My telephone is a piece of crap...or is it? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Telluride · 05-09-2006, 05:00 PM

I'm having a problem with either my telephone or the phone line itself, and I don't know which it is (I almost positive it's the phone line, though).

When people try to call my house, the phone will ring two or three times and then give them a busy signal even though it's not being used. Everything else seems to be working fine. I can call people on the phone, connect to the internet, and even answer the phone if I pick it up before it starts doing the busy signal thing. I've tried plugging a different phone into the same jack and I get the same results (which is why I think it's the phone line itself that has the problem).

I live in an apartment, so I suppose I could call the manager to get this fixed. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something before I started getting a bunch of maintenance workers involved.

Cynthetiq · 05-09-2006, 05:18 PM

You call the phone company. It's their responsibility not the building manager.

(inside the US)

Telluride · 05-09-2006, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cynthetiq

You call the phone company. It's their responsibility not the building manager.

(inside the US)

I guess I should notify the apartment manager so she can call the phone company. It probably wouldn't be a good idea for me to call in repairs for someone else's property.

Cynthetiq · 05-09-2006, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Galt

I guess I should notify the apartment manager so she can call the phone company. It probably wouldn't be a good idea for me to call in repairs for someone else's property.

actually has nothing to do with the property, the lines belong to the phone company. call the phone company on your friend's phone, let them know you are having a problem with your phone line. You pay for your phone line, they are responsible for upkeeping your lines tot he demarcation point which is the entry point to your apartment. (that's where the wire insurance comes into play which is worthless)

You are paying for service, they are required by law to fix it in a timely fashion.

If you wait for the management company I can almost 100% guarantee you that they will tell you to call the phone company yourself.

If for whatever reason the phone company doesn't have right of way to get to the phone box, then they will arrange with the manager themselves. Stop wasting your time and money.

Telluride · 05-09-2006, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cynthetiq

actually has nothing to do with the property, the lines belong to the phone company. call the phone company on your friend's phone, let them know you are having a problem with your phone line. You pay for your phone line, they are responsible for upkeeping your lines tot he demarcation point which is the entry point to your apartment. (that's where the wire insurance comes into play which is worthless)

You are paying for service, they are required by law to fix it in a timely fashion.

If you wait for the management company I can almost 100% guarantee you that they will tell you to call the phone company yourself.

If for whatever reason the phone company doesn't have right of way to get to the phone box, then they will arrange with the manager themselves. Stop wasting your time and money.

I'm definitely getting the ball rolling on this tomorrow. I didn't even realize that this was going on until late Sunday night (I don't receive many calls on my home phone). Last night I tried fiddling with my phone, and today I tried plugging in a different phone.

What was it you mentioned about wire insurance? When I was setting up my phone service after I moved here, the person from the phone company basically said not to bother with line insurance since it wasn't my responsibility to fix problems with the line, anyway.

Anexkahn · 05-09-2006, 06:55 PM

actually many apartment buildings in the US hold control of the telephone lines for their building. They buy lines in bulk and then re-sell them to their tenants. If your telephone service is included in your rent or billed by the apartment manager, then you should not be calling the telephone company yourself, its a building manager problem. if you had to setup your own phone service when you moved in, then call the telco yourself and forget notifying the building manager.

Fast busy after 1-2 rings is a common symptom of a bad mapping on a DID assignment, which would indicate that the building is purchasing bulk lines and then reselling them to the occupants.

a good way to determine if its the line or your telephone is to simply disconnect all phones, modems, anything connected to the phone lines, then call your own number from a neighbor or cell phone. if it rings and then busys out, its a telco / apartment switch problem. if it rings endlessly, then you have a bad phone, modem, or other device attached to your lines, re-connect things one at a time, calling yourself inbetween each connection, until the error appears and you've found the culprit.

Anexkahn · 05-09-2006, 07:01 PM

oops, your post showed up while i was composing mine, disregard the possibility that the lines were owned by the complex management since you said you dealt with the telco to setup service.

Wire insurance, line insurance, inside wire maintenence, whatever your local telco calls it, is basically coverage on the wires past the telephone companies lines.

Every service address has what is called a SNI (subscriber network interface) or demark, where the telco's lines end, and the private residence's line begins. Generally that is the big grey box on the outside of the house, or in the case of a multi tenant structure, in the basement or a utility closet.

When you call in trouble, the telco will verify they have clean dialtone to their demark, and if they have dialtone there, it signifies the problem is farther downstream, inside the private wire in the building, or attached equipment. If you have inside wire maint. or line insurance the phone company will cover any repairs to that, at no cost. If you don't have that, you have to pay for the service call, even tho they didnt fix the problem. In the case of an apartment building, however, the private lines are the responibility of the property owner and not the tenant, so wire maint for you, is indeed, nothing you'd want to buy.

Telluride · 05-09-2006, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anexkahn

oops, your post showed up while i was composing mine, disregard the possibility that the lines were owned by the complex management since you said you dealt with the telco to setup service.

Well, when I moved I had to call the company and request that my old phone number be transferred to this address.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anexkahn

In the case of an apartment building, however, the private lines are the responibility of the property owner and not the tenant, so wire maint for you, is indeed, nothing you'd want to buy.

I live in an apartment building, so apparently the property owner is responsible for wire repairs? Anyway, that's what the dude at the telephone company told me years ago when I moved here and had my phone number switched to this address.

05-09-2006, 05:00 PM	#1 (permalink)
Telluride Browncoat Location: California	My telephone is a piece of crap...or is it? I'm having a problem with either my telephone or the phone line itself, and I don't know which it is (I almost positive it's the phone line, though). When people try to call my house, the phone will ring two or three times and then give them a busy signal even though it's not being used. Everything else seems to be working fine. I can call people on the phone, connect to the internet, and even answer the phone if I pick it up before it starts doing the busy signal thing. I've tried plugging a different phone into the same jack and I get the same results (which is why I think it's the phone line itself that has the problem). I live in an apartment, so I suppose I could call the manager to get this fixed. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something before I started getting a bunch of maintenance workers involved. __________________ "I am certain that nothing has done so much to destroy the safeguards of individual freedom as the striving after this mirage of social justice." - Friedrich Hayek

05-09-2006, 05:18 PM	#2 (permalink)
Cynthetiq Tilted Cat Head Administrator Location: Manhattan, NY	You call the phone company. It's their responsibility not the building manager. (inside the US) __________________ I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. What's the best nation in the world? DO-NATION!

05-09-2006, 06:55 PM	#6 (permalink)
Anexkahn Crazy Location: whOregon	actually many apartment buildings in the US hold control of the telephone lines for their building. They buy lines in bulk and then re-sell them to their tenants. If your telephone service is included in your rent or billed by the apartment manager, then you should not be calling the telephone company yourself, its a building manager problem. if you had to setup your own phone service when you moved in, then call the telco yourself and forget notifying the building manager. Fast busy after 1-2 rings is a common symptom of a bad mapping on a DID assignment, which would indicate that the building is purchasing bulk lines and then reselling them to the occupants. a good way to determine if its the line or your telephone is to simply disconnect all phones, modems, anything connected to the phone lines, then call your own number from a neighbor or cell phone. if it rings and then busys out, its a telco / apartment switch problem. if it rings endlessly, then you have a bad phone, modem, or other device attached to your lines, re-connect things one at a time, calling yourself inbetween each connection, until the error appears and you've found the culprit.

05-09-2006, 07:01 PM	#7 (permalink)
Anexkahn Crazy Location: whOregon	oops, your post showed up while i was composing mine, disregard the possibility that the lines were owned by the complex management since you said you dealt with the telco to setup service. Wire insurance, line insurance, inside wire maintenence, whatever your local telco calls it, is basically coverage on the wires past the telephone companies lines. Every service address has what is called a SNI (subscriber network interface) or demark, where the telco's lines end, and the private residence's line begins. Generally that is the big grey box on the outside of the house, or in the case of a multi tenant structure, in the basement or a utility closet. When you call in trouble, the telco will verify they have clean dialtone to their demark, and if they have dialtone there, it signifies the problem is farther downstream, inside the private wire in the building, or attached equipment. If you have inside wire maint. or line insurance the phone company will cover any repairs to that, at no cost. If you don't have that, you have to pay for the service call, even tho they didnt fix the problem. In the case of an apartment building, however, the private lines are the responibility of the property owner and not the tenant, so wire maint for you, is indeed, nothing you'd want to buy.