This topic

Dead Landline

Vallantho — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 09:51:47 GMT

My landline has been dead for well over a month. No dial tone. No calls in or out. I reported the fault and they sent me a wireless internet hub and claimed the problem was fixed. I’m extremely frustrated as I have lifelines connected to the phone which are currently useless how do ictually get through to someone to get this problem fixed? There’s no way of actually contacting anyone at by except through live chat and I’ve really had enough of this

Re: Dead Landline

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 09:57:23 GMT

@Vallantho

Welcome to this user forum.

Please can you confirm that you pay BT Retail for your phone service?

Re: Dead Landline

Vallantho — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 10:00:40 GMT

Yeah I pay BT for my landline and broadband connection. My broadband is working fine It’s just the phone line that’s dead. And the phones connected to it are all working

Re: Dead Landline

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 10:07:25 GMT

@Vallantho wrote:

Yeah I pay BT for my landline and broadband connection. My broadband is working fine It’s just the phone line that’s dead. And the phones connected to it are all working

Do you have BT Digital voice, with your phone plugged into the BT Smart Hub 2, as you mentioned that your phones are working. So what is the problem?

Re: Dead Landline

Vallantho — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 10:12:03 GMT

No it’s plugged into the same old phone line it’s been plugged into the last 40 years. Is it possible I’ve been changed over to digital voice and not been told about it?

Re: Dead Landline

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 10:15:17 GMT

@Vallantho wrote:

No it’s plugged into the same old phone line it’s been plugged into the last 40 years. Is it possible I’ve been changed over to digital voice and not been told about it?

Its not likely, as FTTP users are being migrated first, although some FTTC have also mentioned it.

What date did you report the fact that you had no dial tone, and could not make any calls? Did BT give you an estimated repair date? When was the last time you rang them on 0800 800 151, to tell them the line was still faulty?

Re: Dead Landline

Vallantho — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 10:16:28 GMT

So the person on live chat is telling me it’s because my phone is off the hook. It really isn’t. I have no dial tone at all. Nothing. I can’t make calls or receive them. But my internet works fine

Re: Dead Landline

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 10:17:18 GMT

@Vallantho wrote:

So the person on live chat is telling me it’s because my phone is off the hook. It really isn’t. I have no dial tone at all. Nothing. I can’t make calls or receive them. But my internet works fine

What do you get if you ring your home phone number from a mobile?

Re: Dead Landline

Vallantho — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 10:17:34 GMT

I reported the fault some time last week, can’t be sure when. But they gave me a fix date of Friday the 9th. When I go to track faults they say the problem was fixed on the 9th

Re: Dead Landline

Vallantho — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 10:19:09 GMT

If I dial from my mobile I get a busy tone. You know the long beep beep beep one. I don’t know the technical terms sorry

Re: Dead Landline

Vallantho — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 10:21:37 GMT

I’ve tried calling 0800800151 several times and all that happens is I get sent a text message to check my phone line which says there’s no fault

Re: Dead Landline

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 10:24:06 GMT

@Vallantho wrote:

If I dial from my mobile I get a busy tone. You know the long beep beep beep one. I don’t know the technical terms sorry

Then you have a short circuit on your line. You need to make sure the fault is not in your house, by plugging your phone directly into the test socket which is located behind the master socket.

If you do not get dial tone at the test socket, then you will need to request an engineer visit, as it must be an external fault.

Re: Dead Landline

licquorice — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 10:31:07 GMT

@Keith_Beddoe wrote:

@Vallantho wrote:

If I dial from my mobile I get a busy tone. You know the long beep beep beep one. I don’t know the technical terms sorry

Then you have a short circuit on your line. You need to make sure the fault is not in your house, by plugging your phone directly into the test socket which is located behind the master socket.

@Keith_Beddoe It would normally indicate a short, but if the OP's broadband is working and the line tests ok, it sounds more like an exchange fault.

If you do not get dial tone at the test socket, then you will need to request an engineer visit, as it must be an external fault.

Re: Dead Landline

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 10:38:48 GMT

@licquorice wrote:

@Keith_Beddoe wrote:

@Vallantho wrote:

If I dial from my mobile I get a busy tone. You know the long beep beep beep one. I don’t know the technical terms sorry

Then you have a short circuit on your line. You need to make sure the fault is not in your house, by plugging your phone directly into the test socket which is located behind the master socket.

@Keith_Beddoe It would normally indicate a short, but if the OP's broadband is working and the line tests ok, it sounds more like an exchange fault.

If you do not get dial tone at the test socket, then you will need to request an engineer visit, as it must be an external fault.

The home hub can go short circuit inside, but still allow broadband. Also a short circuit on the phone side of the microfilter (filtered faceplate) , will still allow broadband.

An extension connected to the filtered side, could be short circuit (very common).

Even the lifeline unit could be looping the line, especially if its on an extension and had developed a fault.

Re: Dead Landline

Vallantho — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 10:39:24 GMT

Ok so I plugged the phone into the test socket and still do dial tone

Re: Dead Landline

Vallantho — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 10:40:14 GMT

Still no dial tone from the test socket so does that mean we can rule out the hub as a problem?

Re: Dead Landline

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 10:44:13 GMT

@Vallantho wrote:

Ok so I plugged the phone into the test socket and still do dial tone

Then you will need to book an engineer visit, as you have proven the fault outside of your property, and this should be fixed for free.

Either ring again, or go online and report it again, but this time chose the option to book a visit from Openreach. You will have to say you have completed the home checks, before it progresses to the booking an engineer option.

As @licquorice has said, it could be an exchange fault.

Re: Dead Landline

PaddyB — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 10:45:12 GMT

Hi @Vallantho,

Thank you for posting. I'm sorry you haven't been able to get your service repaired. If you send me your details, I'll be able to take a look at what is happening with the fault.

I have sent you a private message with instructions on how to contact the team. You can access your messages via the envelope icon at the top right of the screen, or click on this link, Private messages

Thanks,

Paddy