Troubleshooting Home Phone for Line Noise

  1. Ensure your handset has power. Wireless handsets in particular may require charging or new batteries.
  2. If you suspect your handset is faulty due to age and/or wear and tear, we recommend obtaining another handset for troubleshooting.
  3. Unplug all devices from every phone socket in your premises, including your modem, telephones, fax machines, pay TV boxes and EFTPOS terminals.
  4. Plug your handset directly into the phone socket (without a line filter).
  5. Make a test call, listening for line noise. Repeat this step for all phone sockets in your premises.
  6. If you hear line noise when your phone is plugged into one socket but not another, there may be a problem with your home’s internal wiring. If you suspect this is the case, please contact an ACMA-licensed electrician to investigate.
  7. If the line noise stops when the handset is the only thing plugged in to your wall socket(s), then another piece of hardware is most likely interfering with your phone signal. The most common culprit is a faulty line filter.
  8. All phones and fax machines in your premises must be plugged into a phone socket with a line filter.
  9. Plug your handset into the phone socket with a line filter and attempt to make a call. If you start hearing line noise again, that line filter is most likely faulty and should be replaced.
  10. Plug your other devices back in one at a time (including their line filters, if applicable) and make a test call after each new device is plugged in, listening for line noise.
  11. If you suddenly start hearing line noise again, then the device you’ve just plugged in may have a faulty line filter that should be replaced.
  12. Call us on 13 22 58 for further assistance.

 

Appendix - Central splitters

If you have more than three phones and/or faxes or a Back to Base Alarm system at your premises, you may need to contact an ACMA-licensed electrician to install a central splitter to prevent home network issues.


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