Fault Finding

Not sure if you have a fault or where to turn to? This guide gives practical advice to help resolve any problems you may encounter.

Check the dial tone

If you’re having problems with making or receiving calls, check the dial tone. Lift the receiver to your ear, but don’t dial a number yet. You should hear a steady, buzzing/purring sound.

If you cannot hear a dial tone, check that the phone line hasn’t been pulled from the socket accidentally or damaged. Moving furniture can sometimes dislodge or crush wires, and in some cases damp in the walls can cause rust or damage to the socket or wiring, which will affect the connection.

Check that there is no damage to the telephone. If you have more than one, try a different phone in the master socket. If you hear a dial tone with a different phone, the problem may be with your handset. You may need to repair or replace this. If you can hear a dial tone, but are still having problems, move onto the next section below.

Check your phone connections

If you are having connection problems, such as the line being cut off during a call, the sound being very faint, noise/interference on the line or other line quality issues, try to isolate the problem.

If you have more than one phone connected to your telephone line, check that none of them are off the hook. Ensure any telephone or power cables are securely plugged in to the correct sockets, and if you have a cordless telephone make sure that any batteries are charged. If there are volume settings, make sure these are not turned right down, and that each phone is set to an audible, comfortable level.

Check recent building/maintenance work in or near your home

Have you or a neighbouring building had maintenance work carried out before your line stopped working correctly? This could be the cause of the problem. Such work could include:

• A new installation, changing your equipment or telephone supplier
• Internal building or decorating work that may have damaged or dislodged a line
• External building work or gardening (such as tree surgery) that may have damaged the phone line coming into your house

If you have had building or other work done, it may be worth contacting the company that carried out the work to see if they are aware of any possible damage to the phone line.