Diagnosing a landline issue ?

If you unplug the router (not the power, the connection by the phone line) does the problem go away?

Otherwise known working handset is the best next step.

Tried that and no difference.

I'm still not sure if the handset is the problem or the connection (but internet is okay)

Assuming you are using a cordless phone. This is not stated.

if the cordless phone is plugged into the phone outlet on the BT (or whoever) sockets and it does not work then it sounds like a filter or line problem. Call your supplier (on your mobile) and get them to fix it.

sounds like a very pesky time for this to suddenly not be working.

Though if it is only suddenly not discovered just get rid of it.

Sorry, we have a cordless Siemens phone. It doesn't use a filter it just plugs into the box on the wall

I'll call Plusnet and see if they can test the line remotely.

Thanks

BT can run an automated test

Text PHONE to 61998 (charges may apply at your standard rate).

We’ll run tests on your connection to find out what’s going on.
If you need an engineer, we’ll text you in 15 minutes to book a slot.
If you don’t need an engineer, our brilliant UK and Ireland based team will call you within 30 minutes to help solve your issue.
Monday to Friday 8am - 9pm

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Thanks

Plusnet are going to check it for me.

Annoyingly I used to have a spare corded phone but it's  gone. i fear it perished in a tidying up frenzy.

I know, I know …. but our parents still use them to contact us

Tell them you've changed your number.

Parental units wanting to use a landline I can understand, I had this battle with my mother (and lost). Them calling you though, WTF difference does it make whether they dial 01... or 07... ?

Sorry, we have a cordless Siemens phone. It doesn’t use a filter it just plugs into the box on the wall

If you have traditional DSL, it has to use a filter. If you have a box on the wall with two sockets, that faceplate is the filter.

Plusnet diagnostic resulted in a line fault - Openreach have been asked to fix it within 48hrs

Thanks for your help

Copper broadband has a lot of features to work around dodgy lines, to continue to provide service at the expense of throughput. Likely if you are able to log into the router you'll probably see a lower line sync speed (up and down) than typically available for the length of your line back to the cab (FTTC) or exchange ADSL2. Also likely lots of FEC's (forward error correction, where its managed to detect and correct an error) CRC's (Cyclic Redundancy Check, detected but can't correct) SES (Severely Errored Seconds, bursts of errors) Interleaving depth where the data is split up to try and work around any intermittent bursts of noise.

Noise on a landline is typically due to a connection/cable going high resistance/corroding. In my time in BT Customer Apparatus and Line Maintenance (yup a while ago) the way to diagnose a noise fault was pick an easy to access halfway point tween exchange and the customer, tap into the line, break dial tone (dial 1) and listen with the mike muted listen and repeat to narrow down.  With local knowledge there's some typical culprits to narrow it down any quicker, certain types of dropwire (Pole to House) used till the mid 80's are really bad for sunlight damage on the insulation and once the water gets in... Likewise there's a fair bit of aluminium instead of copper in the ground (short sighted 70's/80's cost saving) that if it sniffs water will turn to dust. Any obvious previous repairs, crimps etc that may be on it, where the cable goes into the home if its thru a window frame and said frame has been replaced at some point another point of damage.

There's been no real investment in the copper/alu local loop in a looong time, if its diagnosed as U/G (underground) fault, they'll likely try to just move you onto another spare pair (if available) and see if its better, noting that chances are the rest of the pairs are just rotting away at different speeds. Overhead, they'll have to replace it if its the old stuff, later late-ish 80's onwards is a whole different beast, better insulation, a spare pair of copper wires (4 in total) and three steel suspension wires that in a pinch could supply dial tone (yes I have as a bodge in the past till the weather got better)

So moral of this tale, find out when you can go on proper fibre (FTTP) where its glass all the way from the exchange to your home.

I don't understand half of that but we've got fibre to the cabinet, about 300m away, then copper to the house. It's about 11 years old as this was a new-build at that time on a brown field site.

My guess is the wind has got to it, or the weather. It could be coincidence but brsk are fitting fibre and Openreach are doing lots of local work

Any ideas how to test this that doesn’t involve me driving 5 miles to Argos to buy a corded handset?

Ride to Argos

brsk are fitting fibre

Switch to brsk, disconnect the landline, stop paying line rental. Brsk is hands down the best provider I've ever had.

If you do want to switch, send me a message. I can send you a referral link which will net us both £50.

It could be coincidence but ***** are fitting fibre

I'm doing quite well out of overtime and night rate recently.  Other providers in the network seem very keen to be rough with other existing equipment and cables that are sharing boxes, whether thats pulling it off the ironwork and standing on it or just arrogant brute force trying to get their jobs completed.  It rare to have evidence but my last one the residents came out with cups of coffee at 11pm along with screengrabs of the worker and his van from their Ring camera's!

@cougar2 - thanks but we've got 9 months left of this 24 month Plusnet contract.

When brsk started marketing the new service here we'd just renewed. If they arrived earlier we'd have probably switched. We can move to full fibre with Plusnet but we'd lose the landline. The house is in a little dip so line of sight for mobiles is poor and WiFi calls never seem to work that well.

For future reference is your socket a MK5C from BT it can be removed from the box behind and you can plug the phone into the master socket there to check for filter problems.

WiFi calls never seem to work that well

[sad face emoji]. Consider investigating this - turn off cellular reception on your cellphone and try a WiFi call see how it goes. I can imagine with the high quality of software on phones these days that it might say 'WiFi calling' but IRL be trying the woeful cellular signal.

Living in a populous suburb I am surprised that any of the cellphone providers have customers - reception here varies between absent and tolerable for all providers and WiFi calling at home is a saving grace. Though in any circumstance I much prefer FaceTime or even WhatsApp or, forgive me, Teams calls - so much clearer and crisper than telephone calls. Thinking about it, this better audio quality alone is a good reason to ditch a landline and get elderly relatives to do the same - more chance of having a conversation that is not populated with 'what was that?' and 'say again'.

Plus, commiserations on not having BRSK and just missing out on them at renewal. I agree with what @Cougar2 says - best provider I've had too.

more chance of having a conversation that is not populated with ‘what was that?’ and ‘say again’.

Can you please tell my Dad to wear the hearing aids he doesn't like wearing?

😉

The house is in a little dip so line of sight for mobiles is poor and WiFi calls never seem to work that well.

Oh, that's a bugger. One reason I went for FTTP (aside from the obvious) and VM cable before that is I fundamentally object to paying line rental.

If you're stuck with it then as Sandwich says, if it's a relatively modern faceplate then you can remove it and plug into the test socket behind. This will rule out the filter as the cause and also disconnect any extensions (do you have any and do you use them?). It is unlikely to be the filter, but the way we troubleshoot "it could be anything" is to start ruling things out until we only have one variable left.

As for the phone, ask a neighbour if you can borrow theirs for a couple of minutes?

If I were a betting man, I'd be going with this being an Openreach issue.

Update:

We do have the BT MK5C socket. Plugging the phone into the socket behind the faceplate doesn't work.

PlusNet diagnostic is that there is an external wire issue

When the current contract is in the last 6 months I'll call brsk and discuss options