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Loosing connection while connected to the internet can be caused for many different reasons. The following lists common reasons, and link to sections describing how to prevent this from happening again.
You may have more than one idle timeout configured on your computer. You should check all suggested locations below. You can rule out an idle timeout if your disconnect happens while you are surfing web pages. Certain timeouts only monitor the web browser, in which case you will still suffer an idle timeout while using other applications such as online games or chat programs. Some idle timeouts will display a window warning you that they are about to disconnect you. However, you should appreciate that idle timeouts are useful to hang up the phone when you forget to disconnect.
, choose System Preferences.
This section does not apply if you use web based e-mail. E-mail clients, such as Outlook Express, can be configured to hang-up after sending and receiving e-mail. This is useful if you leave your computer unattended to send and receive e-mail. Some e-mail programs can also be configured to switch connections to allow different e-mail accounts to connect to different networks when sending and receiving. Switching connections will also cause disconnects. Combine these two e-mail options with automatically checking email, then periodically your computer will disconnect from the internet.
Following is a list of commonly used e-mail clients and where to find the settings that may cause you to disconnect. Remember, this problem only applies to you if you notice disconnects happen while using your e-mail client.
To avoid problems you should disable call waiting while on the internet. When offline, call waiting will continue to work as normal. Follow the instructions given on support page Disabling dialing rules and controlling the dialing process to disable call waiting while on the internet.
Though preventing someone from picking up the phone can be difficult, you can normally wire the phone through the computer so that picking up the phone is harmless. To do this, simply plug the phone into the second jack on the computer normally labeled phone or marked with a phone symbol. For more information, refer to the documentation provided with your computer on how to plug in your computer or contact the technical support of the people who sold you the computer.
Line noise is the responsibility of the telephone provider and you should demand they clean up the signal. Sometimes line noise is caused by the internal wiring of the house. Since some noise is unavoidable, especially if you live out in the country where the telephone provider must amplify the signal, then you may have to accept the conditions and just make sure you have a good quality modem and perhaps compensate by adjusting the speed or modulation with modem init strings. For more information on modem init strings, see support document How to use modem init strings to make your connection faster and more reliable.
Modems will attempt to connect at the fastest speed possible. Sometimes modems are too aggressive and negotiate unsustainable speeds. If the line conditions falter just a little, then you may loose connection. To prevent your modem from connecting at unreasonably high speeds, you can tweak your settings with modem init strings. For more information on modem init strings, see support document How to use modem init strings to make your connection faster and more reliable.
Software modems are a great way to save money, however there is a price to pay. Software modems have less circuitry which is made possible by offloading functions onto the CPU. If your CPU is under heavy utilization or simply not powerful enough, then a software modem will be very unreliable. New computers today should have enough power, but for people with older computers or who want the best possible connection, use a hardware modem. You can compensate by slowing down the modem with modem init strings, but really this is a very bad solution and you should simply get a better quality modem for your computer.
DialupAtCost will disconnect you if you sit idle for 20 minutes. So long as you create some traffic, for instance by checking your e-mail or chatting, then you will reset the timer and have a fresh 20 minutes before next idle timeout.
DialupAtCost distinguishes between dedicated and unlimited access. Though you are allowed to be online as much as you like, you are not guaranteed a permanent connection and you must accept to disconnect at least once every 12 hours. You are free to reconnect immediately afterwards for another 12 hours.