One socket (of the tree) not ringing.

[#1]

Hi,

I have three sockets, one of them master. My home phones ring on two of them but not on the one we really need.

Can anyone please advise?

Thank you

J

[#2]

PS, I should add that I am a 76 year old disabled woman and my landline is vital so my relatives can stay in touch with me to see if I am okay.

Thank you

[#3]

@sniper666 - The first thing to do it to check that the phone in the socket is not faulty by swapping it over with one of the ones that does ring. If it still fails to ring it implies that either the wire or the socket may be at fault so you'll need to get a BT engineer out to fix this for you, but the bad news is you'll have to pay for it, as the extensions are the responsibility of the house holder.

[#4]

Thank you.

The phones do work in the other sockets. And I can dial out on the silent one. I just can’t get calls on it.

[#5]

@sniper666 -  If the phones work in other sockets what exactly do you mean by "I just can't get calls on it"?

[#6]

Have a try at answering a call on the silent one and see if it works. Get a test incoming call, then when the others ones ring, try the silent one.

Helps you rule out if it just the ringer on the line or a more major fault. I would say, either way it is a fault but it will get you to realise the extent of it.

[#7]

@sniper666 

How old are these telephones? If they are the very old type it's possible that you are exceeding the total line 'REN' current capability. It's also possible that one is loading the lines stopping the others from working. As an experiment you could temporarily unplug the two that do work and get someone to ring you to see if the third springs into life.

[#8]

Another possibility is that the "silent" socket has a 2-wire connection and the phones do not have a built-in ring circuit.

However, if you can hear the other phones ringing, just answer using the "silent" one.

[#9]

Do all the phones have microfilters plugged in (between the phone and the sockets)

If not they should to maintain broadband speeds. Try a microfilter as they restore the ring circuit.

If the phones do have microfilters then it could be a failed microfilter connected to the non ringing phone.

Just in case the OP is not sure what a microfilter is:

Examples on Amazon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/microfilter/s?k=microfilter

[#10]

Thank you everyone for these replies.

I do not have any filters fitted at all. I have three sockets both the downstairs only have one ‘plug’ hole which I use for the phone alone. Upstairs is the master socket which has a socket for the BB and one for the phone.

The rogue socket can still call out, and if I call myself and pick up it is a live call. So its just the ringer really.

Thank you all again. I am grateful for your assistance.

[#11]

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@sniper666 wrote:

I do not have any filters fitted at all. I have three sockets both the downstairs only have one ‘plug’ hole which I use for the phone alone. Upstairs is the master socket which has a socket for the BB and one for the phone.

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So, you have a filtered faceplate on the master, hence no need for dangly filters on the extensions. But -

If you have a dangly filter (microfilter) handy - possibly one that came in the box with the router initially - try plugging it into the rogue socket. It might restore the ringing, and it won't have any adverse effect on the broadband.

[#12]

@sniper666 

To avoid any confusion you have a filtered faceplate so must not use any plug in filters.

It might help if you answered these questions. https://community.plus.net/t5/Home-Phone/One-socket-of-the-tree-not-ringing/m-p/1765755#M32322  As has been previously mentioned if you have an old phone it might need the ring wire connecing in the socket. This is not needed with modern phones and is commonly left disconnected as it can affect internet speed.

[#13]

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@Baldrick1 wrote:

To avoid any confusion you have a filtered faceplate so must not use any plug in filters.

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Double filtering an extension socket will not cause a problem.

[#14]

@198kHz 

I have no doubt that we could debate the attenuation of different designs of filters in the audio frequency range but I don't see how that would help the OP. I agree that it would probably not make any difference but...

I think that we are in agreement that it's possible that the problem is the absence of a ring wire, we are just approaching it from different directions. If you read reviews of filters you will find that not all filters have a correctly rated ring capacitor so adding a filter might not necessarily prove the point. If the OP has an old phone that needs a ring wire then my advice would be that if incapable of opening up sockets and wiring in the ring wire to buy another phone, they are very cheap these days, rather than bodge with double filtering.

[#15]

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@Baldrick1 wrote:

I think that we are in agreement that it's possible that the problem is the absence of a ring wire, we are just approaching it from different directions.

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Agreed.  🙂

Reply #4 suggests that the problem lies in the wiring, or the 'rogue' socket, and the phones are OK.

A microfilter might just provide a temporary solution until a permanent fix is available.