How to Hook Up DSL to Outside Phone Jack
If you find that your DSL connectivity is not stable within your home, running a dedicated line to your outside phone jack may improve your connection. Often, interior home wiring can cause interference on the line, which can cause reduced DSL speeds or even loss of connection. Before running a phone line outside, however, contact your Internet provider and ask them to run a test on your modem to make sure the modem itself is functioning properly. If there isn't a problem with the modem itself, sometimes a bad DSL filter on another phone in your home (or a phone with no filter at all) will cause slow speeds and disconnects.
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Things You'll Need
- Screwdriver or socket wrench
- Phone cord long enough to reach from network interface device to your modem
Instructions
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Locate the telephone company's network interface device (NID), usually mounted on the outside of your home. This box typically contains two panels: one for phone company access, the other for customer access.
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Use the proper-size screwdriver or socket wrench to open the customer-access side of the NID. You should see a phone jack, possibly more than one, inside this panel.
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Insert one end of your phone cord into the jack. Then, route the phone cable into your home. For now, simply route the cord through a window or door.
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Turn your DSL modem off. Plug the other end of the phone cord that is connected to your NID into your DSL modem. Then turn your modem back on.
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Test your DSL connectivity. If you are not getting a connection, go back outside and try another phone jack in your NID (if there is more than one). Turn your modem on and off and test connectivity again.
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Continue to test your DSL connection to make sure you have a reliable one and that the state of connectivity has been improved. If the state of your DSL is the same as it was before you ran the cable, then it probably isn't worth the trouble to keep a phone cord plugged in outside.
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Secure the cord at the NID by closing the NID cover and screwing it shut. The inside of the NID must be protected from rain. If there is no opening for your phone cord to exit the NID, contact your phone company to drill a hole in the NID cover for you.
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Reroute the cord from your NID to your DSL modem if necessary. If you intend to keep the cord hooked up all the time, you may wish to route the cord more permanently than simply running it through an open window or door.
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Tips & Warnings
If you drill into your home to run your phone cord, remember to place caulk around the opening to keep moisture and insects from entering your home.
Optionally, you can also purchase and mount an exterior DSL splitter right next to your NID, in which case you will not need to use separate filters on each phone.
Test that your DSL modem works better after hooking it up to the NID before installing the cord permanently (i.e. drilling into your home).
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Chad Baker/Photodisc/Getty Images
