Will the phone service work throughout my home?

How to establish phone service throughout your own home

***This install is only if you use a Cable Modem. Do not try this install if you use DSL because disconnecting you phone line will lead to no internet service, which in turn will make our service unavailable.***

Many of our customers ask us “If we sign up for your broadband phone service will we able to have it on more than one phone?” The answer is Yes, there are many different ways to go about connecting all of your phones in your house to our network. This way if you have the unlimted plan you can make as many calls as you want to anywhere in the U.S. or Canada for one low price. We assume that you know how to use a screw driver for this installation. We also would like to expect that you at least know the fundamentals about electrical safety, such as do not try this install while standing barefoot in a puddle of water. If you do not feel comfortable doing this after reading this through, you should consider hiring an electrician. Ok, now that we got that out of the way lets go ahead and start the walkthrough.

• Step 1: Your first step in the process is to disconnect you phone line from the outside world. You want to do this incase any unexpected voltage comes across the phone line. This could cause damage to any equipment connected to this phone line or even worse cause a fire in your home. To disconnect your phone line you want to go outside your home and find the gray box that is mounted on your house where the phone line comes in. In some rare cases the box can be located in the homes basement. This box is called a Network Interface Device. When you find the box, open it up by unscrewing the screw that is keeping it latched together (Figure 1).

Figure1: Network Interface Device

• Step 2: You now have access to the wires that are going into your house from the Network Interface Device. You do NOT have access to the wires coming from the street to the NID. There is also a ground wire that goes from the NID to the ground, this wire is usually green. Never disconnect this wire. This is a safety device that has been put in place for the safety of you and your home. Once the box is open you want to find the correct wire that would have been used for your regular telephone service and disconnect it. This sounds a lot harder than it really is. For many homes you have two lines that come in. So inside the box you should see two screw terminals that have a short phone lines connected to it (Figure 2). All you have to do is unplug the short phone wire from its socket and leave it disconnected.

Figure 2: Inside the box

• Step 3: You should now leave the connector taped up so that the phone company will not try to connect it. Also we recommend writing “Do not reconnect, May damage inside equipment” on a piece of tape and sticking it inside the box. Close up the box using the screw that you undid in step 1 and if possible zip tie the box shut so it would be difficult for someone to get in. This process is an easy reversal, so if you ever sell your house you can reconnect it.

• Step 4: Go back inside your house and pick up a phone that worked before you disconnected your line. If your phone is dead (has no dial tone) then you are on the homestretch of the install. If your phone still has a dial tone then you should contact an electrician or the phone company and have them assist you in disconnecting your phone line.

• Step 5: Connect your adaptor into any phone jack in your house. It is probably in your best interest to place the adaptor closest to where your Ethernet broad band connection is located. Lastly just connect the adaptor to your broadband connection and start talking. All the phone jacks in your house should now support the phone service.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER:
Our staff has tried to make these instructions as clear as possible to benefit you, the customer. We are not responsible for any damage that may occur to your equipment, house, or any other personal/public property during this install. You assume all the risk when using this guide. If you do not feel comfortable doing this you should hire an electrician who knows what they are doing.

*Some pictures and information were taken from Michigan Telephone