Caller display not working

Fred_Bear_2

I hope this is the right forum. I'll keep it as brief as possible.
I have a BT line with o2 broadband. My telephone is a Siemens Gigaset S685 cordless. I have no extension sockets. The phone plugs straight into the master socket, an adsl nation with a built-in filter.
On 10th August my caller display/id stopped working. Eventually I disconnected the broadband and switched off the router. I removed the faceplate of the socket and plugged the phone directly into the test socket. Still the caller display did not work. I bought a new cordless phone, same model. Caller display still not working. I tried an old BT Duet 60 corded phone, with the same result.

I reported the fault to BT who told me I did not have caller display but they would put through an order and it would be available in 24 hours. Next day it was still not working, so they reported it as a fault. Next day I received a text saying the fault had been 'fixed'. Now the caller display on the BT Duet works but not on the cordless phones. I have tested the cordless phones in my next door neighbour's socket and caller display works. (His telephone bill comes from Sky, but I don't know anything about the Sky telephone system.)
BT say as far as they are concerned the fault is not theirs and if they send an engineer and the fault is on my side they will charge me £130.

Has anyone any idea what else I can try before I risk £130?

DVardysShadow

Fred_Bear wrote: »

Has anyone any idea what else I can try before I risk £130?

Demonstrate that your complaint is valid with your kit connected to the test socket - and nothing else connected. Verify that only the incoming line is connected to the test socket and that ALL of your internal wiring is only connected to the removable part of the socket. And finally, verify that the incoming line is not connected to any other socket on the premises [often by a cable clipped to the outside of the house]

Once you have done this, call BT in and stand over them while they do the job and do not let them touch you wiring or do anything while the front part is in the test socket. They may still try to charge you, but if you stick to the above and can demonstrate the fault, then you can defend against any charge.

ukcarper

As the duet works I’m not sure that test with you cordless phone would constitute proof that the fault is on the BT equipment.

Fred_Bear_2

Thanks for the reply, although I don't understand "do not let them touch you wiring or do anything while the front part is in the test socket".

My main question at this time is why do I get caller display on a corded phone but not on the cordless phones, even though the cordless phones work in another house? Could it be some wireless interference problem?

Guys_Dad

If caller display is reaching your house - as you indicate it does on the corded handset - then the fault is not between the exchange and your house, but internal.

Looks like either a setup problem with either the cordless phone config for your line (not likely, though) or some incompatibility/interference with the wireless router.

Your next door neighbour hasn't got a cordless set up you could try with in your house much as you tried yours in his?

Faults are often solves only by trial and elimination.

Good luck

Heinz

Fred_Bear wrote: »

Could it be some wireless interference problem?

Could be as simple as a faulty ADSL filter.

Fred_Bear_2

Thanks Guys Dad and Heinz for your replies. To eliminate any problem with the router or the filter I have switched off the router and removed the filter and used the test socket.
This is the sequence of events:
Many years up to 10th August caller display worked fine.
On 10th August caller display stopped working on cordless and corded phones.
On 4th September BT claim to have fixed the fault at the exchange and the corded phone starts working.

There may be a 'wireless' fault in my house but if so why did caller display stop on the corded phone between 10th August and 4th September?

I will try to borrow some more phones to try.

DVardysShadow

Fred_Bear wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, although I don't understand "do not let them touch you wiring or do anything while the front part is in the test socket".

My main question at this time is .....

Do you understand which is your wiring and which is BT's? And that if the front part of the socket is removed from the test socket, your wiring is completely disconnected from BT's [if it is wired correctly]

If you don't want to be charged, don't let them touch your wiring. As simple as that.

Fred_Bear_2

Ok thanks for the clarification. In fact I don't have any wiring, only the master socket.

I think what I need to find out is this: if I have caller display on the BT Duet phone does this mean there can be no fault with the BT supply? I.e. is caller display either on or off with no other possibilities?

ukcarper

As far as I understand caller display is either on or off. It could be that your line is attenuating the signal and there is enough signal to operate on the duet and not the cordless. I think Guys Dad idea of trying another cordless phone is good. I wouldn’t be confident of convincing BT that there is a fault on their equipment if it works on the duet.

Fred_Bear_2

ukcarper wrote: »

It could be that your line is attenuating the signal and there is enough signal to operate on the duet and not the cordless.

This is what I was thinking, but against that everything else is working fine, the line sounds clear and my broadband runs at 6.25Mbps which is as high as I would expect, so there can't be much wrong with the line.