Who installs telephone wiring

Most phone wire installed in the U. The kind of wire shown above has recently become obsolete. For all new telephone wiring projects, you should use Cat 5 cable.

All of the Cat 5 wire I've seen uses the following color coding:. In either case, the important point is this: one phone line only requires two of these strands. In the vast majority of cases, the other two wires go unused-- but if you choose, you can certainly use them for a second line i.

This means that if you are installing a second line for a fax, modem, etc. Assuming that everything is wired properly thruout your house i. For ordinary phone equipment such a modem, however, you have to convert a "Line 1" jack to a "Line 2" jack. One way you can do this is with a plug-in adapter, but the method described here involves swapping around a few wires in the jack. Don't be squeamish about poking around inside the Network Interface Device.

It may look forbidding and official, but you have every right to be there. The following two diagrams show the color coding scheme for the old kind of wire. If you're running Cat 5 cable, you'll need to make the appropriate color conversions.

Note that black is swapped for green, and yellow is swapped for red. Of course, it would also work if you consistently swapped the black and yellow wires the other way black for red, yellow for green but that is not the standard. Given that you have to be consistent between the two ends of the wire, you might as well follow the standard. Converting a jack to Line 2 means that you will no longer be able to use it for Line 1. In practice, you'll probably want to install a second wiring block beside the first, and use a short piece of four-strand wire to extend the system from the existing block to the new one.

This way, you can have a Line 1 jack right beside the Line 2 jack. Repairpersons have sometimes remedied this by running the one phone line across the black and yellow wires rather than replacing the cabling.

If this has happened, you won't be able to run a second line thru the four-strand wire. This is uncommon, but it is a gotcha to be aware of. Four-strand wire supports up to two phone lines. If you are installing three or four lines, you might also consider buying eight-strand wire.

The color coding conventions for this kind of wire are as follows:. There's also six-strand wire, which is the same as eight-strand wire with the brown pair left out. This color system actually extends up thru other colors to distinguish 25 different pairs, but even the most techno-geeky of us will probably never have that many phone lines in our homes. If you're interested, you can get the details to this system at Phone-Man's Home Page. If you have very old existing wiring in your house, it may not follow the conventions described above, but new wiring should follow them.

If you think you've got everything hooked up correctly, but one or more of your lines is "dead" no dial tone , the problem might be the local phone company's problem, or it might be in your own wiring. Be sure that the problem isn't in your own wiring or in one of your own phones before you call the phone company to check on the problem. If they determine that the problem is on their side of the network interface device, they have to fix the problem at no charge to you; but if they determine that the problem is on your side of the network interface device, they'll charge you just for having determined this, and they'll charge you a second time if you have them make the fix in your wiring for you.

To figure out whether signal is getting to your home, learn how to troubleshoot for no dial tone on your phone. If you have a problem with your inside wiring, it's your responsibility to get it repaired, including paying for the repairs.

It's not required that you have CenturyLink make the repairs — you can hire any experienced professional, or you can do the work yourself if you know how. If you hire us to do the repair, we waive the isolation fee and only charge you for labor and material costs.

Because these fees vary based on what needs to be repaired, we can't give a ballpark figure here. We will provide a written estimate — and a satisfaction guarantee — before beginning work. Did you know? If you live in an apartment, equipment repair and installation may be included in your rental agreement — which means it probably won't cost you anything. Ask your building manager before you pay for repairs.

Check for outages and troubleshoot problems with your home phone or internet service. View all Home Phone topics. Part 2. Plug a telephone wire into the telephone jack.

The telephone wire should connect just like the company phone line's connector attached to the Network Interface Device box; you'll hear a soft click when the connector is in place. Attach the other end of the wire to your landline's receiver. Place your landline phone's receiver near the telephone jack, then plug the free end of the wire into the "Line 1" port on the back of the receiver.

Unless otherwise specified by your phone's manufacturer, avoid using the "Line 2" or other ports on the back of the receiver. Attach your landline's receiver to your router if necessary. Some landline phones e. You'll use an Ethernet cable to connect the "Internet" port on your receiver to any free port on the back of your router. Plug your receiver into a power outlet. Using the power cable which came with your landline's receiver, plug one end of the cable into an electrical outlet and then plug the other end into the "Power" port on the back of the receiver.

Your phone receiver may have a built-in power cable. If so, just plug the free end of the cable into an electrical outlet. Test your phone. If your phone is properly wired and your phone company has activated service for your landline, you should hear a dial tone when you pick up the phone. At this point, you're free to make a call or set up your landline phone based on its manual. If the box in question only has two possible connections, just plug a RJ11 jack into the one marked Line 1.

If there are more, you would be well advised to ask your phone company to send out a technician. Yes No. Not Helpful 6 Helpful As long as you use the same colors on both ends, it doesn't matter. Not Helpful 13 Helpful You could use a multimeter. Touch one of the wires of the multimeter to the phone wire, then touch the other one to another port on the phone, or even to another part of the wire, at about 10 cms apart.

Not Helpful 19 Helpful With a soldering iron and some solder would be the most reliable option. Or turn off the electricity and wrap the metal of the wires around each other -- this option will be easy but may be slightly unsafe and won't last if it gets knocked. Not Helpful 15 Helpful 5. Make sure the wiring is not loose, and try the phone in a different jack. If that is not the case, try plugging in a different phone.

If that fixes the problem, you will need to get a new phone. If that is not the issue still, contact your telephone service provider. Not Helpful 6 Helpful 1. Upnorth Here. Yes, CAT-6 conductors work well for telephone service, up to a limited distance. Not Helpful 4 Helpful 3. Phone is plugged in to telephone line but it says we have no service, why not? The line may be undergoing maintenance. Try calling your telephone company from a smartphone.

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0. There may be obstructions blocking signal. Try getting a signal booster antenna installed. Not Helpful 1 Helpful 0. I can call out from my landline but my phones won't accept incoming calls.