How do I Repair & Install a Telephone?

Telephones are electronic devices that give people the ability to talk with each other regardless of distance and geographical location. Due to its importance and numerous benefits, household owners consider having a telephone inside their homes a necessity. Most telephones are built to last for years, but wear and tear can eventually cause a phone to malfunction. Defective telephones can make you feel helpless and can leave you guessing whether your phone set or the phone company is to blame. Learn how to repair your phone and install it before calling a technician and save yourself some cash.

Telephone Set Troubleshooting and Repair

• 1

  Unplug the cord that connects the handset to the telephone base unit. Inspect the modular plugs on both ends for any sign of damage or discoloration, and replace the cord if any part is damaged. Go to a working telephone, unplug its cord from the base unit and handset, and replace it with the cord that you wish to test. Listen for a dial tone, and replace the cord with a new one if you do not hear a dial tone.

• 2

  Lift your land-line phone, and look for the jack that accommodates the telephone patch cable connecting the base unit to the wall jack. Inspect the jack, and check if the connector is properly seated and plugged into the jack. Some connectors may look like they are plugged into the jack but are actually be just sitting there without touching the coppers connectors inside. Push the connector into the jack to make sure that this is not the case.

• 3

  Lift your land-line phone, unplug all connectors connected to it, and peek into each jack to see the copper pins inside. Look for any deformed, bent or twisted copper pins inside the jacks. Misuse or abuse of the phone can sometimes result in bent or twisted connector pins inside the jacks. Get a pair of needle-nose pliers, and carefully try to place the pin in its proper form.

• 4

  Unplug the patch cable that connects the telephone set to the wall jack and inspect the cable length for any sign of damage or puncture marks. Inspect the plugs on both ends and look for any sign of burned plastic or copper pins. Replace the patch cable if there is any damage. Bring the patch cable to a working phone and remove the working phone's patch cable. Test the patch cable that you brought by using it on the working phone and listening for a dial tone. A dial tone would mean that your patch cable is working. Replace the patch cable if there is no dial tone.

• 5

  Look at the ringer volume control on your phone, and observe its setting. Move the switch to its maximum setting, and call your number to listen to the ring volume. Some phones are accidentally set on minimum volume, thereby giving the impression that it does not ring. Look at the settings on the phone interface if you have a digital interface, and check if your phone has been accidentally set on "Mute." Unmute your phone and call it to test the setting.

• 6

  Press each number on the phone's keypad and listen to the tone of each number. An absence of tone means that the key is defective. Feel each key as you press it, and check if the key depresses and pops out when pressed. Defective keys can be both difficult and costly to fix; it involves dismantling the phone and finding the right parts. It may involve soldering and rewiring. Replacing the phone would be a good alternative.

• 7

  Bring your phone to a friend's or neighbor's house, plug it into a working wall jack, and listen for a dial tone. Plugging the phone set into a working telephone line will immediately let you know whether the phone is working. After performing all the checks instructed in the previous steps above, and after plugging your unit into a working phone line, no dial tone would mean that your base unit is most likely defective. You can either ask the telephone company to replace the defective unit or go to your local electronics store to buy a replacement.

Phone Line Troubleshooting and Repair

• 1

  Open the Network Interface Device or NID outside your house and unplug the modular connector from its jack inside. Plug a working phone into the jack and check the phone for a dial tone; call your telephone service provider to report the problem if you do not hear one. The absence of dial tone means the telephone company is not able to bring power and signal to your house.

• 2

  Unplug the connector in the NID to keep the telephone power disconnected. Remove each telephone jack faceplate using a screwdriver and check all terminals for loose wires, or wires that may have come in contact with each other. Tighten any loose screws or wires with a screwdriver, and bend away from each other wires that may have touched another using a pair of long-nose pliers. Connect the modular plug back into its jack at the NID and check each phone for a dial tone.

• 3

  Examine the wiring inside the NID, and look for any sign of loose connections or burned wires. Advise the telephone company in case you find any damage; NIDs are the telephone company's responsibility. Go to each telephone and check if any were accidentally left off the hook.

• 4

  Unplug and then replug each telephone cord connector into its corresponding wall jack, and press the connector firmly to make sure that it is not loose.

• 5

  Unplug other devices connected to your telephone line such as an Internet router, fax machine, caller ID device, security system equipment, etc. Defective peripherals can cause your line to go dead. Following this procedure eliminates the defective device. Plug each peripheral back into the line, listen for a dial tone, and replace or repair any peripheral that is causing the line to go dead.