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Trouble shooting |
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My line is Noisy |
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There can be several reasons why your phone line is noisy. It's not necessarily always a fault in the telephone network.
Below are a series of checks you can do to ensure that it's not your own equipment or wiring that is causing the problem.
If you carry out these checks thoroughly it could mean that you solve the problem yourself - saving your time and reducing frustration.
It also means that an engineer doesn't have to come to your home unnecessarily - avoiding you having to wait for a visit.
1- Do you have a cordless telephone?
If you have a cordless phone, it may not be fully charged or the batteries may be flat. Please check the product user guide.
2 - Do you have broadband on the line?
If you have broadband on the line, and the noise you are experiencing is a hiss, check that every piece of equipment connected to your line has a micro-filter connected. This includes all phones, satellite television digi-boxes, faxes, etc. Without micro-filters you may experience interference on your voice calls and/or problems with your broadband, including low speeds and disconnections.
For advice on setting up your micro-filters, refer to your broadband suppliers guide.
If you have Broadband from BT, refer to your installation guide which came with your Welcome Pack, or visit /personal/broadband/help.
3 - Does the noise occur on all calls or a call to/from one particular number?
If the noise occurs on one particular number, it is likely that the other number has a service problem.
4 - Does the noise occur at a specific time of day, or under certain conditions e.g. windy weather?
If the noise is related to weather conditions, it is likely there is a fault on the line, however please follow the equipment and wiring checks below to eliminate them as the source of the problem.
5 - Is the noise apparent on all telephones or just one?
If the problem only occurs on one telephone, it is unlikely that there is a fault on the line, but that the telephone itself is likely to be faulty.
6 - Unplug all telephones and equipment from all telephone sockets
(Note - If you have an old-style telephone that cannot be unplugged Go to at Direction 11).
Unplug all telephones, faxes, PC´s, modems, satellite television digi-boxes, extension leads and adaptors, double adaptors from all your telephone sockets.
If you have broadband, don´t forget to unplug all micro-filters and your ADSL modem/router from the telephone sockets as well, as these may affect your telephone line.
There shouldn't be anything left plugged in to your telephone socket.
7 - To test for the fault on equipment
Take one working corded (not cordless) telephone - you may be able to borrow from a neighbour - and plug into the main socket pictured below. The main socket is usually found where the telephone line comes into the premises. Check for the problem again by using the working phone.
8 - If the line is now quiet
Your telephone line and extension wiring are likely to be ok, and the problem is likely to be in one of your pieces of equipment.
Test each piece of equipment one at a time. Check for a noisy line. If one piece of equipment doesn't has a noisy line, it may be faulty. Unplug this piece of equipment and keep unplugged. You should refer to any product manual supplied with this, or contact the supplier.
9 - If the problem persists at the main socket
We now need to eliminate your own extension wiring as the cause of the problem.
If your main socket looks like this socket (with a horizontal bar across the front template).
Carefully unscrew the 2 small screws and the bottom half of the faceplate should pull out. On the right hand side is a test socket. This connects you directly to the telephone line and bypasses any extension wiring you may have.
Plug the corded telephone into the test socket as above. Check for the problem by making test calls from the working telephone.
Note if your main socket does not have a horizontal bar across the front and looks like this:
Do not unscrew the face plate refer to instructions at
number 11.
10 - If you do not get the noise out at test socket
It is likely that your internal wiring is faulty. You now have the choice of repairing the wiring yourself or contacting a telephone maintainer, who is likely to charge you unless the wiring is covered by a warranty.
11 - If the problem still persists at the test socket
It is likely that there is a fault with the telephone line and you will need to report this to your telephone service provider.
If your telephone service provider is BT, you can report a fault 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Online
- Residential Customers 0800 800 151
- Business Customers 0800 800 154
If you rent your telephone from BT and believe it to be the cause of the fault, please contact our faults department and we will arrange for a new telephone to be delivered to you. You can also buy telephones from us:
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