Phone line troubleshooting

If you have no dial tone when picking up your telephone, please follow the steps below to resolve the problem.

1. Check your setup

Check your cables and make sure everything is connected properly. Your phone cable should be either plugged directly into your master socket or the phone port on your microfilter.

The diagram below can help.

2. Check no phones are off the hook

Make sure none of your phones are off the hook. If you use a cordless phone, press the end call button.

3. Try using a different phone

Try using a different phone that you know works, preferably one that isn’t cordless. If the other phone works on your line, you know there’s a problem with your original handset.

4. Check for faulty devices

If you’ve recently added or changed any devices (like other phones, a router or a TV set-top box), unplug everything.

Now test the phone again. If it works, try adding each device back in, one at a time.

Test your phone each time you add something back in. This will tell you which device (if any) is causing the problem.

If you find something is faulty, you may need to replace it.

5. Try the test socket

Your test socket is located inside your master socket and is the point where the internal wiring in your house connects to the phone line outside.

By plugging into your test socket, you bypass all the internal wiring in your home. This makes it the ideal point to test your internal wiring for faults.

If your master socket has a removable faceplate then it contains a test socket. You can tell if the faceplate is removable if it has a split in the middle with a screw in each side.

If an engineer finds a fault with your internal wiring/equipment, a call-out charge is applied. Anything on the Openreach network will be repaired free of charge. You can find more information on chargeable engineer visits here.

Noise on your phone line can be caused by both internal and external factors.

Please follow the steps below to resolve the problem.

1. Check your setup

Check your cables and make sure everything is connected properly. Your phone cable should be either plugged directly into your master socket or the phone port on your microfilter.

The diagram below can help.

2. Check no phones are off the hook

Make sure none of your phones are off the hook. If you use a cordless phone, press the end call button.

3. Try using a different phone

Try using a different phone that you know works, preferably one that isn’t cordless. If the other phone works on your line, you know there’s a problem with your original handset.

4. Check for faulty devices

If you’ve recently added or changed any devices (like other phones, a router or a TV set-top box), unplug everything.

Now test the phone again. If it works, try adding each device back in, one at a time.

Test your phone each time you add something back in. This will tell you which device (if any) is causing the problem.

If you find something is faulty, you may need to replace it.

5. Try the test socket

Your test socket is located inside your master socket and is the point where the internal wiring in your house connects to the phone line outside.

By plugging into your test socket, you bypass all the internal wiring in your home. This makes it the ideal point to test your internal wiring for faults.

If your master socket has a removable faceplate then it contains a test socket. You can tell if the faceplate is removable if it has a split in the middle with a screw in each side.

If an engineer finds a fault with your internal wiring/equipment, a call-out charge is applied. Anything on the Openreach network will be repaired free of charge. You can find more information on chargeable engineer visits here.

First of all, check to see if you have a dial tone. If not, please refer to our no dial tone guide above.

If do have a dial tone but can’t make outbound calls, try calling alternative destinations to ensure the fault is not with the area you are calling or with the recipient’s service.

If you’re still unable to make outbound calls to other destinations, please complete the below test sheet and send it back to us, along with your details, using the address at the bottom of the form.

One of our first line incident management specialists will review the form and get in touch with you to explain the next steps required to resolve this issue.

For us to verify where the fault is and report it to our network engineers, please complete all sections:

Affected telephone number (if you’re unsure of the line number, please see below):

What happens when you dial out do you get a message or tone or another symptom:

Try calling out prefixing the number you’re trying to call with the following codes.

To do this, lift your receiver and get a dial tone (you may have to dial 9 for an outside line), then dial each of the prefixes below followed by a full destination telephone number and note the result for each (including details of recorded message received).

1280

121

1211280

141

1280

Finally, we need three example failed calls made in the last 24 hours and the times they were made. Please make a call to three different destinations (without any prefix) and provide the number and the time called below:

Please confirm your account number and contact details below:

Contact name:

Account number:

Contact phone:

Contact email:

Contact mobile:

Please return the details to: [email protected]

If you need to report a line fault to us, we may ask you to confirm the line number. To find it, dial the automated service 17070 from your handset.

If you’re still experiencing an issue with your single or multi line, you can conduct a line test through our MyAccount portal. This may help to determine whether the issue is internal, i.e. within your equipment, or within the Openreach network.

You can then log a fault ticket with our UK-based incident management team, who work 24/7 to ensure your services are back up and running as quickly as possible.

Please note, line tests are used as a guide only and may not be 100% accurate. A line test will not give a result for an ISDN line.