How to get my landline working again (post FTTP installation)?

[teuchter_61]

Hi there

As per the subject line above; I have had no landline service since having my broadband upgraded to fibre optic on 11th January, I have honestly lost count of how many calls I have made to Vodafone's customer service (sic) department - and every time I do call them, I have to retell the entire story from the very beginning and listen to their cast-iron promises that they will get the problem solved 'within an hour/two hours/24 hours' (delete as appropriate) - which of course never happens.

Should be noted here that I have been with Vodafone for almost a year and have not had any problems with them whatsoever until now. Also - I am disabled and mostly at home, so rely heavily on my landline to connect with doctors/nurses/specialists etc - unfortunately, my mobile signal (Vodafone) is not the best in my area.)

Ironically, the fibre broadband is working like a dream: guaranteed 100 Mbps and average test speed so far of 108 Mbps.

Would appreciate any advice anyone is able to give re the landline.

Cheers,

Teuchter

[THG3000-IPv6]

Ups, got it wrong

https://www.bt.com/content/dam/bt/help/sh2-user-guides/BT-Smart-Hub-2-User-Guide-Engineer-install.pd...
Looks like the BS 6312 female plug is behind the sticker in green colour

So VF router (THG3000) was perhaps design to be used EU wide and for UK they forgot to include with the UK power plug the BS 6312 to RJ11 adapter

You can get cheaper one on eBay for £1.79 (1847 already sold
BT Socket to RJ11 Plug 4 Pin Telephone Phone Cable Adaptor Converter UK
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402136000383

Drop me a msg. with the address you wanted to be delivered to and I can order one to be delivered to your address if VF fails to do the honourable think and send you one for free

[Jayach]

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@THG3000-IPv6 wrote:

You can get cheaper one on eBay for £1.79 (1847 already sold
BT Socket to RJ11 Plug 4 Pin Telephone Phone Cable Adaptor Converter UK
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402136000383

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The reason I linked to the one I did is because I know that one works.

Some are designed to connect BT style phones into company switchboards, and whilst I have no proof I believe they may not work.

There is no logic in the adapter, its just wires, so perhaps some have cross-overs. EDIT: No logic, but it does have a ring capacitor for those phones that need it. Thanks to @WelshPaul for pointing it out.

[WelshPaul]

The RJ11 telephone port found on various routers and telephone adaptors follows the North American standard. A PSTN mastered RJ11 To BT Telephone Adapter with ring capacitor is required when used with UK hardware.

[Jayach]

No ring capacitor is required, it will work perfectly well with just an RJ11-RJ11 cable. as the latest Vodafone instructions show.

[WelshPaul]

I have worked in the VoIP industry since 2004 and if only it was that that simple. 🤭

Sure, it's worth a punt if you have a RJ11 > RJ11 cable to hand but a RJ11 to RJ11 cable rarely works for the majority as older phones produced solely for the UK market will require an adapter with ring capacitor. Also worth mentioning that not all RJ11 > RJ11 cables are wired the same either. 😉

[Jayach]

The RJ11 cable I refer to is the one supplied with the router for DSL connections which is obviously not used with FTTP, 

Phones that need a ring capacitor have not been used for ages. (the bell/ring wires in the extension wiring were all disconnected when ADSL broadband came in)

There is an interesting thread on here (but I cant find it) where they connected the TEL socket to the extension wiring in the house and all the phones worked, but a couple of very old phones didn't, (they had rotary dials, that is how old they were) but by using a DSL filter on the phones they would ring, so the DSL filter obviously has the ring capacitor in it.

[Jayach]

I opened a BT socket (F) to RJ11 (M) adapter and yes it does have the ring capacitor. So using the RJ11-RJ11 (Internet) cable suggested by Vodafone in the picture above it won't be present so you are right, older phones will not ring with the RJ11-RJ11.

 Edit: I originally called the RJ11 connectors RJ45. Now corrected.

[WelshPaul]

Not just older phones...

BT Graphite DECT phones wouldn't work without one either:

https://www.ukvoipforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=6444#p6444

In fact, if you look around on that forum and other VoIP related communities it is a common complaint. Yes, I understand what you're saying regarding the ring capacitor and older phones such as rotary phones but there are modern handsets out there that still won't work without one too. 

You can purchase the same adaptors without the ring capacitor, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. You get a 100% success rate when going with an adapter that is wired as PSTN main with ring capacitor and so I always recommend one do just that. Heck, all VoIP (Digital Voice) providers should be including one with their equipment! 

[Jayach]

I'm surprised that there are modern phones that need the ring wire, it won't be just VoIP users with problems, it's been standard practice to disconnect or not install that wire because of the problem it causes with DSL broadband, for quite a some time.

[Mazzy13]

Just read your post on another site re this adapter ....PSTN main with ring capacitor. The one I sent for didn't have ring capacitor (I don't think) so thought I would give this a go seeing as I am getting nowhere with VF. Fingers crossed !