Landline - selective ringing failure

[NAROBS]

I have experienced since April an intermittment huming noise in the earpiece when using my  2 year old BT Decor 2600 (Nuisance Call Blocker) handset. This noise disappeared completely when I used "Hands Free".

People I was contacting were also reporting that they couldn't hear anything when I was calling and using the handset. This was previously reported in  this forum April 2021, but, at that time I was unable to conclusively identify or rectify the cause of the problem.

But it was clear at this time that there didn't appear to be a fault with the line because other substituted Decor base units and handsets worked without issue.

Over this weekend, I disassembled the   2600 handset and found that a couple of wires in the RJ10 socket on the handset appear to have become dislodged  and  were touching, with the consequence that they may have been   shorting each other out. Rectifying this issue removed the hum in the earpiece, but , after further testing it was also clear that the handset microphone  had failed. 

During the course of this testing I made good use of the 17070 Quiet Line Service, which worked fine.

But, subsequently, when I  used the  17070 ring-back service, the landline phone didn't ring. (The LCD window showed "one new call incoming" and the 17070 outgoing 0800 number, but my landline didn't ring.

This occurred even when I reset the  2600 unit to factory values and, again, later when I substituted another   2200 Decor base unit and hand-set. Back in April 2021, Ring-back had been working.

And yet when I phoned the landline from a mobile phone, the landline rang !

I' m thinking here that there appears to be both a fault in my 2600 handset and possibly one in the exchange.

 Anybody care to comment  ?

N.

[Radiant]

We've also had a similar problem recently, with our BT Premium Cordless Home Phone with Nuisance Call Blocking. Our previous BT3500 set lasted almost 5 years, but the buttons 'wore out' and wouldn't work.

The BT premium is less than a year old, so we're not pleased. What seems to happen is that if someone rings and leaves a message, the set 'locks up' and will not accept any more calls or messages; people can't get through. Mobile phones work, but landlines can't connect. We've reset the base unit, and removed the batteries from the handsets for a few minutes. Predictably, we've not had any messages left for a few days, so don't know if there's still a problem!

We've ordered a new set of Panasonic, not BT,  phones with call blocker etc., and will post again when we've tested them out.

[NAROBS]

Roll on the "Right-To_Repair" legislation currently going through Parliament, in that it might adjust marketeers ideas of what a decent product life span should be. Lets hope the new law  is not just a simple re-codification in statute of "Rights" that previously existed in the Common  case Law (Typical government trick) and goes a lot further.

Also roll-on full-fibre and BT's Digital Voice -incidentally has anybody seen a roll-out programme for DV or is it a BT "Grace and favour" job ? Seems like the latter at the moment - all coat trailling PR and no substance. There's always the pre-existing 3rd party VOIP providers in the meantime.

The quantity of domestic appliances that I have bought recently from ovens, water heaters to fridges and phones that only last two to three years . . . . . and the quantity of electronic items you now see being dumped at the "Recycling centres" . . . frightening.

A quick look on the web to see if I can source a replacement microphone unit for the 2600 handset has proved positive . Retail on E-bay. . £0.65, or 65 UK new pence, not so sure about the b*ggered RJ10 socket, its £4.95 and a surface mounted item rather than free-mounted. If both are available its an easy 6 wire soldering job.

And the cost of a "Refurbished" handset on E-bay £11-14. and the cost of a new replacement handset from BT . . . I'm prepared to be frightened when I call BT "Customer Service " tomorrow.

So, repair is worth it.

God help the planet.

Postscript

Just figured out why the incoming BT ring-back number (08003289393) wasn't causing the handset to ring (Only left a 1 x new call message in the LCD panel) . . . .   Call blocking was on and I hadn't entered the number as allowed.

Now that's funny, 'cause I don't recall having to enter that number when I first got the product as new.  . . . maybe it was  one of the legion of Amazon "Refurbished" articles but not advertised as such.

Intuitively, one would have thought that system numbers like that would have been pre-programmed as "Allowed" without the user having to do anything, although I suppose that just because the telephone is branded BT and being used on BT infrastructure doesn't mean that the Telephone Service provider will be BT, so different system services may well apply. But its unusual for  the big TSPs not to attempt, by various means, to lock their kit to their systems.

Postscript II

Beginning to wonder now if the crossed wires in the RJ10 socket in the 2600 handset weren't part of the Amazon "Refurbishment" i.e. they knew the microphone was dead, didn't want to replace it and so used crossed the wires so that the ear-piece doubled as microphone and loudspeaker - hence the hum. I'd lay money on it, crafty barstewards.