The phone line is acting hinkey. Once I disconnect from the 'net, there’s generally NOTHING. No dial tone, nothing. If someone tries to call, they get a busy signal. I called the phone company from a different location, and they told me to make sure all the phones were on the hook (they were). If that didn’t work, they said, unplug the cordless phone for about 10 minutes or so, and reconnect it.
I did that. I didn’t help.
I’ve kept the cordless phone unplugged for HOURS, checking it every so often. Nothing.
But, occasionally (and, I’ve discovered, typically at night), the line will be 100% normal, like now, enabling me access to actually CALLING people, not to mention checking my email.
I originally thought that maybe there was a problem with the modem disconnecting. Restarting or shutting down the computer hasn’t helped. Neither has taking the phone line directly from the jack to the phone. This leads me to conclude that the computer is not the problem.
The telephone company seems insistant, however, that it’s a problem INSIDE the house, ie a phone off the hook.
Have you tried actually unplugging the phone line from the modem after you’ve disconnected from the internet? If there is a problem with the modem, in some cases, even shutting off the computer won’t free the line. If unplugging the phone line from the modem clears the problem, replace the modem.
That I haven’t tried. Then again, to quote Dennis Miller about computer savy, “there hasn’t been anyone that inefficient at the keyboard since Susan Dey was in the Partridge Family.”
For many phone problems it’s helpful to become savvy about the “Network Interface Box” – that grey plastic box typically located outside the house. Take a simple phone set out to it, unplug the line supplying service to the house, and plug it into the phone set. If the problem goes away, the trouble is inside the house and you best look for it yourself (the telco will charge you if you call them out to fix your problem). If the problem persists when the house’s wiring is disconnected, it’s theirs to fix.
A big advantage of doing this test is that it jumps you over their “Probably another idiot customer” hurdle. Saying “I checked the network interface box and found that the problem is outside my house” tends to lead to better service.
I was using some of those 2-to-1 connectors and extenders at my place and I had problems. The phone guy eventually showed up, he saw I had a 2-to-1 plugged into my wall jack. He unplugged it, got a toothpick and messed with the connectors in the wall jack, plugged the 2-to-1 back in, I never had a problem since. I guess what I am getting at is, if you have all kinds of connectors and extenders hooked up, that could be a problem. If not, it may be the connectors in the wall jack are a bit out of whack. Get out a toothpick and line those suckers up.
Could be a short in your jack wiring if you have more than one phone in your house. The way I check this is disconnecting all wiring from the box outside & then directly connecting a phone to the box.
