Answers to Everyday Questions : My new phone line has no socket to connect with, can I buy the box and DIY or is this for engineers only?

My new phone line has no socket to connect with, can I buy the box and DIY or is this for engineers only?

8 Responses to “My new phone line has no socket to connect with, can I buy the box and DIY or is this for engineers only?”

1. danceswithwolves said :
   June 5th, 2010 at 11:41 pm

   you need an engineer I think, dont do it yourself
2. Tank Mk 1 said :
   June 6th, 2010 at 12:03 am

   Yes you can DIY its fiddly but your in law could do it easily.
3. G.T said :
   June 6th, 2010 at 12:14 am

   No need for expert or engineer, visit a shop dealing with telephone equipment, ask them they will advice, simple socket for plug in will do the job with a screw driver, good luck
4. GTB said :
   June 6th, 2010 at 12:15 am

   It is usually very easy to do.

   In the “good old days” you had 4 wires, each with different color insulation (red, green, yellow, and black) and each wire was connected to its screw mount that was colored identically the same (red wire to red screw or screw with red color marking, etc). This mode is pretty common even today.

   Remember that if you are running only 1 phone line (single phone number), you use the red and green wires only. Below is the color scheme, pin numbers etc for standard RJ11 (phone jack) and the RJ45 (common computer network jack) logic which you may need.

   RJ 11 Pin Telephone Wire Color CAT5 B color CAT5 Pin (RJ45)
   1 black green white 3
   2 red blue 4
   3 green blue white 5
   4 yellow green 6
5. Pauline said :
   June 6th, 2010 at 1:06 am

   Well for starters, you should ignore all the USA answers.

   UK will use terminal 2,3,5 (and 4 for neatness)!
6. skibm80 said :
   June 6th, 2010 at 1:24 am

   All a telephone wire is is 4 wire, that are color coded, and transmit signals to and from the ear piece and to and from the mouth piece. It’s just as easy as installing a new electrical outlet. So, if your father in-law is good at doing that sort of stuff, he will be fine doing this.
7. The Tank said :
   June 6th, 2010 at 2:20 am

   Don’t understand your question. When a new phone line is installed it always comes with a socket and the phone plugs into this.
   The days of hard-wired telephone installations disappeared in about 1980.

   Have a look at the connector and you can remove the phone plug by squeezing the plastic clip on the side. It is a simple matter to fit an extension kit bought from places like B&Q or other shops.

   BT always fit Master Line Boxes with a plug connected phone. If you undo the two screws you can remove the front panel and see a set of IDC terminals. Some extension kits can use these. The wiring instructions are always provided with the kit.

   If you are in the UK and you have not got a BT “Master LIne Box” then it’s possible that you don’t have a BT line. In that case you must not let your Father in Law anywhere near it or you’ll be in breach of service usage conditions.

   If you are USA then you should know that your question has appeared on the UK& Ireland Only answers site so it is irrelevant to UK conditions.
8. lizzie. said :
   June 6th, 2010 at 3:15 am

   did BT put it in for you, if they did then you should complain they are supposed to fit the sockets in for the phones as well, did you pay for them to be put in. if so that is bad . use your mobile and complain to them about it.