Leaving the phone off hook

GustyGardenGalaxy

Sometimes I don't want to receive any phone calls for a while so just started leaving the phone off hook for maybe 10 or 15 minutes at a time so that any callers will get an engaged tone. I would assume that BT wouldn't make any kind of charge for doing this, perhaps if I did it on an intermittent but regular basis? Or are there problems with doing this that I've overlooked? Or perhaps there a better alternative?

Hazzanet

It will cause a "PG" (Permanent Glow) fault at the exchange and the exchange will alert the Openreach engineers that there is a fault on your line. I suggest you remove the plug at the wall socket rather than leave it off the hook.

GustyGardenGalaxy

Noted, thanks!

iniltous

Hazzanet wrote: »

It will cause a "PG" (Permanent Glow) fault at the exchange and the exchange will alert the Openreach engineers that there is a fault on your line. I suggest you remove the plug at the wall socket rather than leave it off the hook.

This is something that may have happened 20 years ago on an analogue exchange, but these days the line will 'park' after a while being off the hook, you may get a 'howler' tone before the line parks to remind youto replace the handset...
if you unplug at the socket, incoming calls will get 'ring tone no reply 'unless you have a 'bt answer' type service in which case after a few rings the answer service kicks in

Hazzanet

iniltous wrote: »

This is something that may have happened 20 years ago on an analogue exchange, but these days the line will 'park' after a while being off the hook, you may get a 'howler' tone before the line parks to remind youto replace the handset...
if you unplug at the socket, incoming calls will get 'ring tone no reply 'unless you have a 'bt answer' type service in which case after a few rings the answer service kicks in

http://www.sinet.bt.com/351v4p5.pdf

S 7.3 - The line will enter the parked state and may give the howler, but the network monitors the line because, technically, it is a fault condition.

I remember the BT engineer having a major problem when converting me back from ISDN to PSTN when broadband finally arrived in the village, because he couldn't clear a PG condition which he said was "the exchange complaining that the phone is off the hook".

Turned out to be a problem at the exchange in the end.

I believe it's a SYSTEM Y digital exchange, due to be upgraded to 21CN next year.

iniltous

Hazzanet wrote: »

It will cause a "PG" (Permanent Glow) fault at the exchange and the exchange will alert the Openreach engineers that there is a fault on your line. I suggest you remove the plug at the wall socket rather than leave it off the hook.

Long time ago , strowger electro-mechanical exchanges had things called group selectors, the first group selector returned dialtone to the subscriber who had siezed the equipment (lifted the handset), it had a light on it to signify this status, if the subscriber dialed the first selector would move(step) from its resting position and the light would extinguish....if the 1st selector remained siezed then the lamp remained lit and this was refered to as a 'pg' if a lot of first selectors were seized (not stepped ) a defered alarm was raised, BT digital exchanges dont work in the same way so the term PG hasnt been used by exchange engineers for very many years

Hazzanet

I don't have 1571 on one of the lines here at Hazzanet Heights, so I left it off the hook for 25 minutes and dialled the number from the other line. I get the three beeps followed by "Sorry, the number you have called is out of order".

Surely that's the exchange detecting a fault condition as a result of the line being parked?

iniltous

Hazzanet wrote: »

I don't have 1571 on one of the lines here at Hazzanet Heights, so I left it off the hook for 25 minutes and dialled the number from the other line. I get the three beeps followed by "Sorry, the number you have called is out of order".

Surely that's the exchange detecting a fault condition as a result of the line being parked?

Its a case of whats a fault condition, when the exchange has parked a line thats it, it doesnt raise a fault report or anything.
If an end user, (for example) reported they had no dialtone because unknown to them an extension phone was off the hook, the service provide should go through a self check procedure with them before issuing a fault report to openreach, get it wrong and the end user may get charged for the visit if the problem is just a phone off the hook...third party reports are generally ignored 'Ive been trying to get this number for hours and I know they are at home' sort of thing especially since BT aint neccesarily the service provider
So a parked line isnt a fault, although line faults as well as off hook phones can cause a line to park, but anyone with access to the line
tester results should be able to tell the difference between an 'off hook' phone and a genuine line fault

sicker

Why not just dial your own number and get engaged tone?? Surely system would read this as a genuine call.