We had a power outage in the neighborhood a few days ago, and since then there is a loud noise on the landline, sort of a cross between a hum and a buzz. We have a cordless phone with two satellite handsets besides the main set. I have unplugged everything and re-plugged it, in every combination I can think of. I’m pretty sure the problem is not the telephone set (I would buy a new one in a minute if I thought it would fix the problem).
This is an older house and there is only one landline phone jack. I have no idea how to troubleshoot this further. One site I found online suggested the power outage may be to blame, that it messed up the phone line somehow. So do I have to have an electrician come out?
I had a similar problem once, which was most apparent when it was raining. I called the phone company and by good fortune it was raining when the technician came out. He said that a squirrel had chewed through the insulation on the wire. So based on my limited experience, I’d guess the problem is in the wiring outside your house. In any case, you should call your phone service provider, not an electrician.
Yeah, the next step is to call the phone company, though you could try another phone set if you had one handy.
How hard the phone company will work to fix it is another matter. I had an issue with their lines to my house and it was pretty clear that they would not be replacing any copper wire. Made it easy for me to finally drop my landline, but it was obvious that they also made the decision to drop residential customers as well.
Nope. Start with your phone company. They are responsible for the line up to your house. You are responsible for the line after it enters your house,
A cheap hard-wired phone would be ideal. Walmart has them for $10 or so if you don’t have one.
If the hard-wire phone works okay, then your wireless phone is bad.
There may be a box on the outside of your house, and the wires from that box to your phone may be your responsibility, while the wires to the box and the box itself are the responsibility of the phone company. In either case, it’s the phone company you call to fix the problem, but they’re not supposed to charge you if it’s their wires but may well charge you if it’s yours.
That’s the setup around here, anyway. It may be worth walking around your house, looking for something like that, and if you find it checking the wires on your side of the box for any obvious damage – if there’s cracks in the insulation, for instance, water may have gotten in; or the wires themselves may be partially broken, but still making some contact.
If the problem’s on your side, you may (or may not) be able to repair it yourself. (The box, here at least, can be opened by the customer, and a new line attached, if you can figure out how to thread it through and attach it to your indoor connector.) If it’s on the phone company’s side, then definitely have them do it. Unfortunately it may not be possible to tell other than by having the phone company come out.
Additional fact I didn’t know: the other side of the conversation doesn’t hear the noise on the line, we only hear it on our end. At least that is how it is being reported to me, by my husband.
Does that make a difference to the likely cause? To me it sounds more like it’s our telephone set that’s at fault.
I called the phone company (AT&T) and they tested the line and found a problem (possibly outside or inside the house). They are sending a technician by Wednesday.