• Getting set up
• About your equipment
• Technical questions
• Features of the service
• Questions about security
• Connecting to the Internet – Mac users

Getting set up

Q. What specification does my PC or Apple Mac need to conform to the ADSL service?
A. You will need 40Mbytes or more on your hard disk (100Mbytes for Mac OS X) and you will need a CD-ROM drive, to install the software drivers for the ADSL modem. Your computer must have a USB socket or a mains powered USB hub.

PC: For a PC you will need a Pentium II 233 or above, with at least 64MB (Memory). If you need to confirm that your computer meets these specifications, check with your supplier. You must also be running Windows 98 or above. Windows NT and Windows 95 are not supported.

Mac: You will need Mac OS 8.6 or above. For Mac 8.6, you will need a PowerPC G3 300MHz (CPU) with 64MB (Memory).

For Mac 9.x (9.0 and above), you will need a PowerPC G4 300MHz (CPU) with 64MB (Memory). To identify your operating system, select Apple/About this computer.

Q. Does it matter if I install my ADSL modem, and plug microfilters in, before my ADSL service is activated?
A. No, you can plug in microfilters, and even install your ADSL modem/router onto your computer, before the ADSL service is activated and you will not notice any change to your standard telephony. You will not be able to use ADSL until your line has been activated.

Q. Does it matter if my ADSL service is activated before I have plugged microfilters into my telephone sockets?
A. Yes, the microfilters split the standard analogue (voice) and ADSL signals, which share the same line. Without microfilters plugged in you may experience noise on the line when you make or receive a telephone call. If you try to access ADSL without microfilters plugged in, you may experience connection problems, including low speeds and disconnections.

Q. Can I use a longer line cord for my ADSL modem/router?
A. This is not advised as a longer modem/router line cord can lead to reduced quality. If you do not have a telephone socket near enough to your computer, you should instead use a telephone extension lead.

Q. I cannot get the CD to work, what should I do?
A. Contact the ADSL Helpdesk on 0870 60 70 585* about your connection.

Q. Why does the speed of my connection vary?
A. ADSL provides a maximum downstream speed of up to 512K, but the speed of download you get will vary according to the volume of traffic being carried at the time you are logged on.

Q. How do I uninstall ADSL?
A. For details on how to uninstall your ADSL modem/router, refer to the instructions on the CD-ROM.

To have ADSL removed, you must contact the ADSL Helpdesk on 0870 60 70 585* and request that your ADSL service be ceased. We require eight days notice for this to become effective and rental will be charged until the end of this cessation period. The same period of notice is required if moving house/premises.

About your equipment

Q. Can I plug any telephony product into the analogue line that has ADSL enabled on it?
A. Nearly all analogue equipment will work as normal on the analogue element of a line enabled for ADSL. There are some exceptions, where incompatibility exists, but this is generally with older telephony products. Surefish accepts no liability for this incompatibility as the ADSL service is developed to conform to the relevant standards.

Q. I want to connect more than one computer to my ADSL line, and share the Internet connection. How can I do this?
A. It is possible to connect multiple computers to an ADSL line, and to share the bandwidth, but you will need to ensure that your set-up is configured correctly. Essentially, to do this, you need to network your computers and there are two methods for doing this.

The first method is to purchase a home or office broadband router. Your computers then connect to the router via network cards (ethernet cards), and the router shares the connection to all the computers.

The second method is to configure your computers to share the connection. You will need to do this if you are using an ADSL modem as modems do not have the connection sharing capability that routers do. This includes the ADSL USB modem. In this instance, the computer you connect your ADSL modem to becomes the ‘server’ and shares the Internet connection to the other computers on your home network. These computers will usually connect to your ‘server’ via network cards (ethernet).

Q. What are microfilters, why do I need them and where can I get them?
A. Microfilters are small adaptors you need to plug into each of your ADSL-enabled phone sockets. They ensure clean separation of data signals from voice signals – without them your voice calls could suffer interference when data is being transmitted, and your ADSL connection may not work, or may not perform properly.

Q. Can I access ADSL using any modem/router?
A. ADSL requires the use of an ADSL modem or router. This is not the same as other equipment, such as analogue modems and ISDN Terminal Adapters/PC cards.

Q. Why are my telephone calls noisy?
A. Check that you have a microfilter plugged into each socket on the ADSL enabled line. All equipment must be filtered – telephones, fax machines, your ADSL modem/router, digital TV boxes etc.

Technical questions

Q. Do Voice over IP (VoIP) services work over ADSL?
A. ADSL is compatible with VoIP services, provided you are running a suitable application on your computer.

Q. What does contention ratio mean?
A. Contended means that the bandwidth between the local telephone exchange and the access point onto the Internet is shared.

Features of the service

Q. Can I use the standard (voice) telephony at the same time?
A. Yes, you can use the Internet at the same time as the telephone. You will continue to be billed in the normal way (rental and call charges) for your standard (analogue) telephone service.

Questions about security

Q. Why do I need to buy a separate security product? (firewall/anti-virus software)
A. ADSL does not provide ‘built-in’ security products and you are strongly advised to purchase these separately. Surefish accepts no liability for any damage, loss, or inconvenience suffered as a result of computer virus or unauthorised access. Please install your security products before accessing the internet.

Q. Why don’t I need to input a password to access ADSL?
A. ADSL is an access-only product. Users are authenticated by the line they are accessing from, i.e. only lines with ADSL activated on them can gain access to the service. Connecting to the Internet – PC users

Q. How can I check the status of my connection?
A. If you are experiencing connection problems, refer to ADSL Help by double clicking on the desktop icon.

Q. How do I reconnect to ADSL after shutdown?
A. To reconnect to ADSL, double-click on your browser icon. This will open the Dialler box. Check that your username details are correct and click ‘Connect’. Alternatively, double click on the ADSL status icon in the system tray (bottom right of your screen) or the ADSL modem/router icon on your desktop and click ‘Connect’ when prompted.

Q. How do I end an Internet session and disconnect from ADSL?
A. You end an Internet session by simply exiting your browser. If you do wish to disconnect from ADSL, double click on the Dial-Up Networking icon in the system tray (bottom right hand corner of your screen) and click ‘Disconnect’ when prompted.

Q. Why does my connection drop out after a period of time?
A. Check that you do not have the ‘Disconnect if idle’ function enabled in your Internet browser. Make sure the ‘Disconnect if idle’ box is not ticked. Click OK. If this does not resolve the issue, please call 0870 60 70 585* for assistance.

Q. Why can’t I access the Internet?
A. Confirm that your ADSL service has been activated on the line and that you have a microfilter connected to every socket on this line. If you are still experiencing problems then please call 0870 60 70 585* for assistance.

Connecting to the Internet – Apple Mac users

Q. How can I check the status of my connection?
A. You can quickly check if your connection to ADSL is active by: Mac OS X users: Checking that the Internet Connection icon is flashing in the menu bar at the top of your screen (it will flash when you exchange data).

Mac OS 8.6/9.x users: Checking that the Remote Access icon is flashing in the menu bar at the top of your screen (it will flash when you exchange data).

Q. How do I reconnect to ADSL after shutdown?
A. Mac OS X users: To reconnect to ADSL, double-click on your browser icon. This will open the Internet connect box. Check that your username details are correct and click ‘Connect’. Alternatively, select Macintosh HD>Applications>Internet connect. Check your details then click ‘Connect’.

Mac OS 8.6/9.x users: To reconnect to ADSL, double-click on your browser icon. This will open the Remote Access box. Check that your username details are correct and click ‘Connect’ or ‘Dial’. Alternatively, select the Remote Access icon and click ‘Connect.’

Q. Why can’t I access the Internet?
A. If you are connected, a Remote Access icon appears in the menu bar. If you can’t see this icon, check the Apple Mac Installation Guide to ensure that your internet settings are correct.

It may be that your Apple Mac is looking for an alternative modem; perhaps an internal modem that you have used previously. To rectify this problem:
Mac OS X users: Go to System Preferences > Network and click on the modem tab and select the ‘ADSL USB Modem.’

Mac OS 8.6/9.x users: Go to Apple > Control Panel > Modem and ensure this is set to ‘ADSL USB Modem.’

Q. How do I end an Internet session and disconnect from ADSL?
A. You end an Internet session by simply exiting your browser.

If you wish to disconnect from ADSL: Mac OS X users: Click on the Remote Access icon in the top right corner of the screen then click ‘Disconnect’.

Mac OS 8.6/9.x users: Select the Remote Access icon on the Control Strip then click ‘Disconnect’.

Q. Why does my connection drop out after a period of time?
A. This may be because the ‘Disconnect if idle’ function is activated.

Mac OS X users: Select ‘System Preferences’ in the Control Strip. Choose the ‘Select PPP’ tab and click on ‘PPP options’. Uncheck the box next to ‘Disconnect after 15 minutes of being idle’.

Mac OS 8.6/9.x users: Select Apple > Control Panels > Remote Access and click on ‘Options’.

Select the ‘Connection’ tab and open the ‘Connection’ option. Uncheck the box next to ‘Disconnect if idle for 10 minutes’. If this does not resolve the issue it may be that a line test is required to check the status of the line. Contact us on 0870 60 70 585*

• Help index

* Surefish technical support
The number for surefish technical support is 0870 60 70 585.

Lines are open from 8am – 10pm, seven days a week, apart from Bank Holidays.

Choose option 1 to ask about then progress of an order
Choose option 2 to report a fault
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The costs of the call are between 1.5p and 8p per minute, including VAT, depending on whether the call is made during the day, the evening or over the weekend.

Visit www.bt.com for full 0870 pricing information.