Building Your Dream Apartment

Repair Your Own Telephone Cabling

16 December 2016

Julian Caldwell

If you have a problem with your telephone cabling, it can be frustrating when the company cannot come out immediately to fix the problem. If you learn the basics of telephone set-up, then you will be able to troubleshoot your cabling problem and see if it is your problem or the company's. You may not always be able to fix it, but you have a better chance of fixing it when you know these tips.

Find Your Network Interface

The network interface of your telephone wiring is basically the box that holds the brains of the whole system. This box is supposed to protect your home and your telephone wiring from any surges in electricity. There are only a few wires coming out of your house and connecting to that box, and while the cabling is more complicated than you are going to learn today, you only need to know the basics to troubleshoot your telephone cabling problem.

Your network interface is going to be outside of your home and is usually located wherever your electrical service meter is located. All telephone cables that are connected to your home start in this box. There are usually two parts to the network interface. One side is accessible to customers, and the other side is only available to the phone company professionals. Do not try to open the side you are not supposed to enter.

Get Inside Your Network Interface

You should see a number of phone jacks in the box. If you only have one line in your home, there will only be one jack. Buy a jack tester at a store, and unplug the jack that corresponds to your home phone's line. If you can hear a dial tone on your phone with the jack tester in place, then the problem is on your side, not on the phone company's.

Check Your Telephones

Next, you need to see if the problem is your telephones. You may simply have one bad jack in your house or one bad telephone. Unplug every machine hooked up to your telephone line. This includes fax machines. Go around with one phone that you are sure works and try it in all the different jacks. The problem might simply be one jack. If all of the jacks are dead, then your problem is the cabling.

If your problem is the cabling, then you need to call a professional. You could have had lighting that seared your wiring or rats that chewed at it. You may need to replace the telephone cabling.

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