DIY Telephone Jack Wiring

Wiring a telephone jack yourself will save you money and time.

Telephone jacks in the various rooms of your home connect a phone set or a computer dial-up modem to the phone line that runs through the house from the phone box attatched to the outside wall of the house. Installing an additional telephone jack is usually the responsibility of the homeowner. Telephone companies often will charge a fee to add a telephone jack. The service is often expensive and you will need to wait until a representative can arrive at the home. Installing the jack yourself is easy and quick.

Things You'll Need

• Screwdriver
• Wire stripper
• Utility knife

Instructions

1. Locate the interface box installed by your telephone company outside the home. Disconnect the test jack from inside the box, which is usually located on the lower right hand side. Unscrew the two terminals using a screwdriver if it is an older interface without a test jack.

2. Unplug your phone from your phone jack if there is already an old one installed. Unscrew the faceplate of the phone jack from the wall.

3. Feed wire from the outside interface to the phone jack and strip the wire using wire strippers. This will expose the four wires inside. Cut back 1/2 to 3/4 inch of the exposed wire's surrounding plastic to expose the copper.

4. Wrap the wire around the corresponding screw, black the upper left, green upper right, yellow lower left and red lower right. Tighten the screws with a screwdriver and reattach the faceplate to the wall. Test the phone line.

References

• Wire it Yourself: Do it Yourself Telephone Wiring
• Danny Lipford: How to Install a Phone Jack