Hi

 

I find myself coming here more frequently for no nonsense advice when official channels fail.

 

I've recently been finding I miss calls on my landline despite being home. The phone is either ringing once then stopping or not ringing at all. I had a Binatone cordless which was quite a few years old so thought it was a fault in that (battery charge was getting iffy anyway and a lot of the LCD display was packing up so it seemed a logical conclusion.)

 

I've now got a new cordless phone, another Binatone as I like the simplicity and the other one had lasted a fair time. The problem is, I now find the fault is still there. I've contacted BT and they threaten to charge £129 if the fault is within my property.

 

I've tried the obvious - unplugged and re-connected everything, only used the cabling that came with the new phone etc.

 

So has anyone else had this problem? If so what was the cause and how was it fixed?

 

Thanks

Mitch

Borrow a corded handset from a friend?

 

Does your line support Caller ID?  If so does the phone show the missed calls?

 

Unlikely, but have you unplugged all the extra cabling and plugged a phone in (via a microfilter) into the back of the master socket?

We only get the calls missed from 1471 as far as I know. I just tried it from my mobile (not easy, dreadful signal) and first time I get a short ring and call comes up on the display. Second time I get no ring and just call on the display. Wondering now if I'm just unlucky to hae bought a second faulty phone.

 

Am trying swapping the ADSL filter now, then I'll try taking the lower cover of the main phone socket and plugging into the test socket there.

I had this before, the fault is in the telephone exchange. Basically your line is not receiving the ring voltage to activate the ringer, you need to have BT switch you to a new line card in the telephone exchange.

 

If you want someone to look at it, then you'll have to accept that they may charge you if the fault is found to be within your boundary, As long as the fault is beyond the master socket, you'll not be charged for anything.

 

ADSL filters, new phone etc. will make no difference.

 

I've just had a major fault fixed on my line, charge £0. it took 5 engineers with ladders and a cherry picker more than 2 hours to replace 300 meters of overhead cable which had been damaged in the windy weather.

you need to find the nte - the first socket where the wires come into your property. Depending on whick 1 it is you need to remove the 2screws towards the bottom and take the front off. This disconnects the bt line from your home wiring plug a normal phone in there and see what happens then. If using a phone you know is ok the fault persists then its a line or exchamge fault. If it works ok odds on youve got a damp socket or damaged cable. From what you discribe sounds typical of an insulation fault caused by damp. If you go onto bts website it will show you the types of ntes and how to test the line. HTH

Thanks all for the help so far. I don't have a corded phone to hand but moved the same phone to the socket where the line comes into the house - same result short ring first time I called it - no ring the second time.

 

Took the front off the socket and plugged the phone directly into the socket in the bottom right corner and dialled it again. Got a short ring the first time but tried a further twice and these times it rang until I cancelled the calls.

 

I noticed there are several loops of cable inside the socket and one of these - a white and blue one - is unconnected at one end. There is a tail of cable in the connector that's free so it looks like it's broken off. Is this the cause of the fault? Can I just bare the cable and reconnect it or do I have to get it done by BT?

 

Mitch

 

Edit:

Fools rush in etc. - I reconnected it where it looked like it came from and the phone now rings. Also notice an orange and white wire disconnected at the lower block of the internal connections. Doesn't seem to be affecting anything, any ideas what that one is? Should I reconnect it too?

Edited 20 December, 201312 yr by Red Studio

The wires that are attached to the front cover you pulled off are your responsibility so you can do what you want with these as openreach's responsibility ends at the nte. The standard wiring is the blue wire with white rings goes on terminal 2; the white wire with blue rings goes on 5 and the orange wire with white rings goes on 3. The white wire with orange rings goes on 4 but IIRC its spare. Your incomin line is connected to the back of the large front plate still attached to the box which comes off by undoing the 2screws no visible but you shouldn't touch these. You can take the wires off or put them on as you wish as they wont be connected until you put the lower front plate back on but I'd suggest you take a photo or write down what goes where before you do anything so you can put it back as found if you mess things up. I was surprised it rang once then was ok afterwards. I'd get them to test the line without a phone plugged in to the socket and with the lower front panel still off. That way all your stuff is disconnected so if there is a fault it'll be on their stuff. BTW you can call your number from a mobile etc like this to see what you get as the exchange looks to see if your busy, not if theres a phone on the end. It then sends 90v ac to ring your bell what you hear is just ring tone. I forgot to ask when your phone rings once does the ring tone the caller hears carry on or does it stop as if you aswered the phone?

just a thought; do you have a BT Hub Phone connected to your router at all? Sometimes the settings can make the fixed lines ring once yet the hub phone continues to ring even if it's no longer present/ connected to the hub.

I thought all of this "ringer" stuff had gone, ie it was just old school legacy stuff for old school traditional phones that had bells and a REN printed on the bottom of them. Latest standard is only two wires Blue with white and White with blue on terminals 2 and 5 respectively.

 

On the subject of cordless phones, maybe cut to the chase and get something like Panasonic as they do tend to work well as long as your line is okay.

 

I've had Philips but they really are rubbish probably in the same league as BT and Binatone cordless phones, another issue that lots of people do not appreciate is, cheap nasty cordless phones tend to perform badly, ie short range to base unit and the speech quality is amazingly bad. Relations and friends have like you a cheap cordless phone and keep blaming everything else for their phone's lack of quality, and, when you are on the other end and the general "tonal quality" is crap you just lose interest in what the other person is saying. The bonus with Philips and BT branded phones is they seem to be designed to cook their batteries - how useful!

. The bonus with Philips and BT branded phones is they seem to be designed to cook their batteries - how useful!

I replaced the batteries in my three BT (forget the model number) handsets three years ago with rechargeables from,,,,,,,,,,Poundland! Working fine and still hold a good charge

 

I replaced the batteries in my three BT (forget the model number) handsets three years ago with rechargeables from,,,,,,,,,,Poundland! Working fine and still hold a good charge

 

I fed the Philips ones with lots of good rechargeable batteries but same problem, very hot batteries or correctly charged, checked with DMM but seen by phone as being flat, remove/refit then okay! Friend with BT phones, standard advice was to remove batteries immediately - no good when talking to BT about them, they send replacement brand new phones, two months or so later same thing etc etc - gave up bought proper phones life is too short for BT crap phones.

Edited 20 December, 201312 yr by rum4mo

When I take the lower part of the connection box off I see 6 terminals. The blue and white a wire had parted from terminal numbered 1 (at the top when the panel is mounted). The orange and white was lying alongside the lowest terminal (6) but this wire is intact and no broken remnant in that terminal so I've not connected that.

 

Have tried the upstairs extension socket that we never use and the phone is now happy to ring on that as well.

 

Broadband is fine and we don't have a hub phone.

 

I take your point regarding phone quality. This one does pick up interference from things as you walk around the house but it's not too bad.

 

Thanks for all your help everyone. I think between us we've possibly saved me £130 which isn't a bad thing normally but this time of year even better.

 

Mitch

Thanks all for the help so far. I don't have a corded phone to hand but moved the same phone to the socket where the line comes into the house - same result short ring first time I called it - no ring the second time.

 

Took the front off the socket and plugged the phone directly into the socket in the bottom right corner and dialled it again. Got a short ring the first time but tried a further twice and these times it rang until I cancelled the calls.

 

I noticed there are several loops of cable inside the socket and one of these - a white and blue one - is unconnected at one end. There is a tail of cable in the connector that's free so it looks like it's broken off. Is this the cause of the fault? Can I just bare the cable and reconnect it or do I have to get it done by BT?

 

Mitch

 

Edit:

Fools rush in etc. - I reconnected it where it looked like it came from and the phone now rings. Also notice an orange and white wire disconnected at the lower block of the internal connections. Doesn't seem to be affecting anything, any ideas what that one is? Should I reconnect it too?

On the inside of the master socket ( BT one ,which is NTE =network termination point,) there will be two wires connected to the rear of the socket. The front part has a plug whicH mates with the socket on the rear part. On the front part there are connectors numbered from 1 -6. If you have extensions , you need to check the colours on the first extension after the master. The terminals you need to check are 2,3,5 .And the wire colours (Blue with white tracer, white ,with blue tracer ,orange etc). Then check that on the front part of the NTE, you have the same colours connected to the same terminals, AND ALL OTHER SOCKETS . Also, ALL other sockets should not have a capacitor ( orange cylinder about 5/8 inch dia and approx 7/8 inch long marked 1.8uF, on the board, MARKED C1). One of the main causes of ringtrip ( what you describe ,ring once/twice ) can be down to this . Another cause I've found can be down to the equipment provided by Least cost routers ( cheap call companies  who rout your calls over their network). As said- remove the front of the NTE ,plug a phone and ring your number. Fault goes away -it's in your house wiring. If it's still there - it's a BT fault. NEVER believe the fault operator that there is no line fault. Always first contact them from a phone connected to the socket on the inside of the NTE.

 

Looking at your post - I'd expect a white with blue tracer to be connected to either terminal 2 or 5 . Norminally in extension wiring White with blue tracer /blue with white tracer are the speech pair ,and one carries the ring return . Depending on the preference of the fitter.

Edited 20 December, 201312 yr by VWD