an elderly relative spoke to me today saying a 'local computer man' has said she needs new microfilters to solve her intermittant/unreliable internet and phone connection

why her ISP can't supply her i'm not sure

i don't know any more than this really. i have no experience of the problems she is having or frequecny for example

i am wondering if buying even a 2nd hand set of ebay could be a cheap solution..

sorry i don't really know where i'm going with this..

do microfilters become less effective over time? are some more powerful than others?

thanks for any help
James

There are no such things as "micro filters" in computers. You, she, and we need more information.

microfilters to solve her intermittant/unreliable internet and phone connection

If her internet service is "high-speed phone line" (ADSL), I believe you mean line or noise filters. However, these are used only on the telephones, not the internet connection. The high-speed line from the wall goes directly to the ADSL modem, with no filter.

these:

Yeah, that's a noise filter, and as Dan suggests, the ADSL side is just a pass-through. It is not normal for them to go bad, however, unless abused.

Thanks. i'll have to ask her for ore informatio and see if she has contacted her ISP

If the above filter Dan suggested is indeed what the computer guy is refering to then the key issue here is to ensure every device in her home using the telephone line is plugged through one of these filters.

For example you would need a filter on devices such as her Sky TV box if its connected to the line, every telephone in the house, fax machine if she has one etc

If there is a device using the telephone line in the house and it does not have a filter fitted this could most certainly cause unwanted interference and degrade the quality of her internet connection.