Intermittent crackle on phone line

amstel2 · 2 March 2016 at 6:28PM

Hello

I have an intermittent crackle/hissing sound on my phone line.

I first had this about 18 months ago that time I lost B/band as well. My ISP was & still is Sky (I have my phone service with a different provider). Therefore as I had lost B/band I contacted Sky they advised me to do all the usual stuff e.g. disconnecting splitters, phone lines, checking master socket etc. nothing helped.
Sky contacted BT Open Reach who sent out a rather clueless engineer who replaced the master socket (didn’t help). The engineer said the problem was in the junction box in the street. Following day another engineer worked on that & that solved the prob for a while.

However, the last few weeks the prob has returned intermittently. I have two corded phones one in the hall where the phone line comes in & one in the living room where the b/band router is. When I use the phone in the hall it always crackles & the b/band connection is lost until I put the phone down & it comes back a few minutes later. If I use the other phone the crackling is intermittent & the b/band is un-affected as is when no phones are used. Also do I report it this time to Sky or my phone service provider? Also this time I cannot test the line at the master socket as I can’t get the cover off. As the incompetent engineer blunted one of the tiny screws in the cover.

Anyone have any ideas what to do next?

Also am I right in thinking the only way to get away from any BT Open Reach involvement is to get Virgin Cable. I live in one of their areas.

Thanks

JJ_Egan · 2 March 2016 at 7:13PM

If its the phone complain to your phone line provider .Be aware that they will charge for a BT OR callout if its your side of the master socket .

Yes BT OR line or VM Line .

bod1467 · 2 March 2016 at 9:03PM

Get a basic, corded, analogue phone (very cheap from the likes of Argos). Remove the faceplate from the master phone socket and plug the phone directly into the master socket behind it. (Assuming you have this type of setup).

Dial 17070 and select option 2 (quiet line test), and listen ... do you hear crackle/noise? If yes then report it to your landline provider as a PHONE fault - do not mention broadband at all.

Oblivion · 2 March 2016 at 9:49PM

Way back when I had a similar problem it was an ADSL filter that had broken down.

kwikbreaks · 2 March 2016 at 11:21PM

There's a difference between a crackle and a hiss. Try connecting a filter and phone into the inner socket and testing as above. Any noise?

Connect up your router next and try again. Any noise? If so try a different filter. Any noise?

If you hear crackles with just the phone then certainly report the voice fault.

If you only get a noise with the router running then it's going to be the same type of line fault that was posted about here a day or so back. By all means try the voice fault report but voice only engineers probably won't have the experience or kit to pinpoint where the dodgy joint is. OTOH you may strike lucky.

amstel2 · 3 March 2016 at 12:37PM

Trouble is i can't get the faceplate off the master socket because one of the tiny screws has blunted.

AndyPix · 3 March 2016 at 12:42PM

amstel2 wrote: »

Trouble is i can't get the faceplate off the master socket because one of the tiny screws has blunted.

If that's the case then I would have the openreach engineer back like a shot.

I would really suspect a failed microfilter here and if that's not the case then its definitely a line fault.
When you ring BT back, make a massive fuss that you are unable to perform any of their tests due to the broken manner in which their engineer has left your socket.

kwikbreaks · 3 March 2016 at 1:21PM

Do you have any phone extensions wired off the master socket? If not then taking the faceplate off isn't all that important. Just do the tests anyway.

If there is noise only with the router running then it will either be the filter or a line fault and swapping out the filter should help you decide which.

If there is noise regardless then it has to be a line fault as there is only any ADSL signal sent from the exchange if there is a working router connected.

Line faults revealed by ADSL tend to be a hiss rather than a crackle.

agrinnall · 3 March 2016 at 2:24PM

Given that it was temporarily fixed by work done external to the premises my 5p bet would be on it being a dodgy joint somewhere. If the fix was done before the winter then it could easily be water ingress causing it.

amstel2 · 6 October 2016 at 5:11PM

Hello

Know it's been a while but i have neen trying to find out what is exactly causing the intermittent noise on the landline & I now thing it is my Router. When the Router is switched off the noise stops but comes back again intermittently again when it is turned back on. There is no effect on the broadband.

Anyone any ideas. Also as my phone & broadband services are with different providers who would be responsible.

Thanks

JJ_Egan · 6 October 2016 at 5:15PM

I would start by removing all connections .
Buying a new filter and use that to test each output point and connection .The router problem points to a defective filter in my book as the first step .

Phone company if its a phone problem .
ISP if its broadband .
You may be the one responsible for the router dependant upon contract and age of the router .

Intermittent crackle on phone line

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