Now that calm has come back to my kingdom ;) as computer and internet are both working again, I can sit back and think about the course of events.

One thing is clear if you don't understand much about computers and your installation isn't exactly like the one described in the manual given by your provider, you're screwed... Big time!!

And please don't rely on the help of the hotline to help you further! Sure if your mistake is blatant they will be able to spot it, but if not, you'll end up more time than necessary with a tech at your place who will just switch the right cable in the appropriate outlet and charge you a hefty sum.

That's what almost happened to me. And with a shudder I can't help thinking the horrors my parents would have gone throught if they had been in my shoes.

I live now in this brand new appartment complex and for some reason, Telecom has decided that our old telephone plugs weren't sexy enough. Sure they were ugly enough, but that's what everyone had!!!

Their days are now over. Beware everyone the basic RJ45 plugs come our way in France. This is all nice and good as long as you don't have internet and need to plug your modem into it.
Most people on the hotlines had no clue that people could have that problem. After a fruitless discussion with a friendly who didn't understand why the old plug couldn't be used in the new socket :roll:, I let her arrange a meeting with a tech for this Monday afternoon.

My first idea had been of course to get an adaptator. I mean isn't this the main reason for those new sockets? Now they can charge you good money so that you can again use your phone. When you think of it, it's brilliant! :lol:
So I went to Telecom, bought one and went home happy and certain that everything would work again. Man was I wrong :roll:

Once everything was plugged in as I thought it should, it was still not working and I stayed there shell-shocked in front of my modem. I can't even describe the feeling of utter astonishment that came over me. I checked every single cable a second time and came to the conclusion that everything was right...

I bent my head in defeat and accepted the idea that I really needed a tech to sort the problem out. Walking to the fridge to get my lunch, my eyes fell on my phone connected to the second second socket. Suddenly I remembered the woman from the hotline wondering about the phone not using the same plug... I left my spring rolls on the kitchen table and tried something else. Using its old wire I plugged it also in the adaptor and reset the modem.
At first everything looked the same. The little light telling me if the line was active or not was still blinking and disgusted I went to the kitchen to retrieve my food. As I was munching away, my eyes fell on the offending modem I hadn't had the heart to switch off again.

It's only at that moment that I realized that the blinking wasn't as it used to be. I ran to the manual and discovered it meant good news. The modem was getting the signal but internet wasn't working... at least yet.

I called teh hotline again and like a complete newbie who had no clue about internet :oops: I had another nice lady from the hotline explain what I needed to do. My head still hangs in shame about that one :lol:
I just needed to switch the computer on and simply feed it with my identification keys. Needless to say that this was definitely the easiest part. I cancelled the tech visit and could finally enjoy (a little too much) internet this weekend.

The morale of the story: if you're among the first ones to have something different, don't expect much help. Most people really have no clue what your problem is because they haven't been taught.
And now if I want to use my phone on another socket I have to go back to Telecom and buy a second adaptator :roll:
Aren't we all happy cash cows? :lol: