Updated the FAQ section with 7 questions and answers. Updated the final costs. Even in the digital wireless age where most of our calls take place on cell phones, many people still want a home phone. There are several advantages to having a home phone, but it requires an installed telephone jack. The job of installing a phone jack can be done DIY if you have the relevant skills and experience, or you can hire a professional. Costs vary depending on the jack type and installation location.
Telephone Jack Cost Calculator Costs to install a phone jack vary greatly by region. The technical side of telephones might seem complicated to an amateur, but it is simpler than you might think. There are two components to consider when installing a home phone: the wiring and the jack. Most telephone wires are made from twisted pairs of copper wiring, and the typical four-strand phone line has two of these pairs. Each phone only needs one pair to function.
A standard four-strand telephone wire with two pairs supports two telephone lines, and a six-strand wire with three pairs supports three lines. There are other jack types, but these are the most commonly used across the U. The RJ11 is wired to support one telephone line. The RJ14, also known as the four-conductor jack, supports two lines, and the six-conductor jack, the RJ25, is used for three telephone lines. The cost of installing a phone jack has a broad cost range, depending on the size and complexity of the project and whether you hire a professional.
If you already have these tools, the job can be done even cheaper. The job of installing a phone jack involves finding a location for the jack, measuring out the wiring required, checking the old wiring for any signs of damage, and potentially sawing through drywall to access the insides of the walls.
The installer usually has to make a hole in the wall and slip the new wire inside, before connecting the jack at the end.
Compare prices from telephone jack installers near you Compare Quotes. Several factors influence the cost of installing a telephone jack.
The jack type affects the price because jacks with more conductors are more expensive. The amount of wiring required also impacts the price, with longer wires costing more. Another factor is whether the installer has interwall access. In new construction, they usually hook up the telephone wires and jacks before the drywall is installed, making the job much easier. In existing homes, they must drill holes into the drywall to access the interwall space, which takes more time and costs more.
Also, see if there is any existing wiring and what condition it is in. If your home already has quality wiring, the installer can make use of that and connect it to the new jack.
If the wiring is damaged, it needs to be replaced. And if there is no wiring, it must be installed, leading to a larger and more expensive job. Many modern homeowners consider the possibility of converting unused phone jacks to ethernet, allowing them to connect ethernet cables to their online devices like routers, computers, laptops, and gaming consoles to set up local area networks LANs and potentially boost their internet speeds.
This job can be quite simple, but it depends on several factors. You may want to hire a professional installer to take on the task if you are unsure how to do it. First, the installer will open up one of the phone jacks and investigate the wiring behind it. Most modern homes have Cat 5 or Cat 6 wiring, which is good for ethernet conversion because it means you can use those existing wires and do not need to install new ones.
If the wires are not Cat 5 or 6, a new set of wires needs to be installed. Once complete, the installer will convert the cables to ethernet and switch out your old phone jacks for new ethernet adapters.
You can then connect routers, computers, and other devices to these ethernet ports. Unused phone jacks can be converted into USB power outlets, allowing you to charge devices like cell phones. Electrical hobbyists may be able to accomplish this, but other homeowners should hire a professional. The job involves using a voltage meter to test the amount of power coming through the line and then using a regulator to bring it down to 5 volts.
After that, cut open the phone cord, separating the color-coded wires inside, and then connect them to the regulator before cutting open a USB cable and doing the same with its color-coded wires. Solder the wires in place and then plug your phone into the USB cable and start charging it. Wireless phone jacks allow you to use new phone jacks without installing new wiring. They use a transmitter and receiver that plug directly into AC outlets, making use of your existing phone line to make and receive calls wirelessly.
They are useful for those who want multiple phones around the home but do not want to have to drill through the walls for each one. It can also be cheaper to install a wireless phone jack than a standard wired jack. Wireless phone jacks have a wide range of costs, mostly due to the number of features.
The more features it has, the higher the cost. Find top-rated telephone jack installers near you Find Pros. A six-conductor jack supports three phone lines, rather than one or two, offering the homeowner more flexibility.
These jacks are recommended for larger homes and cost a little more than standard four-conductor jacks. These adapters turn telephone jacks into USB charging stations, provided you have the correct wiring. Handymen and electricians can install phone lines. They can also connect phone jacks and make any necessary repairs or enhancements. This depends on the construction, but yes, most new homes are constructed with at least one phone jack. This is possible, but the wiring in your phone system may need to be replaced and special adapters installed.
Your cable or internet company can connect the coaxial cable to a special modem to provide your home with WiFi access. Most phone jacks are situated in the living room or near the entrance to the home. You can hang a chalkboard or cork board over them or place a large piece of furniture in front of them. Because these fees vary based on what needs to be repaired, we can't give a ballpark figure here. We will provide a written estimate — and a satisfaction guarantee — before beginning work.
Did you know? If you live in an apartment, equipment repair and installation may be included in your rental agreement — which means it probably won't cost you anything.
Ask your building manager before you pay for repairs. Check for outages and troubleshoot problems with your home phone or internet service. View all Home Phone topics. Was this page helpful? CenturyLink Services Support. Home Phone. All Rights Reserved. I noticed that when I looked under the cover that only the 2 brown wires were hooked up, there are other wires which used to be hooked up an are now cut off.
My phone still works in fact I used to think maybe my phone was tapped because I could here dogs barking and other noises. Should the other wires be hooked up? Our line coming into the jack has six wires: red, black, green, blue, white and yellow. Exactly which wires go to which four screws at the back of the jack? It has red, green, black and yellow. Your other option is to see if you can trace the wires from the jacks in question back to the interface box mounted on the outside of your house.
Next, open the cover on the user side, determine which colored wires were hooked up in the interface box, then use the same colors on the jacks. Option three would be to use trial and error and check each of the wires at the jacks until you find the combination that works. I have netzero dialup, and i have a long 50ft phone wire running from downstairs, to the upstairs.
My kids were running through the dining room, where the wire cuts across the floor, and they tripped over the wire, and yanked the wires out of the phone jack. There are four color wires sticking out of the wall. Black,yellow,green,and red. I dont know where to tie the wires on the phone jack. Same color as the wires that were ripped out. But like i said, i dont know where each wire goes. And without the jack, no internet. Can someone please help me? Hi Drew, You should be able to match the colored wires up to the same colored terminals.
I matched up the colors, and all i get is like a humming sound from the phone. Not on any sides of my house, or even in my basment. Drew, Unless you are getting your phone service through the cable company, there should be a phone connection box somewhere.
If you have underground utilities, they will come out somewhere, either on the wall outside your house or the basement, or a wall or utility closet inside. If you can dial the phone but it has a hum, check out our article on How to Fix a Hum in a Phone Line. Thanks for the help.
Im still kind of confused about all this, but i just hired someone to fix it. Thanks again. Last week ADT installed a security system and connected their monitoring box to the phone NID with a new cable of their own.
But while trying to figure out how to install their system, the ADT installer removed a two line phone jack in a nearby room , fiddled with it and then put it back in the wall. After he installed the system, I noticed that we had fax but no voice service.
When I dial the voice number from my cell, I get a busy signal. Thanks for your help, John. I forgot to mention that when you try to call out with the voice line, you get a busy signal.
I do not have a phone line we use cell phones however I do have DSL modem. I changed the location of my computer last night not realizing that the phone jack had to be wired different for the DSL. I took it apart tried to wire it like the other jack but they are totally different jacks. I have a jack like the picture above with the 4 screws. I belive the 2 blue wires are the ones that I use for DSL but which ones, there are 2 sets coming out of the wall and where do they go?
Anyone have directions…with pictures? Hi Amy, First check to be sure the jack in question is hooked up at the interface box to the line that has the DSL, then use the same color wires that are connected in the interface box for the phone jack.
Hi great site you have here! Here is what i am dealing with. I just had my phone service turned on today. Only 1 of the 3 phone jacks gives a dial tone to my phone when i plug the phone cord into the phone jack.
All the wires in the three phone jacks are connected. Would my rechargable phone make a difference in this case? Two of the three phone jacks appear to be a bit older than the type that gives a dial tone wall mount type with spring retractable half moon looking swivel door I know this could be a it might be this,this or this or that question. What other checks might be effectively applicable in sorting this no dial tone thing out?
Thanks to the phone pros and non pros alike! You might take the cover of the jack and be sure the wires are hooked up to it, then check the interface box outside to be sure the same color wires are hooked up there as well. If all appears wired properly, my next step would be to try hooking up a new jack to the existing wires.
If still no go, try swapping off the existing wires at both the box and jack. Last resort would be to run a new cable from the box.
I have a newer home, about five years old or so I think it has the six wire interface box since I have three separate phone lines. I just bought a Polycom phone which is an analog speaker phone only for my office. I also tried a 6-line splitter to the wall but nothing.
My Vtech has an ext. Thanks for this great service. John C. My jacks are the usual red, green, yellow, black, etc. My cable appears to have a solid color next to the same color with white hashes.
So, which one goes to red or green? The solid, or the one with the white hash? I sure hope somebody can help me with this. I just ran a new phone jack into the living room for DSL to our computer.
There are now 3 jacks in the house bedroom, kitchen, and living room. The kitchen and living room are next to each other, but the jacks do not share a common wall. The bedroom phone jack always works. I cannot have anything plugged into the kitchen and living room jacks at the same time because neither will work.
Only 1 can be plugged in at a time between those 2 rooms. To further complicate the matter, the phone jack in the living room will randomly dump the DSL signal and will not pick it back up until I pull the jack out and let it hang from the wall.
I have replaced the living room phone jack once, and it worked for a week, but now it quits again. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you! I have a question, I just recently signed up for verizon dsl services and they told me that in order for my dsl services to work I would need to install a new jack in my room or re wire the one I already have so that the number I have already will not work on it.
I would like to know how would I go about doing that? I recently signed up for verizon dsl and I need to install a Seperate phone jack so I could use it because its on an seperate account with the phone line. Hi, 1 What does it cost ballpark figure to run a new cable from the NID through the house for 3 jacks? I was removing wallpaper in the kitchen and had to unscrew the plate cover that has the phone jack in it and the thing you screw the satelling cord to.
When I was scraping the wallpaper, I must have touched the wires with my arm somehow and got a slight shock.
Since then, none of our phones will work in the house. I went outside and checked to see if we had service coming into our house and we do. Any ideas on what could be wrong? While you could figure it out by trial and error until you find the combination that works, a better idea is to open up the interface box, find the line that goes to your jack, note the color of the wires that are connected to it, and match those same colors on the jack.
I recently moved into someone elses home, the bedroom that I use has no phone jack and I am wondering how to approach this problem. One phone jack is located in the bedroom next to mine. The phone jack is on the wall in the other room and that wall is the same wall that I have too. So I use a pin light; shine it from the wall jack, it would go maybe 1 foot through the wall to my wall which looks like its the same wall as his wall is and I could take a drill and drill right through my wall and it would open up and I could unattach his wall jack and attach it to a new wall jack in my room.
I am asking you if this is what I would need to do? I did look in my closet but asside from this big insulated 12 inch diam. Great site! I have an old telephone wall mounted jack. There are 2 wires going into it, each separating into yellow, red, green and black. There are 8 screws available to attach these to—4 on each side of the jack.
I have tried connecting the other green with the green still attached to the second screw on the right, but no dial tone. What should I try? I have a connection in my basement, that has two studs with nuts on left side, and two studs with nuts on the right side. Thgre is a main cable coming in from the box outside, with a black and white wire. I can send a picture, if that would help. In the box outside, there is a blue pair and ornage pair connected.
My lines have never come directly from the external panel. Never mind, I figured it out. I extended the orange twisted pair, and attached them to the second set of studs ti the right, with the wire for the second line. This is an old house, and the studs for the phone connections are just bare, uncovered.
Andrew Says: September 19th, at am Andrew, did you insert the dongles that come with your broadband Modem? You should have gotten about of them for all the other jacks in the house. I tried to switch the face plate with a working one. The wires are so short-one broke-now it is nearly impossible to hook them up. What do I do? Can I add wire? Hi we tried to install an new jack in a bedroom, it seemed to work but lost the phone in the living room, we have one other phone that does work in another bed room, it is now the only phone to work.
Any idea why the one jack quit working? Any help would be appriecated. I love this site — thank you! Am I correct in assuming one set is for my dsl and the other for the landline? It looks as though they were all attached before but none of the wires are stripped.
Thank you for your time. Hello all, I have 3 black wires coming out of the wall and 4 wires from the jack to connect to those 3 wires. The 3 wires from the wall are not color coded, they are black, and by trial and error, I have been unable to get a dial tone. I have an older home with a telephone connection where i dont want it, i want to remove it. How do you take the jack off? Hello everyone. My friend asked me to hook up several rj45 jacks to handle data from his hub that is in the basement.
The jacks he bought does not have the same color code as my cat5. The other end of my cat 5 will have to have a RJ45 plug crimped onto it. Will my wire order be standard at that end because of this goofy jack? I have an old rotary phone hooked up in the garage with the phone line wired straight into the phone. How can I install a phone jack on this line so that I can place a dsl filter there also and eliminate line noise? The phone is antique but convenient.
Live in a 3 story condo. Have a bedroom right above dining room and there is a phone jack installed in bedroom on 3rd floor in same location. My brother drilled a hole in the wall in dining area expecting to find a telephone wire but nothing. Is it possible to install a wire from phone jack in bedroom to dining area below. Help if you can!!! Hi Rose, Yes, you can run an extension for a new jack from an existing phone jack. Check out our article on How to Add a Phone Extension to find out more.
Hi Rose, It will not be easy to run a phone line from one floor to another. You will have to cut an opening in the wall, drill through the top and bottom wall plates to the stud cavity below, then snake the phone line down the wall and out through an hole in the baseboard.
Good luck with your project! What a wealth of information! I have just bought an old rotary wall phone for my kitchen and LOVE it. A few years ago I used a second line for my computer. But things have once again changed in this busy household of mine and I need to connect the jack that is in that room to the main line. My outside box does not allow access to the cable. From the looks of things it is a completely separate cable from my main line. This house was once used for a business so there are many cables that go into the outside box.
Please advise. I can provide pics if that will help. I just moved into a new house and there are blank wall plates in every room with a gray cable behind it. Could this be phone wiring? How do I determine what its used for? It should run to your phone interface box but may not be connected to the incoming phone line. Depending on the setup in your interface box, you may be able to attach a phone jack to it, then connect it to the leads on the interface box to make it a working phone.
Good luck with your project. Then yellow, black, red and green. How do I hook them up for the phone to work. Hi,I have a question. Do you have a clue to which panel it goes to? I am moving into a business lease spot that has 4 landlines already in use. I need a land-line as well. Can a fifth land-line be added? How can I tell if a fifth line can be added? Do I need a professional technician?
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