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Replacing a Phone Jack

Posted on 8/8/18 at 5:45 pm
Posted by White Roach
Member since Apr 2009
9458 posts
Posted on 8/8/18 at 5:45 pm
My elderly aunt was having trouble with her cordless phones. She was getting a ‘line in use’ message when they were hung up. I’m no phone technician, but I figured I’d try to help her unscrew the problem. I eventually moved the base unit to a different jack and it resolved the ‘line in use’ issue. However, when I plugged a hardwire phone into the suspect jack, I got no dial tone. I figured I’d try replacing the jack before she had to get the phone company out here.

The old jack had four terminals and only two wires were connected to it - green to green and orange to red. The yellow and black terminals were unused. The new jack has eight terminals. I tried green to green and orange to red (as the old jack was wired) ... no joy. Tried green to green and orange to orange ... no joy. Tried green to green and red to red ... still no love.

Any suggestions besides “Call the phone company, you sorry excuse for a man”?
Posted by Tyga Woods
South Central Jupiter Island, FL
Member since Sep 2016
30342 posts
Posted on 8/8/18 at 5:57 pm to
Maybe there is a problem with the line itself going to that jack
Posted by jbgleason
Bailed out of BTR to God's Country
Member since Mar 2012
18927 posts
Posted on 8/8/18 at 6:07 pm to
It is 2018. Go buy your Auntie a modern cordless phone that has a base station. Plug that into the wall jack that works and then put the satellite stations (that don't require wall jacks) where ever are most convenient for her. This isn't rocket surgery Einstein.

OR... you can crawl under a house and have god knows what happen to you trying to maybe (but likely not) fix a line problem.
Posted by YatInTheHat
Member since Apr 2017
867 posts
Posted on 8/8/18 at 6:08 pm to
Cell phone?
Posted by FCP
Delta State Univ. - Fightin' Okra
Member since Sep 2010
4799 posts
Posted on 8/8/18 at 6:27 pm to
The blue/white pair is the conventional first line in an ethernet jack. Orange/white is the conventional second line. In a green/red pair, white connects to green (tip) and blue connects to red (ring).

Line in use is usually a short somewhere in the circuit. You could track it down jack-by-jack, assuming it’s wired in a daisy chain. Start where the service functions and go from there.

Or, as posted above, just get a decent cordless setup and avoid the hassle.
Posted by nola000
Lacombe, LA
Member since Dec 2014
13139 posts
Posted on 8/8/18 at 6:48 pm to
Go outside by the meter pan.

This should be a little plastic tell tale tag hanging from the bottom. Go ahead and rip that bitch off.

Now open the cover to the meter pan.

Firmly grasp the meter on both sides and yank it straight out. If that doesn't work pull it down and out.

Now there should be 2 ~2/0 aluminum or copper braided insulated wires on the right and the left and 1 bare wire in the middle.

Place one hand on the bare wire in the middle and place your other hand on the exposed conductors on either wire on the right or left.

It helps if your hands are wet when you do this.

That should take care of your problems.
This post was edited on 8/8/18 at 6:49 pm
Posted by soccerfüt
Location: A Series of Tubes
Member since May 2013
65856 posts
Posted on 8/8/18 at 6:50 pm to
Just get her a Medic Alert.

And stop calling me Jack.
Posted by bakersman
Shreveport
Member since Apr 2011
5718 posts
Posted on 8/8/18 at 7:39 pm to
Run a new line if you’re having that much of a problem
Posted by Bullfrog
Institutionalized but Unevaluated
Member since Jul 2010
56386 posts
Posted on 8/8/18 at 7:42 pm to
Is she’s elderly, she’s probably paying AT&T for inside wiring service.

Check her bill. If it’s on there, call America’s Thugs & Thieves and let them handle it.
Posted by Kentucker
Cincinnati, KY
Member since Apr 2013
19351 posts
Posted on 8/8/18 at 9:11 pm to
Don't go under the house. There be monsters.

Posted by golfntiger32
Ohio
Member since Oct 2013
12486 posts
Posted on 8/8/18 at 9:14 pm to
Posted by PowerTool
The dark side of the road
Member since Dec 2009
21208 posts
Posted on 8/8/18 at 9:17 pm to
Call the phone company. They'll run a new line if it's important to you, but they're not going to repair decades old wire and neither should you.
Posted by Pectus
Internet
Member since Apr 2010
67302 posts
Posted on 8/8/18 at 9:56 pm to
You have to try all the combinations.

And do it reverse just in case. I was able to get a busy signal, but it was backwards.
Posted by Ingloriousbastard
Member since May 2015
917 posts
Posted on 8/8/18 at 11:27 pm to
I’d get her to ditch the landline and do something like this if she has to have a home phone.

LINK
This post was edited on 8/8/18 at 11:33 pm
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