. First of all, static electricity caused by radio signals, power lines, and other sources interfere with most 56K modem signals, forcing them to fall back to 42-50Kbps. 56K modems also require a clean, straight through telephone connection to the telephone company's central office switching center. Phone company line amplifiers that boost a telephone signal over a long distance, PBX switchboard systems, and other phone equipment alter the phone signal and force 56K modems to fall back to speeds of 33.6Kbps and lower. Finally, the FCC doesn't allow 56K modems to use the full range of signals that phone company equipment can generate. Because of this, it is impossible for a 56K modem to actually connect at 56K. Most 56K modem users with optimal conditions connect at speeds of 44-48Kbps, but any of the negative conditions above will cut down on the maximum speed that can be achieved.

I normally get a very good connection speed but downloads from some sites are quite slow?

There are a number of factors that can affect this: - The actual speed of the server site you are downloading from. - The actual location of the site. - The amount of traffic currently on the net. - The amount of people downloading from the same server as you. - If you notice this is happening all the time and on any site, it is possibly spy ware related. Please see the "Downloads" page to obtain a program that will help.

Why am I asked to provide my username and password every time I try to connect?

Make sure your caps lock is off, make sure your username is typed in correctly. Sometimes it is best to just remove the username and password and re-type them in again. DO NOT use the @netwurx.net in your username. If you have limited service, it is possible you have run out of time. Call our support center for help with that at 1-800-638-9879. In the future you will be able to check your current remaining time by logging into the customer care center located on our webpage.

Why can't I check my email or surf the internet when I am connected, even if everything else looks fine?

If nothing has changed and you believe your password is correct and your cap lock is not on, NetwurX/GDI may be having an outage in one area or another. You should be able to check for outages by clicking on the news section of our web page. If there is a system wide outage we also leave messages on our phone system. Feel free to calll even if we are closed. We realize that if you can't log on, you can't get to the web page. It is an imperfect system but it is just one more tool in the arsenal of providing you with better service and more information. You may want to try a different dial in number. Check out our setup page for a list of numbers we offer. Please remember to check out any long distance charges with your phone company prior to using them. Most of the time customers with trouble like this have DNS issues or firewal problems causing them not to surf. We can help you determine where the problem is over the phone.