Big Mystery...Phone won't ring

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scruffylg
Big Mystery...Phone won't ring

I'm having problem with my cordless phone that's driving me crazy, and
I wondered whether any of the smart folks on this forum can help me
solve it (or refer me elsewhere).

I have a 5.8 GHz digital
cordless phone at my home that has an answering machine as well as
multiple handsets (Panasonic model KX-TG5664).

Sometime during
the past week or two, this phone just stopped receiving calls. It
neither rings, nor does the answering machine kick in. For example, if
I call this home phone from my cell phone, I can hear the line ringing
in my cell phone speaker. If I make the same call within my house, I
can hear the ringing in my cell phone speaker, but the cordless phone
doesn't ring. It's as if there is no phone plugged into the wall.

I
do know, however, that the cordless phone works and the phone line
isn't dead. That's because I can make any calls I want *from* my home
phone to the outside world. The only problem is receiving calls.

My
first instinct is to think there's something amiss with the phone line.
However, I tested the phone line with a brand new super-cheapo corded
phone and the corded phone rings fine when called.

So I thought
it was a problem with the Panasonic cordless phone. But then I plugged
in my *previous* Panasonic cordless phone/answering machine (which
happened to be lying around), and that phone refused to ring as well.
This leads me to believe it's not a problem with my cordless phone, but
something that affects all cordless phones.

At this point I'm
totally stumped. Does anyone who understands telephony and cordless
phones want to take a crack at this? Can anyone figure out why this is
happening?

I would be most appreciative.

(And by the way
I can assure you that (1) the phone base is plugged into an electrical
outlet, (2) the ringer on the phone is set to ring, (3) the ringer
volume is set to high, and (4) the answering machine is set to answer
calls.)

THeard
Did you figure out what was

Did you figure out what was wrong? I have the exact same issue.

PMagee
I have the same problem to

I have the same problem to some degree. I have two different models of Panasonic cordless phones. One with 3 handsets and one with a single handset. If both bases are plugged in neither ring. If they are plugged in individually each works fine. Do either of you have multiple phones plugged in?

PMagee
I have the same problem sort

I have the same problem sort of. I have 2 different models of panasonic cordless phone. One has 3 handsets and the other has 1 handset. If both bases are plugged in none of the phones ring. If either one of the bases is plugged in by itself it works fine. Do either of you have multiple phones connected?

JeepersCreepers
I have the exact same problem

I have the exact same problem. Just bought a Uniden DECT2080 dual handset cordless phone. Followed the directions *exactly* and outbound works fine. I can call in with my cell and if I pick up the call (it won't ring and the answering machine won't kick in) I am connected. A corded phone rings just fine.

Louise1981
Hi,

Hi,

Please, please tell me you have solved this problem as I am no on my third brand new cordless phone and cannot solve the problem. I have heard it may be something to do with the internet wireless connection that interferes with it??

Any info would be gratefully received

Many Thanks

Louise

Vinny218
Hello from London England.

Hello from London England. Trawled internet for anyone with my same problem and found you guys. Just bought Panasonic KX-TG8324 Quad set to update 7 year old cordless triple set, which worked fine. Phones can ring out and intercom between phones ok. But will not ring or flash incoming calls. Light does not flash to indicate incoming call. So not an issue with ringer settings. If you answer call, you can connect. Phones will work ok in friend's house. Phoneline confirmed ok.

If I turn off wireless broadband, still have problem. But lots of strong wireless networks around.

How do we solve this/ Waiting for Panasonic to get back to me.

Vince

 

Louise1981
Hi,

Hi,

Please, please tell me you have solved this problem as I am no on my third brand new cordless phone and cannot solve the problem. I have heard it may be something to do with the internet wireless connection that interferes with it??

Any info would be gratefully received

Many Thanks

Louise

Vinny218
Hello from London England.

Hello from London England. Trawled internet for anyone with my same problem and found you guys. Just bought Panasonic KX-TG8324 Quad set to update 7 year old cordless triple set, which worked fine. Phones can ring out and intercom between phones ok. But will not ring or flash incoming calls. Light does not flash to indicate incoming call. So not an issue with ringer settings. If you answer call, you can connect. Phones will work ok in friend's house. Phoneline confirmed ok.

If I turn off wireless broadband, still have problem. But lots of strong wireless networks around.

How do we solve this/ Waiting for Panasonic to get back to me.

Vince

 

KellyAtWork
Same thing just happened to

Same thing just happened to me last night! Had two homes - Panasonic cordless in both homes. Newer phones in Home #1, older phones in Home #2. Panasonic phones worked fine in both.

Sold home #1 (newer phones), brought phones to home #2 and plugged in. They don't work! I can call out, dial tone works, but phone won't ring for incoming calls. I can call home on my cell phone, pick up home phone (even though phone isn't ringing), and call is connected, but the phones won't ring!

Plugged old Panasonic cordless phone back in - works fine. Please update if anyone found a solution!

KTYDB
I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH

I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH MY PANASONIC. MY BOYFRIEND thought i was up to something because i had so many missed calls BUT I DIDNT HEAR MY PHONE I just looked down and saw there were calls....thanks Panasonic.

KTYDB
  Did Panasonic reply?

 

Did Panasonic reply?

Vinny218
Spoke to a "technical"

Spoke to a "technical" advisor at Panasonic, who questioned me about my internet setup. He suggested I needed to speak to my internet providor to install some sort of a filter in my setup. I told him I have cable internet to a netgear wireless dsl router,and no interference to phone line from internet. Also Virgin Media told me they did not know what Panasonic were talking about. I have a friend who has same cable internet, but through hard wired modem. The phone worked there ok. I tried disconnecting the netgear modem, but still no joy. Ended up sending phones back to Amazon on 30 day rule. They were cool about it. Still using old handsets until I see some good news.I do think it is something to do with a unique wireless frequency for the phones and wireless frequencies for internet, cctv etc. Tell your boyfriend to relax.

Shamrock
I had the same problem and

I had the same problem and take my word for it, my answer mode was on and my volume turned up. I read more than fifty different forums and none had a step by step answer. I finally replaced the phone set and of course found that it would not ring either. Same symptoms- got dial tone, could call out, no ring.
I finally got AT&T out for a $70 Plus service call. He examined the service box and found that the service was reacing my house which cleared them of any expense of course. He continued to investigate and eventually found a short in a

Vinny218
Found a short in what

Found a short in what Shamrock. Have you solved it???

Shamrock
Vinny218 said: Found a short

Vinny218 said: Found a short in what Shamrock. Have you solved it???

As I said when the repairman left everything including the ring has worked fine.  I can only state what he said which was "there is a short in one of the homes' system "wire pairs"  which he disconected the faulty pair and hooked up to another good pair of which he stated there are several in every system"  Again, this would appear to be something a novice would have trouble with fixing.  Hence the repairman seems like the obvious answer.  Mine works fine now thanks to the repairman.

JB1942
Just wanted to report that we

Just wanted to report that we have the same problems as discussed above. We have MacBook with wireless airport extreme. Have had for several years. Also have Vtech 5.8 GHz cordless phone with answering machine and one satellite as well as a corded very old wall phone in kitchen. That phone always rings. The wireless phones stopped ringing and stopped recording, however we can call out on all phones. The weird thing is that the old Vtech system and the DSL wireless computer system worked fine for three years.

Bought new wireless phone with answering machine and one satellite. Charged it up and it too won't ring or take messages.

Called AT&T out twice for line service. No problems detected. Next I replaced every DSL filter in the house. Problems continued. Then I tried new batteries in the old wireless phone system and problem still existed.

Just about given up and ready to give up land line service. Sure hope that there are some answers soon to this problem. Please report any updates you read or know about

JB1942
Hi, I'm JB1176 and I want to

Hi, I'm JB1176 and I want to report that our phone ringing problems are over. AT&T came out and I showed them the suggestion Shamrock mentioned on this thread about changing the phone line wires to another set of wires. They did that, not in the house but at a remote location wherever that is and voila both our cordless and corded phones ring and the message machine records messages.

One slight problem, however. The repairman didn't activate our DSL status to the new connection and so they had to come out a second time and connect the DSL card to our line.

Thanks, Shamrock for the tip! We've suffered from non ringing cordless phones for months. All that is history now, I hope!

GrandpaVOIP
I just bought a new Uniden

I just bought a new Uniden DECT 6.0 phone and had a similar problem. It wouldn't ring when plugged into my Linksys voip router, but my old 5.8 GHz did ring. It would get a dialtone and make calls, but when called via an outside line, it would appear as if it was ringing. If I picked up during this

Donka
Hey guys, ive just had the

Hey guys, ive just had the same problem when setting up broadband in my flat. The phone we are using is an old piece of s**t (sounds like some sort of genetically engineered bird gone wrong when it rings) but we have had the same problem; works fine but wouldn't ring as soon as we set up broadband... If i plug it into the external filter then into the phone jack it wont ring, if i plug it straight into the phone jack, then it will ring. Regardless of weather adsl is plugged in or not. So it must be the filter!

I would suggest that if you have this problem, try to bypass the filter. So either plug directly into the socket rather than through one and unplug adsl, or if you have a permanent filter then try plugging your phone into the adsl socket. Will be interesting to see what happens!

Dave

smixsell
Hey guys I have a similar,

Hey guys I have a similar, but even wierder problem. We just bought a house which needed a lot of cleaning prior to moving in. While my wife and I were working in the house I bought an old princess rotary phone from my garage and plugged it into the jack so that we would have a working phone in our new home while we worked. I tested it by calling from my cell phone and it worked fine. I then bought a Panasonic four handset wireless phone with answering machine and hooked it up. To my surprise would not ring nor would the answering machine pick up. I assumed the phone was broken so I brought my old answering machine from home along with our relatively old Uniden wireless phone and hooked them up. My old answering machine and Uniden cordless phone would not pick up either. I plugged the old princess phone back into the jack, and it rings when I make a call. The same phenomenon happens in all of the telephone jacks in our new home. The final bit of "weirdness" is that sometimes when I picked up the old phone to see if there is a dial tone, there is no dial tone. However, what I call the now "dial tone-less" phone immediately thereafter, it rings, and thereafter has a dial tone!

I have attributed these problems to an old "Home Director" telecom, wired home computer network, and video sharing unit which was built into the home, and which may be missing some components. However, I ssuspect there may be some common elements to all of our problems.

I have a home automation expert coming out in a few days, and I will relay any info I get from him to everyone.

Hayley
I have same problem. Virgin

I have same problem. Virgin will blame it on your phone and keep telling you its a fault with your phone and to get a new on,e but the true fault is with the virgin media cable. Basically the cable does not carry a high enough voltage to make new style phone ring but will make old lower voltage phones call. Problem there being most phones have a higher voltage and you cant buy these old phones anymore. Virgin wont seem to accept blame but try your new phone on a BT line and it will work fine. This is because the cables BT provide carry higher voltage. Bsically Virgin media for phone lines are rubbish. I have had to change.

Hayley
I have same problem. Virgin

I have same problem. Virgin will blame it on your phone and keep telling you its a fault with your phone and to get a new on,e but the true fault is with the virgin media cable. Basically the cable does not carry a high enough voltage to make new style phone ring but will make old lower voltage phones call. Problem there being most phones have a higher voltage and you cant buy these old phones anymore. Virgin wont seem to accept blame but try your new phone on a BT line and it will work fine. This is because the cables BT provide carry higher voltage. Bsically Virgin media for phone lines are rubbish. I have had to change.

Vinny218
Hayley, I think you've

Hayley, I think you've cracked it. For me anyway. It is really time for me to replace this old NTL triple set, but I can't see us changing our package just for a cordless phone setup. I suppose you have gone through it all with Virgin?
Thanks.

Hayley
yer over and over Virgin know

yer over and over Virgin know the fault, but it will take you ages to get them to admit it but fanally they will if you artgue it and they are letting me out of my contract early as there is nothing they can do about it. Im getting phone line with a different company and keeping my internet and tv with them as im happy with these two services.

Stringman
My experience with an old

My experience with an old (100+) and newer house is that it is important to make sure your telephone wires coming into the house, and the junction block where all the wires connect, stay clean and dry. If the wires can get damp or dirty, then when that 90 volts of ringing voltage come down the line, it may find a low impedance path. At my old house I had to make sure the outside wires didn't touch the ground or get damp. In my newer house, I discovered the wiring block was near a dryer vent where it got a ton of fuzz on it, plus the moisture, so eventually our phones stopped ringing even though we could make calls and our DSL was not affected. When we exposed and cleaned up the wiring block so that the phone company tech could re-visit us to troubleshoot things, suddenly it started working again.

Kelvo
Hi all - I believe I have

Hi all - I believe I have just begun to experience a very similar problem. My phone line is completely seperate to my internet and my phones have worked just fine for several years until this morning, when my Panasonic wireless phones stopped ringing for incoming calls. Outgoing calls work just fine, and if I pick up when an incoming call is coming it connects, so its just the ringing thats not happening, and the answer machine is not kicking in, which is why i think it is similar to other issues on here. But the weird thing is that all was fine yesterday, and there have been no changes to anything, and my internet is seperate to my phone line.
Anyone any ideas?

thewiringguy
If you have a landline phone,

If you have a landline phone, plug that into the Demarc either inside/outside of your house, if you dont know what that is, its a grey box where your phone lines come in and you will see customer service side.

Get a phillips screwdriver and open that side up and plug your phone in. If it doesnt ring there, your phone company has to fix the problem.

thewiringguy
If you have a landline phone

If you have a landline phone plug that into the Demarc either inside/outside of your house, if you dont know what that is, its a grey box and thats where your incoming lines are, you will see a customer service side.

Get a phillips screwdriver and open that side up and plug your phone in. If it doesnt ring there, call your phone company because its their problem.

Sage
My inlaws are experiencing

My inlaws are experiencing this same issue. They have Verizon FiOS and have been told to go buy a new phone. They've bought 3 different new phones in the past week, and all of them have this problem. They used an old corded phone and that one works fine, but all of their cordless phones won't ring for incoming calls.

Is the solution to get someone out to their house to replace their telephone wires? change the channel on their wireless router? or just get a new telephone provider?

It looks like this thread is about 2 years old!! It amazes me that this problem still exists and that the phone companies are somewhat unaware!!

David 11111
Got Virgin internet, tv and

Got Virgin internet, tv and phone installed last week. Bought a new phone (cordless) which would not ring when calling. Bought another - same problem. Glad I found this site because I assumed the problem was with my inability to plug a phone in correctly. Looks like I will have to sack Virgin and go without if they refuse to accept responsibility.

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