AboutSpencer Holcombe Expertise I have been in the telecommunications arena for several years. I've worked in traffic,installation,repair,customer service,fraud,national and major accounts. I Started with Pacific Telephone,went to American Bell, AT&T Information Systems, AT&T Communications, Pacific Bell-SBC - AT&T. I can answer most questions of a service or equipment nature-excluding cellular. From jacks, wiring, phones, to custom calling services, local to long distance.
Experience Bell System and post divesture work for AT&T and Local operating companies. Service rep-to Fraud desk.
Organizations Telephone Pioneers of America
Publications PTM mag. Connections, Update, and other company publications. Also have expert status at AskME.com
Expert: Spencer Holcombe Date: 7/24/2006 Subject: phone not ringing
Question Spencer,
I thought we only had 4 phones hooked up, but it seems we have 6. Here is a list of the phones hooked into jacks:
1.) Kitchen--memory speaker phone plugged into electric--it rings
2.) Cellar (old princess phone)--rings
3.) Outside Shed (old princess phone)--rings
4.) upstairs master bedroom --does not ring
5.) upstairs bedroom--does not ring (but the phone did ring when it was hooked up downstairs in the spare room)
6.)garage phone--does not ring
No cordless phones
All these jacks were working at one time
Hope you can help
--Cheri
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Followup To
Question -
Currently we have four telephones hooked up in our house.
However, not all of them will ring. I just moved one that
did ring to another room and now it does not ring. But I
can call out and answer it if I hear the downstairs phone
ringing. What can we do to make these phones ring?
Our local telephone company is Verizon
Answer -
Cheri,
I need a little more information to answer your question.
How many items total, do you have plugged in to your telephone jacks?
Are the ringers on all phones turned on?
What else is connected to the jack where the phone won't ring?
Is this a cordless phone?
Have you tried ANOTHER KNOWN, WORKING, RINGING, phone in that jack?
Spencer
Answer Cheri,
Ah HA !
not to be smug, but (I kind of suspected you had more than 4 hooked up) Unplug 1 phone like the princess in the garage, and see if the phones not ringing, now ring. Your local telephone company only provides enough electric current to ring FIVE (5) standard phones (the kind with real bells). If the other phones now ring, you know you have to pick one that won't ring so choose one that you don't need to really hear ringing like a bedroom phone. If that didn't fix the problem, check the jack to make sure all wires are tight and in good shape. You also might want to test the phone at a neighbors home or at your network connection block outside the house where the telephone company line hooks up. If the phone rings there, it's a jack problem and you may need to replace it, although I think it's just a case of too many phones on one line- remember 5 it your limit-unless you buy a phone with an electronic ringer that uses less electric current. Let me know what happens, Spencer
