I pick up my phone & the line is completely dead. What do I check
next?
To repair any problem, you first must establish what you're up against.
Is it just one of several phones that isn’t working or are none of
the phones working? If it is just one, swap two of your phones. If
the trouble moves with the phone, the phone or its cord is defective.
If the trouble stays with the particular outlet, the problem is in
that outlet or the wires leading up to it.
Now that you have an idea of the nature of the problem, attempt
to sectionalize the trouble. There are numerous places where you can
logically separate sections of your phone service. Consider each of
these places and ask yourself which side the trouble is likely to
be on.
If testing your telephones does not identify one that is defective,
the problem may be either with your inside wiring or with service
from you phone company. You can determine which by checking for dial
tone at the NID. (Network Interface Device on the outside of your
home, usually a gray box.) Take a working corded phone & screwdriver
to the NID and test the phone service entering your home. If you only
have one phone and do not get dial tone using it, you should borrow
a known working phone, if possible, to test for dial tone again at
your NID. If you do not have dial tone at the NID, the problem is
most likely with the phone company and you should call the repair
service department.
Please check our video below:
If you have dial tone at the NID, the problem is in your inside
wiring. Keep in mind that the problem may not be in the phone itself
- instead, it may be a problem in the telephone jack or the wiring.
If moisture gets into ANY phone jack anywhere in the home, it can
cause the connections to corrode and eventually to short out, which
could cause some or all phones to stop working. Bad splices, particularly
if exposed to moisture, can also cause a phone to stop working.
Consider everything connected to your phone line. Often the trouble
is in a device you may not think about, since these devices may be
out of sight, out of mind. If all of your phones are dead, disconnect
all of these devices as your first troubleshooting step.
Answering machine
Fax
Computer modem
Satellite receiver or cable box (these devices sometimes have telephone
connections for authorization and pay-per-view)
You may also want to disconnect cordless phones from both the electric
& the telephone jack. Sometimes these devices can cause a line lock
out. Once they are disconnected you may reconnect them one at a time
to see if trouble follows.
If you suspect a phone of being bad, try it at a friend or neighbor's
home where you know the phones are working. Also, if possible, try
swapping both cords ( line and handset) with known good cords from
another working phone. The vast majority of phone problems can be
traced to bad cords and/or bad or corroded plugs.
If a phone stops working after a thunderstorm, it's possible that
lightning hit the phone line and caused a voltage surge that damaged
the phone. The actual hit could have occurred several miles away,
and traveled down the line to your phone.
If a phone won't ring, check to make sure the ringer volume or on/off
switch isn't at the lowest or "off" setting. Also, some very old phones
may have frequency-tuned "harmonic" ringers intended for use on a
party line, and won't work properly on today's private phone lines
due to a difference in ringing frequency.
It is possible for dial tone to work and DSL not to work or DSL
to work and no dial tone.
Remember that if your electricity is out cordless phones will
not work. It is always a good idea to have one corded phone in the
house for use during this type of outage.
What is Service Assurance Program? How much does it cost & what does
it cover?
Kingdom Telephone Company Service Assurance Program is a service
that Kingdom Telephone offers its customers for $ 1.50 per month.
This covers repairs of industry standard inside wire and jacks. Under
the program, if your telephone is not repairable, we will leave a
“loaner” telephone for a period of 30 days to allow you time to purchase
a new phone. After you purchase a new phone you can return the “loaner”
telephone to us by mail or bring it to our office. If you decide to
keep the “loaner” telephone, do nothing and we will bill you the cost
of the telephone. The telephone will then be your property. Under
this program, we will also make minor repairs to your telephone, billing
you for required parts and labor, saving you the $30 trip charge.
New customer s signing up for this service, automatically have coverage.
If you have more than one line, you need to subscribe to this service
for every line so that you are completely covered.
If I don’t have the Service Assurance Program, how much will it cost
if I have Kingdom repair my wiring & jacks?
If you need repairs of the wiring, jacks or minor repairs to telephones
in your home or business, & do not have Service Assurance you will
be billed $ 30.00 for a trip charge and $ 17.50 for each quarter hour
of work performed by our technician. Any required materials, such
as station wire, jacks, line cords, etc., will also be billed to you.
You may elect to contract with a party other than the telephone company
for needed repairs or perform the repairs yourself. If repairs done
by persons other that the telephone company cause service outages,
you will be billed for a trip charge to clear the line.
