Why doesn’t my landline phone have a dial tone?

How to check your devices and find the reason your landline doesn't have a dial tone

Common causes of no dial tone

Only one of my landline connected devices does not work

Before you begin

Verify there are no service outages in your area via the
service status
page
Make sure your telephone isn't off the hook (if you have multiple phones, check that all the handsets are hung up and that their cables are firmly engaged)
If you're using a cordless telephone, make sure the battery is charged and the base is plugged in
If you have an answering machine, fax, computer modem, alarm system or another landline device, make sure it's plugged in correctly
If there has been any recent changes in your home that may affect the phone line, try to undo them. Rearranging your furniture, installing a new fax machine or setting up a new satellite receiver are possible triggers

If your phone or other device is connected directly to the jack and you don't hear a dial tone, follow these steps:

Make sure the phone cord is
plugged
into the
correct port
on your phone or device
Unplug
the phone or device from the
wall jack
Plug your phone or device into another wall jack that you know is working. If the dial tone returns it means the previous wall jack is damaged or defective
Plug a different device that you know is working into the original wall jack. If the dial tone returns it means your phone or device is damaged or defective
If these steps don't solve the problem, you may need to
replace
your
phone cord

More than one of my landline connected devices doesn't work

Before you begin

Verify there are no service outages in your area via the
service status
page
- Make sure your telephone isn’t off the hook (if you have multiple phones, check that their cables are firmly engaged and that all the handsets are hung up)
- If you're using a cordless telephone, make sure the battery is charged and the base is plugged in
- If you have an answering machine, fax, computer modem, alarm system or another device, make sure it's plugged in correctly
- If there has been any recent changes in the home that may affect the phone line, try to undo them. Rearranging your furniture, installing a new fax machine or setting up a new satellite receiver are potential triggers

If you don't hear a dial tone on more than one of your devices, follow these steps:

Unplug all equipment from every phone jack (including fax machines, modems, splitters, etc.)
Leave everything unplugged for a minimum of 60 seconds
Plug in your most basic telephone, preferably not a cordless phone
Check for the dial tone. If the dial tone returns , begin adding equipment one piece at a time, continuing to check for a dial tone after each addition
If you lose your dial tone again after an addition, remove the device in question from the jack. The device is probably causing the problem and you may want to have a professional to examine it

None of my landline devices work

Interference can originate from outside of your home. If all the devices connected to your home landline don't have a dial tone, it may be because the copper wires connecting your home to the phone network have degraded. These wires may need to be replaced. 

Home phone copper line is a live wire. For safety reasons, it is not recommended to personally test the lines. Instead, please contact us
 for assistance.

Why doesn’t my landline phone have a dial tone?

Common causes of no dial tone

Only one of my landline connected devices does not work

More than one of my landline connected devices doesn't work

None of my landline devices work

Did this article solve your problem?

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