How to Repair Telephone Jacks

Having excessive static on your phone or no dial tone can be a major inconvenience, with the problem most likely being in your telephone or in the phone jack that it is plugged in to. The telephone can be checked easily by plugging it into a different jack or trying out a different phone in the jack in question. Should the problem seem to be the phone jack itself, there's a good chance that you will be able to repair it on your own at little or no cost.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Screwdriver (most likely flathead)
• Needle-nosed pliers
• Wire strippers
• Canned air
• Magnifying glass (optional)

1. Remove the screw that's located in the center of the phone jack and take off the face plate. You should see a few colored wires (most commonly red, green, black, and brown) and a pair of contacts that the wires are attached to.

2. Inspect the contacts for signs of rust or other oxidation, using a magnifying glass to get a better view of them if you wish. If the contacts are oxidized, unscrew them and disconnect the wires from them so that you can use your screwdriver or pliers to scrape loose the oxidation. Use canned air to clean out the phone jack and remove any oxidation bits that you scraped off.

3. Reconnect the wires to the contacts and plug your phone back in to check for a dial tone. If no dial tone is present, disconnect the wires again and strip off an additional bit of insulation before reconnecting them to the contact screws. This will allow for a better connection between the contacts and the wires, and will most likely fix the problem.

4. If after you reconnect the wires to the contact screws you are still unable to get a dial tone, you may need to replace the phone jack itself. New jacks are inexpensive, and can be replaced quite easily. Simply disconnect the wires again and remove the old jack from the wall. Screw the new phone jack in its place, following any instructions that come with the new jack, and connect the wires to the appropriate contact screws. Plug in your phone and check for a dial tone.

5. Should you still not be able to get a dial tone after replacing the phone jack completely, you most likely have a problem with your phone wiring itself. Contact your phone company to schedule a maintenance call in order to have it repaired.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure that you are attaching the correct wires to the contacts before calling for maintenance. The green and red wires are the ones that your phone problems will likely come from, and should be color-coordinated with the appropriate leads.