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Hi,

I have been trying to resolve a telphone problem for a relative but without success and I wonder whether anyone can throw any light on what the cause of the problem might be.

My relative has a domestic phone and broadband contract with TalkTalk.

The internet works fine but the phone has recently stopped ringing and there is no dialing tone at home - this is the case with or without the filter. Prior to this sudden, unexplained issue with the phone, everything had been working fine for several years with no phone or internet problems at all.

TalkTalk insist that there is no problem with the line.

Things I have tried so far without success:

(1) I have removed the front plate of the NTE5 Master Socket and tried the phone and the filter in the internal 'test socket' (together and separately) but the situation is the same - i.e. the internet is fine but the phone does not ring and there is no dialing tone.

(2) I have checked the wiring connections in the NTE5 Master Socket (A and B) and they were fine - both the blue and the orange 'live' wires were connected securely (the unused green and purple(?) wires are unconnected and don't seem to be an issue).

(3) I have checked both the phone and the filter on another line elsewhere and both of them work fine elsewhere, just not at the address in question.

(4) I have tried the phone with 2 other filters at the address in question but still the problem is the same.

(5) I have tried 2 other 'good' phones at this address but still the same problem, internet fine but phone(s) don't work

(6) I have tried calling the house from my mobile whilst standing next to their phone; my mobile produces a ringing tone but I get no sound out of their phone and get 'nothing' when I pick it up to answer my own call

(7) I have also temporarily replaced the existing NTE5 Master Socket with one of my own and re-attached the wiring just as it was before but still the situation is the same - i.e. the internet works fine but the phone does not ring and there is no dialing tone.

(8) I have also checked the connections inside the small, rectangular green junction box just inside the front door where the external drop wire meets the internal drop wire before leading off to the Master Socket about 5 metres away. All that wiring seems to be fine too.

I am puzzled as to how the internet can be fine but the perfectly good phone and filter (as tested elsewhere) have suddenly stopped working.

Surely both the phone and the internet rely on the same two orange and blue live wires that come in from outside?

Any ideas on the possible cause of the problem and a DIY solution? (Naturally, we want to avoid any extortionate call-out charge from the phone/internet company).

Thanks

David Corkindale

I'm no expert, but had the same issue approx 8 years ago. Did the same checks as you and in the end got openreach out via BT (openreach do all the maintenance for all the telecoms companies) There would have been a fee of IIRC £ 75 if it was an internal fault, the openreach "engineer" found that the fault was corrosion on the "pair" at the top of the telegraph pole, cleaned up the contacts and all has been fine since.

I would say you have made all the checks you can make without getting a man in...

Thanks to wine~o for your reply.

try another known working phone in that socket and your phone in someone elses known working socket
this will rule out the phone as the problem
also checking its not a handset connected to a base station

thanks big-all - I was just editing my original post as your own reply came through - I have done that previously and satisfied myself as best I can that their phone is not the problem.

Its quite a common problem. Broadband is at such a high frequency it can negate problems. (Obviously since the BB is still working)
As you BB supplier is Talk talk you can not call open reach direct without being charged.

All I can suggest is you call TT back and tell them there is no dial tone, and that is why you are calling from a mobile.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

It goes back to the fact that O.R. often get called out to find "something silly" like the BB is un plugged or the Router is off, or the phone is switched off or........... so they started to charge who ever called them out, this is understandable, but TT are worried they will get a bill for something that did not need an O.R. engineer to fix.

I wish you luck, I am with BT

This is a problem I had with TalkTalk on my late sister's line. They continually denied there was a problem until I escalated it by email to their CEO, giving full details of the fault and what I had done to test. It turned out that there was an underground fault in the area and several people were having similar problems, but no service provider was ready to call in Openreach.

It turned out to be that a digger had grazed the cable during new house building and the driver had covered it up without reporting it.

The repair still took 4 months to sort, during which TalkTalk paid for credit on a mobile phone.

Best of luck with a flawed system.

Colin

the basic incoming connection is 2 wires what is AC voltage, the broadband is at a higher frequency that doesn't require the voltage so it can technically work on one wire

I know you have said what you have done but. follow this....

1. Remove the plate on the front of the NT5 disconnect any extension wiring
2. unscrew the faceplate, unscrew the incoming pair, cut back and strip

3. If you have changed the NTE5 make sure that you have terminated the right colours as if there has been a repair in the past the colours may not be the same as a standard install - eg. A fault on a pair they swap the faulty wire/pair out rather than replace the cable

4. only use a wired phone for testing, not cordless

5. Do not use a filter for testing purposes, if its up to date NTE5 there is no need for filters anyway

6. if you changed the NTE5 you may have a faulty unit

We have to hope Tim'll fix it looks in.

I think that's his screen name?

He is an open-reach engineer I think

Bob225 wrote:the basic incoming connection is 2 wires what is AC voltage,

Think you will find its not a.c. The phone line is 50v D.C.

But either way, there is noting the OP can do about it personally, its a cable / exchange problem.

You need talk talk to escalate it to BT Openreach. Exactly the same problem here for 3-4 days now. If Openreach find the problem in the house then, I am told, the charge is £130+VAT which is put to the provider who then puts it onto the customer. Only if talk talk is prepared to fight the customer's corner...

Sorry to point out the obvious, but the question was posted almost a month ago, and the OP has never posted since.

Feel free to point it out