With affordable rates and sufficient speeds, DSL is a practical broadband Internet service option for many users if their phone lines are within the useful range of a DSL signal. If you've ordered DSL, your service provider often will ship a modem to you, which you usually can install without the aid of a technician. You do need to install filters on every phone connection in your home to ensure your DSL modem will receive a clear signal from the phone line and receive and relay a clear signal from your computer.
Step 1
Your provider probably will send you a sufficient number of DSL filters for the number of phone connections in your home. If you don't have enough, you can find them easily wherever phone connection equipment is sold. Plug a DSL filter into each phone jack where a phone or other device is plugged in. The filter plugs directly into the jack, and has a phone jack on its front into which you will plug your phone or other connected device.
Step 2
Connect the DSL modem to the phone line by plugging one end of the RJ11 phone wire into the back of the modem and the other end into the phone jack. If you already have a phone plugged into the desired jack, use a splitter, which allows you to plug more than one device into a single wall jack. Make sure you plug a phone filter into whichever port you will use for your phone. The modem connection does not receive a filter.
Step 3
Connect the modem to your computer using an Ethernet cable. Plug either end of the cable into the Ethernet port on the back of the modem and the other end into any available Ethernet port on your computer.
Step 4
Plug the modem into an electrical outlet, and turn on your computer. Follow any further instructions that came with the modem or that pop up on your screen, or insert the setup CD if one came with the modem. Some modems arrive preconfigured, requiring no further steps.
