If the DSL light is green and flashing, then the modem isn’t detecting the Blackfoot network.

• Inspect the phone cord that goes directly from the wall jack to the modem. Look for the following:
  • Look at the phone cord and make sure it is free of nicks, cuts or kinks. If you’re not sure, replace it with a new phone cord.
  • Make sure the phone cord is completely plugged into the wall jack and the modem. If you’re not sure, unplug the cord at both ends and plug it back in.
  • Is the phone cord plugged into the correct modem port? It should be plugged into the port labeled DSL.
  • Is the phone cord from the modem plugged into a filter? If so, remove it and plug the phone cord into the wall jack.
  • Is the phone cord plugged into a phone jack splitter? If so, remove it and plug the phone cord into the wall jack.
  • Is the phone cord plugged into a power strip or surge protector with phone jacks? If so, remove it and plug the phone cord into the wall jack.
• If you have both our phone and Internet service, does your phone have dial tone?
  • No dial tone: Not having dial tone can impact your Internet service and indicate other problems. If you have no dial tone please follow these steps. (Hyperlink to No dial tone TS)
  • Dial tone: If you have dial tone but your DSL light isn’t lit up, we need to look elsewhere for the problem.

Additional Troubleshooting

• Try to “power cycle” the modem.
  • Unplug the power cord from the back of the modem.
  • Unplug all devices plugged into any and all phone jacks in the house (e.g., modem, telephones, answering machines, automatic water meter, fax machine, credit card machine and satellite receivers).
  • Reconnect the phone cord going directly from the wall phone jack to the modem jack labeled, DSL or LINE. Be sure there’s no DSL filter, phone jack splitter or power strip/surge protector with a phone jack built-in on this line.
  • Reconnect the power cord to the modem and allow the modem to go through its boot up / restart process.
• If the DSL light is still blinking, there could be a problem with the phone cord or wall jack.
  • Try using a different cord and /or a different jack. (Note: It might seem obvious but things happen so it’s good to check…If a technician has recently been at your home, make sure you’re plugging the modem into the jack the tech recommended.)
  • If you have tried these steps and the DSL light won’t stay solid green, contact Blackfoot’s technical support for help.

To guide you through setting up your new Calix GigaSpire router + Zyxel modem from Blackfoot, view our step-by-step video below. 

To guide you through setting up your new Calix GigaSpire router from Blackfoot, view our step-by-step video below. 

Your phone and Internet use the same line. DSL filters split the signal coming into your home so both your phone and Internet service can share that line. Incorrectly connected and/or damaged DSL filters can cause noise on your line.

• Confirm that your DSL filters are properly connected. Every electronic device that’s plugged into a phone jack – except your DSL modem – needs a filter. If you only have one wall jack and your phone and DSL modem need to plug into it together, use a DSL dual filter.
• This includes: cordless phones, satellite receivers, computers (modem or power strip), caller id boxes, fax machines, answering machines and alarm/security systems.

To test your DSL filter and check if you have a problem:

1. Leave your corded telephone and your modem attached to the phone line.
2. Disconnect all other devices from their phone jacks.
3. One at a time, reattach each device and filter to its phone jack and check the phone for noise again after plugging in each device.
4. If you find that the sound gets bad after reattaching a device, replace that filter.

In 2016, Blackfoot began an extensive multi-year, multi-million dollar project to replace the aging copper portions of our network with fiber optics, ensuring the long-term availability of high speed broadband, voice and other advanced services for decades to come. This project will also guarantee our Cooperative customers have access to just as good of broadband and voice services ⁠— if not better ⁠— as those living in Montana’s larger cities. For more information and to follow our progress, visit our Network Upgrades page.

We do our best to limit the amount of downtime our customers experience, however there are times when we need to update, upgrade or otherwise provide maintenance on customer-impacting systems.

Our typical window of time for these maintenance periods is 11:00 PM MT – 5:00 AM MT, Monday through Friday.

When you have Internet and telephone service provided on the same line, you need to use filters. DSL filters separate the incoming signal, so you can be online and still use your phone, DVR and other devices.

When devices aren’t connected to a filter, or filters are installed incorrectly, you can experience:

• Static or a hissing sound on your telephone line
• Slow Internet speeds
• Intermittent connection to the Internet
• No connection to the Internet

Which devices do I need a DSL filter for? 

Every device that connects to your phone line – except your modem – needs a DSL filter. For example: Telephones, caller ID units, answering machines, satellite TV receivers, cable boxes, DVRs, TiVos, fax machines, security systems and automatic water meters.

How do I install a DSL filter?

You should have received 2 filters from Blackfoot along with your modem – one that is single port and one that is dual port.

Filters are plugged in between your jack and your device. To install one, plug the filter into a wall jack, and then plug a phone cord or other device into the other end.

If you only have one wall jack for the phone and the modem you can use the dual port filter provided to you with your modem. Make sure to plug the filter into the wall jack and the modem and phone into the filter.

Need additional filters? Please contact our Technical Support Team.

What if I have a wall mounted phone?

A wall mounted filter can be used for wall-mounted phones that a wall jack filter can’t fit behind. You can purchase these at any electronics store.

When your laptop (or other device) can’t access your home WiFi network, you have to find out if the problem is your device or your modem.

The first thing you should try is testing the wireless network without the computer/laptop. Try any device that uses WiFi such as a smartphone or tablet. If that other device can access your WiFi, the problem is with your laptop.  If it is an older laptop/device it may not support the latest wireless encryption (WPA2). Blackfoot modem default settings have the wireless security at the highest level, but can be adjusted to allow older devices to connect by changing the encryption to WPA/WPA2 PSK if needed.

Make sure that the laptop’s WiFi is turned on. There’s probably a little hardware switch somewhere. Find it, and switch it. Windows will tell you if you turned it off or on. If you turned it off, try turning it back on.If that doesn’t fix the problem, try to reboot your device.

That didn’t fix it, either? Okay, time to make sure you’re connecting to the correct wireless network and using the correct password. Click the WiFi icon in the notification area on your laptop for a list of available networks. You should see BlackfootXXX. Attempt to connect to the wireless network making sure you have the correct password found on the bottom of your modem.

When typing the password, be careful about letters and numbers that look alike. It’s easy to mistake the number 1 with a lowercase L or an uppercase I. And an uppercase O can be mistaken for the number 0.

A few other things you can try:

• Look at the bars next to the network’s name to make sure you have a strong signal from the modem. If you don’t, try moving to a room near the modem.
• Make sure you have the latest wireless network card drivers loaded  (Windows update or Manufacturers driver support site).
• Use Windows’ diagnostics. Right-click the network icon in notification area and select Troubleshoot problems. Then go through the wizard.
• Turn off your firewall—temporarily, of course—and try again. If it works, figure out what’s wrong with your firewall settings.