Phones stopped ringing..

Not sure where to post this really but here goes.

Over the last 2 weeks or so I've noticed that my phones at home have gone from ringing fine to not ringing at all when someone phones. In between the times the phones would ring but only slightly, i.e. not a full ring each time.

Question is; would this be a physical line problem that I need to contact BT for? Or is it a ADSL/filters problem?

It's strange that all the phones have stopped ringing, although my wireless phone does say that I've got missed calls - although it doesn't ring when I get the calls in the first place. I do have one spare ADSL filter, which I tried swapping with the one that the router plugs into, but to no change.

Any Ideas?

Cheers.

HI - Almost certainly what is known as Ring Trip which is often caused by a rectified loop fault. The fault is making the exchange think that the call has been answered so stops the ring and connects the call. Look for problems within the house first - try disconnecting the front plate of the master socket and seeing if the phone rings from the test socket underneath.

Bell problems are always in the customers premesis with the exception of 'ring trip' where the phone rings once, cuts out and puts the call through.

As the filters generate ringing, there is either a faulty filter or extension wiring somewhere on the circuit that is shorting terminals 3 and 5 or the phone is faulty.

In reply to:

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As the filters generate ringing, there is either a faulty filter or extension wiring somewhere on the circuit that is shorting terminals 3 and 5 or the phone is faulty.

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Another possibility is that there are too many phones on the circuit. That idea is supported by the mention of partial ringing.

The nominal maximum is 4, but this can vary according to the characteristics of individual devices (including fax, answering machines and a DECT base). If you need more than 4 Ring equivalents, you can obtain a BT REN Booster which has a REN of 1, allowing you to use another three directly connected. You can then use up to REN 8 on the other side of the booster giving you a total of 11.

Did you add another telephone device a couple of months ago?

(The filters generate the ring signal, but they are still dependent on the current supplied on the external line to do so, that is the reason for the limitation).

I haven't changed the setup of the phones in two years. I do have three phones connected, but there are four telephone sockets in total - one free, all with adsl filters in them.

I only noticed the odd ringing of the phones a few weeks ago, basically it was an intermittant ring when I was called - but it was the same thing with all of the extentions too. This decreased to just a slight blip of a ring intitially when a call was received with no ring after; now they don't ring at all.

Ok, I've got an old netgear ADSL filter I can swap around with the others. I'll update later with any progress.

If that fails I'll get a new set of adsl filters and take it from there.

Thanks for the replys..

Edited by deleted (Sat 07-Oct-06 13:41:24)

I took the faceplate off and there was no master socket behind, house was built approx 1980.

I tried changing all the ADSL filters with the spare one I have, no change.

As I've said, the radio phone I've got actually registers that I've missed a call, but no phones actually ring. By your description it sound like a Ring Trip, what else is there for me to try before I get BT invovled?

Thanks again.

Try disconnecting all phones and filters, then reconnect the phones 1 at a time and ring your number until you find the culprit responsible for the lack of ringing. If the first phone you test doesn't ring, try another...
If you do not have a mobile phone or alternative line to call your number, there is an alternative method using option 1. But, please do not abuse this service.
If you cannot get any combination of phones to ring, you'll receive an excellent service from 151.

Good Luck!

You shouldn't really have filters in unused extensions. Each filter represents a small load on the circuit, and therefore degrades the ADSL signal by a small amount. Mostly this is insignificant, but if looking to get the best out of your connection it might make a difference. It's better if you can arrange it to supply two or three sockets from a single filter, and best of all to use a filtered master socket faceplate.

Eric

Ring trip can also be due to external problems. Report it to BT.

on average once every 2 years i come across an exchange linecard fault which causes BNR.