How to Connect Phone Jacks

The phone jack is nearly as common in most rooms of the house as an electric outlet. Phone jacks are used for connecting our wired and wireless phones to our home phone lines, and for computer connections if we use DSL service for our internet. If you need to connect a new phone jack when remodeling, or for extra convenience, don't worry. The wiring will only take a few moments.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Screwdriver
• Phone line wire
• Surface-mount phone jack

1. Disconnect your phone line into the house. Your phone line carries a small amount of current It's best to disconnect the line while you're doing the job. Open the phone junction box on the outside of your house by loosening the screw in the center of the box. When the box is open, you'll see a standard phone plug like you'd find on phone in your house connected to a jack. Unhook it and the phone line will be disconnected. Test by picking up a phone in the house; there should be no dial tone.

2. 
    
   Typical phone line junction box

   In the junction box there will be two screws, color coded red and green. Loosen them, and slide the red and green leads of your new phone wire underneath the screws. Tighten the screws down.

3. Route the new wire to where you want the new phone jack installed. If you can't run the wire behind a wall, staple it to a baseboard low on the wall.

4. 
    
   Surface mount phone jack

   Open your surface-mount phone outlet, and run the wire in through the opening in the bottom. Connect the red and green wires to the red and green color-coded screws. Mount the phone outlet on the wall using the screw hole in the back, then place the cover onto the outlet.

5. Return to your junction box and plug the phone line in. Plug a phone into your new outlet and test operation.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're doing new construction, you can put the phone jack in a gang box behind the wall. In remodeling the surface mount phone outlet is easier to use.

References

• House Wiring with the NEC; Ray Mullin; 2004

Resources

• Surface mount phone jack