dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
2738
robman50
join:2010-12-14

robman50

Member

[Homephone] Clicking sounds

What does it mean when there are clicking sounds in the phone?
The problem is not me but when ever I talk to the grandparents on the phone all I hear is tons of clicking sounds. Could their line may be damaged and need to be replaced? When they call us and leave a message on our answering machine there home phone sounds like a cell phone that is trying to hang on to the connection. They have the Bell dial pulse service and we have Cogeco phone. All the calls we made are clear but only when we call them it sounds like a bad cell phone connection.
RickStep
Premium Member
join:2002-11-25
Hamilton, ON

RickStep

Premium Member

Call Bell Canada repair at 611.

If the call is made from your grandparent's phone the repair people should be able to hear the problem.

If the problem has to be dealt with from your end, I would post in the Bell Canada Direct forum here:

»Bell Canada Direct

The Bell Canada Direct forum allows for secure communication with Bell reps. You will be able to post their account name; phone number etc. and it will only be available to you and Bell Canada.

On a typical Bell call unless you are the account holder, Bell will not talk to you. Make sure you have all necessary information;
1. Phone number
2. Exact name on bill
3. The address on the bill; apartment number if applicable, street name and whether it is a street, avenue, boulevard or court, etc.; the city and the postal code printed on the bill; even if the Bell address has a mistake.

From that point; make your case;
1. Who you are.
2. Reason you are interfering - elderly grandparents.
3. The issue that needs correction.

Bell staff can sometimes be an ass when a neighbour or a relative try to help someone. This should go relatively smoothly.

Good luck

Rick

LazMan
Premium Member
join:2003-03-26
Beverly Hills, CA

LazMan to robman50

Premium Member

to robman50
Could be the phone itself, too... Try swapping their phone for a known-good one.

If Bell comes, and there isn't a trouble on the line, they are well within their rights to charge a fee - I believe it's about 90 bucks these days.
robman50
join:2010-12-14

robman50

Member

said by LazMan:

If Bell comes, and there isn't a trouble on the line, they are well within their rights to charge a fee - I believe it's about 90 bucks these days.

wow that sucks.
RickStep
Premium Member
join:2002-11-25
Hamilton, ON

2 edits

RickStep to robman50

Premium Member

to robman50
LazMan is correct; it could be the phone.

However; if the phone is on hook (hung up); most of the phone is disconnected.

If the test centre shows no issues when the phone is not in use the problem is likely in the home. If your grandparents home has not been upgraded to jacks; I would push Bell to upgrade the home and the problem could disappear. If Bell finds a problem during the upgrade, don't let them fix it and buy a new phone.

The phone is easy to test if it is on a plug. Call a neighbour and swap the phone if that option is available. I'm a grandparent on the tech side. I've plugged a neighbour's phone in here as a test.

Rick
robman50
join:2010-12-14

robman50

Member

the phones in the house are still new. one is an 2.4ghz panasonic cordless that is 2 years old and the other is 6 years old and it is an corded panasonic phone. a couple of years ago they had an large tree removed and it fell on the phone line and brought the line close to the ground and than jumped up like an bungee cord. also that line has been beat up a bit with tree branches and wind.
CR1239
join:2006-11-04
Vancouver, BC

CR1239

Member

2.4GHz? Most "clicking" sounds on 2.4GHz cordless phones are due to nearby wireless routers interfering. Solved sometimes by changing the channel on the phone, or changing the channel on the router.

Unless it's for sure happening on the corded phone too - but most copper line issues don't manifest themselves as distinct clicking noises - a hum (imbalance, ground, or possibly inverter noise) or static (a worn or ready to break conductor, or a short, or foreign voltage on the line), those are "DC" faults on the copper.
robman50
join:2010-12-14

robman50

Member

Well I picked up the corded phone to make a call and it made an loud static sound. I wonder could the wire from the phone to the jack be bad? As for the cordless phone I do expect something with the range and interference.

Glen1
These Are The Good Ol' Days.
MVM
join:2002-05-24
GTA Canada

Glen1 to robman50

MVM

to robman50
Static can be almost anywhere...that is why in most cases Bell installs a "demarc" unit where the customer can unplug their inside wiring and plug in a telephone and see if the trouble still exists. If it does then it is usually outside the home and on the Bell wiring. However in this case if it is the telephone then the trouble will follow. Two phones would be a safe test. I have seen static in the transmitter of the telephone handset and I have also seen it in the oslam port of an OPI so it is one of the toughest troubles to "sectionalize" unless you have the proper tools.
robman50
join:2010-12-14

robman50

Member

Here is an update. I replaced all the wires on the phones with all new and the problem is mostly gone but every time it rains all of the phones are clicking (even the wireless phone.)
Could it be possible for water to get in to the telephone line if it is an underground system? You see those small brown boxes all up and down their street so I figured the telephone lines are underground.
RickStep
Premium Member
join:2002-11-25
Hamilton, ON

RickStep

Premium Member

said by robman50:

Could it be possible for water to get in to the telephone line if it is an underground system?

Yes.

If you have a cell phone, you could call Bell repair and ask to be connected to the test centre. If you are successful; be prepared to disconnect the wiring from Bell to the house. Bell should be able to detect the problem as their problem and initiate a fix. The call to Bell will need to be made while the phone is acting up.

You could also turn on a garden sprinkler and keep the ground wet so that the problem exists when the Bell tech shows up.

Rick
robman50
join:2010-12-14

robman50

Member

What would happen if they refuse to get it fixed?

Also what are the steps taken to correct this type of a problem?
RickStep
Premium Member
join:2002-11-25
Hamilton, ON

RickStep

Premium Member

said by robman50:

What would happen if they refuse to get it fixed?

Also what are the steps taken to correct this type of a problem?

It would be highly irregular if Bell rfused to fix any customer problem. As has been stated here many times before; Bell will issue a warning that if the issue is in the home, Bell will bill the account for a service call of close to $100.00.

Here is what I would do if there is a Bell installed demarcation block:

1. Buy a new piece of Bell wire and run the wire from the demarcation point to a single working (a known good phone) and if the problem still exists; the problem is Bell's responsibility.

Here is what I would do if there is no Bell installed demarcation block:

1. Locate the wires from Bell that enter the building.
2. If the wire is burried; it likely contains 2 pair of wires. Pair 1 will be blue/white - white/blue and pair 2 will be orange/white - white/orange. The connected pair will be the live pair.
3. The live pair should be connected to a Bell protector (lightning arrestor).
4. Buy a new piece of Bell wire and run the wire from the protector block to a single working (a known good phone) and if the problem still exists; the problem is Bell's responsibility.

If the only wiring in the home is the new piece of wire you just installed; and the noise still exists Bell has to fix it.

The above connections will make the Internet unusable.

It may be a small price to pay to confidently lean on Bell.

Send me a pm (private message) with an email address or a phone number and I may be able to provide further assistance.

Rick
robman50
join:2010-12-14

robman50

Member

said by robman50:

What would happen if they refuse to get it fixed?

Not Bell, but what if the people who live there refuse to get a Bell tech out to look at it.
robman50

2 edits

robman50 to RickStep

Member

to RickStep
It's more like what if my grandparents refuse to get Bell to test and correct the problem. Will the condition of the line become much worse until the point of no telephone service at all?
I would imagine water and the small amount of voltage in the phone line is a bad thing.

Anyway not related to the clicking noise due to the rain,
here is what I know about there phone service (for normal every day use):
I think they have the old grandfathered pulse system because
every time I phone someone from their place like if I press 5 than the phone makes 5 clicks rather than the dial tone system makes a short tone sound. I don't think the # and * keys work on the pulse system, do they?
I swear it takes 2 minutes to dial the family overseas. LOL
Well the phone dials and has the click-a-thon it might as well be time to get a snack.
RickStep
Premium Member
join:2002-11-25
Hamilton, ON

1 edit

RickStep to robman50

Premium Member

to robman50
The issue is really simple.

The ball is in your court / grandparents court.

I've done the best that I can to help.

To quote an old phrase; you can bring a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

Good luck,

Rick.

P.S. The previous offer to pm me still stands; but I am not going to your grandparents home.

Perhaps the solution is to hire a 3rd party company to get the issue fixed. Like a lot of other issues such as electrical wiring, plumbing and automotive; if you can't fix it yourself or get a friend to help (dslreports.com); pay someone to do it for you.
robman50
join:2010-12-14

robman50

Member

I'll just wait and see what happens over time. Hey as long as the phone works than they are happy.

Also I'd never knew that Bell still supports the pulse system I'd thought it's dial tone or nothing.

Glen1
These Are The Good Ol' Days.
MVM
join:2002-05-24
GTA Canada

Glen1

MVM

There are people that don't want to pay for "touch tone" on their lines so the "digi-pulse" telephones still work on that type of line. I come across them once in awhile...
cog_biz_user
i ruin threads apparently
join:2011-04-19

cog_biz_user to robman50

Member

to robman50
If you have a bad landline, I suggest going the VOIP route. The fact of the matter is, Bell will say and do anything to bill you for sending a tech out. Their rule is that anything inside the house is the customer's responsibility.

A few years ago, I had a problem with a landline. Any time it rained, snowed, or any appreciable amount of wind, our phone line would get stuck in the off-hook position. You would pick up the phone and get nothing but air. When it did work, it was crackly and poppy as you describe. Bell swore up and down that the issue was inside the residence itself, and had nothing to do with the fact that the phone line exiting the residence was cracked, and sagging so low that it was wrapped around a 5' fence 3 or 4 times. We gave up and switched to cellphones.
robman50
join:2010-12-14

robman50

Member

Where could the ground water come in to the phone line? By the pedestal?
RickStep
Premium Member
join:2002-11-25
Hamilton, ON

RickStep

Premium Member

said by robman50:

Where could the ground water come in to the phone line? By the pedestal?

The buried Bell drop wire is a round wire about 5/16 inch in diameter (8mm); usually has 2, 3 or 6 pairs of wires and is classed as direct bury. Direct bury cable can be buried in the ground without additional protection.

Telephone cables are supposed to be buried a minimum of 18" into the ground. Grading changes can result in the phone wire just under the sod (1/2 to 1 inch deep) or over 3 feet deep. It is not uncommon for buried lines to be 6 inches to a foot deep and run through flower or vegetable gardens resulting in the jacket and other insulation being cut with a shovel. Animals that live in the ground, rodents (voles & moles), gophers, chipmunks etc. can also chew holes in the insulation.

In short, any water soaking into the ground could cause a problem anywhere along the length of the portion of the wire that is buried.

Rick
robman50
join:2010-12-14

robman50 to RickStep

Member

to RickStep
said by RickStep:

To quote an old phrase; you can bring a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

I guess I could say the horse sees the water but it's not going to drink it.