How to Report a Faulty Phone Line

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Easy-to-follow steps to test and report faulty phone lines

Reviewed by Luigi Oppido

Last Updated: March 10, 2025

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• Testing Your Phone Line
|
• Reporting a Faulty Phone Line
|
• Q&A
|
• Things You'll Need

|Show more |Show less

Unless there is a citywide outage, it is the customer’s responsibility to alert a phone company that a line is faulty. This wikiHow guide will show you how to submit a report.

Steps

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Testing Your Phone Line

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1. 
   1
   Pick up your phone. If it is a landline, listen for a dial tone with the dial button is clicked. Check to make sure the base is plugged in and the phone is charged before you move on to the next tests.

   • If it is a cell phone, try calling a number in your contacts since you will not be able to hear a dial tone.
2. 
   2
   Try plugging in another phone to the phone cable. If you have to find a new phone to do so, you will want to keep the receipt so that you can return it if your old phone isn’t faulty.
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3. 
   3
   Find another phone to use for the second part of the test. You can also go on your computer and use an online calling system, such as Skype.
4. 
   4
   Call the phone line that you suspect is faulty. If the call doesn’t go through, despite a dial tone, you may have a problem with your line.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Reporting a Faulty Phone Line

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1. 
   1
   Find your last phone bill. Look for a website for customer service. You can also go directly to a search engine and type in “Report a fault” and the telephone company name.
2. 
   2
   Check your phone line for faults using an automated system if it is available. Type your phone number into the space provided and the phone system will check to see if there are problems with the line.
3. 
   3
   Follow the instructions on the website if the phone number is checked and found faulty. You will need to submit a form that will result in a service call.
4. 
   4
   Opt to call the customer service line on your phone bill using an online calling service or another person’s phone in order to report directly that your phone line is fault. Request a service order so that they will be sure to respond to your service call promptly.
5. 
   5
   Check your phone after the service call. If you still have problems, call the customer service number again.
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Community Q&A

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• Question

  My phone line works for the telephone but not the internet. What should I do?

  

  Community Answer

  Call your service provider, they will walk you through a few steps before sending an engineer to investigate.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 38 Helpful 14
• Question

  My elderly mother's landline isn't working and she has no other method of communication. How can I report the faulty landline?

  

  Community Answer

  Call your mother's service provider and report the problem on her behalf. You may want to get her a mobile phone - you can get a nice senior citizen mobile that is basic, has larger programmable number buttons and a emergency red button.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 146 Helpful 38

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Things You'll Need

• Phone bill
• New phone
• A friend’s phone/pay phone/Skype