Can only access site from phone?

[Admin]

Another member has reported the same issue and is also on Frontier. I am almost certain this problem has to do with Frontier, though it could also affect other providers that they own or those for which Frontier provides services. I have sent a support email to Frontier, but this is far less effective than if a customer calls their tech support department directly with the problem. If all of you could take a few minutes to contact them and explain the issue, that would probably speed along the process of getting the issue fixed. A higher level network technician should be easily able to troubleshoot this issue using the information provided on this thread. Thank you!

 

[Admin]

The repsonse from Frontier is as follows:

Our customers that cannot connect to your site will need to contact us so that we can troubleshoot the connection. We are available 24/7 at 800-584-3384.

Unfortunately, they are not willing to work with me directly. I do really need one or more of you to contact them, please. It is quite possible that this issue affects more than just the 8 people who have contacted me by email or by posting here. It could affect hundreds or thousands and prevent them from visiting any of the numerous websites hosted by the provider that Car-Seat.org uses. Most will probably simply think those websites no longer exist, even though the issue is a connectivity issue that should be easy to resolve

 

[mommyfrog]

I really do need anyone with this problem to provide some essential information:

1) Operating system

2) Interner browser

3) Internet service provider (AT&T, Comcast, etc)

4) Can you access any of the sites linked above, if so which ones

Without all this information, it is difficult to troubleshoot. If you contact your own internet company, they will probably need much of the same information.

1.Windows
2.I've tried both Internet Explorer and Firefox
3.Frontier, used to be Verizon
4.I can only access http://76.79.77.87/

I'll call the 800 number you posted.

 

[mommyfrog]

My problem is fixed after an hour and half on the phone and remote assistance with them. I don't know exactly what finally fixed so unfortuately I don't know if it will fix it for anyone else. He just said to have each person call in so they can address the problem. Maybe after a few people call in, they will be able to figure out the problem at their end. Frustrating.

 

[rodentranger]

I called Frontier and didn't get much help. The tech I spoke to can't figure out why this is happening or how to fix it. I'm not willing to pay a "premium" tech when I can access from work or by logging onto my neighbor's wifi.
The tech I got told me to have Darren contact his ISP, because Frontier doesn't block anything.

 

[Admin]

Larger companies often have layers of tech support. For this, perhaps you need to be escalated to someone who has real access to their network systems. I'd have thought it would fix the problem for everyone. It seems odd that the fix would only work for one person at a time. If anyone else gets their situation fixed, please try to note the person that helped you and any details on what they did to help anyone else with the same issue!

 

[swtgi1982]

Our service is Charter Communications.

 

[Evalormama]

Yes I'm on Frontier as well and am able to access with the numerical address. Will that work in the meantime so that I can access the forums or will it try to default to car-seat.org. I miss lurking and gaining information, not to mention I'm not sure how to explain to family members (who use Frontier as well) that they might be getting blocked from seeing the forums as well and to try their phones if they can't get in.

I'm going to see if my husband can call in tonight and escalate. His name is on the acct. so they won't speak to me about anything. This is so weird. I've never heard of a giant ISP blocking a particular site or forum innocently.

I actually had to make a new username to post the troubles as I can't get to the email me my password page because of the issues

 

[rodentranger]

Yes I'm on Frontier as well and am able to access with the numerical address. Will that work in the meantime so that I can access the forums or will it try to default to car-seat.org. I miss lurking and gaining information, not to mention I'm not sure how to explain to family members (who use Frontier as well) that they might be getting blocked from seeing the forums as well and to try their phones if they can't get in.

I'm going to see if my husband can call in tonight and escalate. His name is on the acct. so they won't speak to me about anything. This is so weird. I've never heard of a giant ISP blocking a particular site or forum innocently.

I actually had to make a new username to post the troubles as I can't get to the email me my password page because of the issues

Frontier says they are not blocking it. They do not block any websites.
I have accessing the site numerically since Darren posted the address. The only annoying part is that I have to copy & paste the numeric address into the address bar to replace www.car-seat.org when I click on a link. And I can't access the blog.
Your DH needs to call and specify that you are an authorized person on your account. DH is the primary on ours as well, but he made them add me as as an authorized user or whatever so that I can call and deal with stuff as well. If nothing else, I need to be a user so that if something happens to him, I can make changes on the account if I need to. I am an authorized person an all of our utilities and credit cards for this reason. I knew a woman whose husband died and she wasn't able to do anything with any of the utilities or credit cards or mortgage without a lot of legal fees because her name wasn't on anything.

 

[Admin]

Our service is Charter Communications.

It is possible that there is some overlap between Charter and Frontier in your area, or it could be a related problem or something totally separate. Do any of those links above work for you? If so, which ones?

Yes I'm on Frontier as well and am able to access with the numerical address. Will that work in the meantime so that I can access the forums or will it try to default to car-seat.org. I miss lurking and gaining information, not to mention I'm not sure how to explain to family members (who use Frontier as well) that they might be getting blocked from seeing the forums as well and to try their phones if they can't get in.

I'm going to see if my husband can call in tonight and escalate. His name is on the acct. so they won't speak to me about anything. This is so weird. I've never heard of a giant ISP blocking a particular site or forum innocently.

I actually had to make a new username to post the troubles as I can't get to the email me my password page because of the issues

I can have the system send a password reset email if you would like. Please post or PM me.

You should be able to use the numeric IP link. The only issue is that it will have its own cookies, which would only be a problem if you are switching back and forth and it could result in various errors with posting and login.

As for the blocking, it could be any number of things. It could simply be an unintentional connectivity issue, though that doesn't seem likely. Sometimes providers block known spammer IP addresses. That could happen if another client using the same server as Car-Seat.Org is flagged as a spammer, but in this case the forum IP address is not affected and I know for certain it is not listed in the common spammer databases.

It does seem unusual that a nameserver that is affected which seems unusual. that potentially affects all websites hosted by our provider (www.imountain.com) is affected. It could also be some issue between Frontier and iMountain and perhaps they have a workaround that can be applied case by case. I really don't know how this stuff works to say for sure, but it may not be intentional censorship or blocking.

Frontier says they are not blocking it. They do not block any websites.
I have accessing the site numerically since Darren posted the address. The only annoying part is that I have to copy & paste the numeric address into the address bar to replace www.car-seat.org when I click on a link. And I can't access the blog.

I will see if I can implement a similar workaround for the blog.

 

[SafeDad]

In discussing this more with iMountain, our provider, it became clear that this is most definitely a Frontier issue. In mid September, Frontier complete some transition of internet customers from Verizon. Starting around that time, you can find similar complaints of Frontier customers being filtered from visiting some websites. For example:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r24813961-DSL-Is-Frontier-filtering-me-

http://www.pdxtc.com/wpblog/computers-how-to/cannot-see-website-or-get-e-mail-on-frontier/

 

[MoreLatte]

I do have Frontier. I'm just now getting around to checking email and was able to get on with the link you gave me. I'll definitely call them and see whats up. I had a suspicion that it was an issue with Frontier!

 

[Admin]

Hi all-

It seems that the problem was indeed related to the Frontier/Verizon integration and a problem resulting from how they access nameserver information.

Thanks to a tip in one of those links above, our provider, iMountain.com, was able to implement a work-around that may resolve this issue for most members having this problem. This will only affect websites that iMountain hosts, of course. Other websites are likely to be affected by the same problem and the only resolution is that those providers do the same workaround or that Frontier resolves the issue for all their customers.

Hopefully everything is working now, please report if you still have problems next week.

 

[rodentranger]

Thank you Darren!
I can read the blog now! Happy dance!

 

[MoreLatte]

WooHoo! I am up and running again too! Thank you!

 

[SafeDad]

Glad to help! Sorry it took so long. Until it was clear that it was an issue with a specific service provider, I had no idea what could be causing it. Then when the direct IP address worked, that gave a clue that it was a nameserver issue. Armed with that, I could finally do some Google sleuthing to see if anyone else had the problem. Fortunately, the people in the second link had the same problem and a work around I was able to relay back to the great people at iMountain, our provider. They implemented the fix right away. Now if only Frontier was as responsive, then all their clients could access all the websites that are currently unavailable due to this issue.

Anyway, if you are ever looking for a good provider for a website, I recommend them!

 

[Evalormama]

Yay! Thank you so much for the workaround, I can access it correctly as well (and happy we don't have to go through 8 layers of tech support hell tonight, lol)

 

[SafeDad]

Yay! Thank you so much for the workaround, I can access it correctly as well (and happy we don't have to go through 8 layers of tech support hell tonight, lol)

Just remember that other websites that appear to be broken or to not exist at all may be there, but have the exact same problem. Only Frontier can make a permanent fix for this that resolves the problems for all affected websites and hosting services.

 

[brookity]

I had this same problem when our ISP changed from Verizon to Frontier. I was able to fix the problem by manually changing my DNS server to 4.2.2.1. Frontier would not work with me but I called Microsoft and they were able to walk me through the process.