Phone issues can be frustrating and TDS is here to help make troubleshooting a little easier. Follow the steps below to narrow down the issue and get your service working properly again
Check for an outage first
If you are a TDS customer, check TDS Outage Information before troubleshooting equipment in your home to see if there is a known service issue in your area.
If there is no reported outage, continue with the steps below.
Check whether the issue affects one phone or your whole home
Knowing where the problem is happening can help narrow down the cause.
- One phone: Try a different phone in the same wall jack.
- One wall jack: Try the phone in another jack.
- All phones or jacks: Continue with the equipment reset below.
If another phone or jack works normally, the issue may be with the original phone, cord, jack, or inside wiring.
Unplug phone-line devices and retest
A device connected to your phone line can sometimes cause no dial tone, static, or other service problems.
Unplug everything connected to the affected phone line, including:
- Telephones
- DSL modems
- Fax machines
- Answering machines
- Splitters
- Other equipment connected to a phone jack
Wait about two minutes. then plug one known working phone directly into a wall jack.
If you have a dial tone, or the static is gone, reconnect your devices one at a time and test the line after each one. This can help identify the device or jack causing the problem.
If the issue continues with everything else disconnected, test the line at the NID.
Test at the NID or phone box
The Network Interface Device (NID), sometimes called the phone box, is where our phone line connects to the wiring inside your home. It is usually a small gray box, about 6 inches by 9 inches, located outside the home, although some homes have an indoor NID.
Testing at the NID helps determine whether the issue is inside your home or with the incoming phone line.
Testing an outside NID-
Use a known working corded phone whenever possible.
Open the customer-access side of the NID.
Locate the test jack for your phone line.
Unplug the existing line from the test jack.
Plug your corded phone directly into the jack.
Check for a dial tone and listen for static or noise.
If the line works normally at the NID:
The incoming service is working, and the issue is likely with a phone, wall jack, connected device, or wiring inside the home.
If there is still no dial tone or the line is noisy:
The issue may be with our network. Contact us so we can investigate and open a trouble ticket if needed.
Testing an inside NID-
If your indoor NID is a small gray box with a test jack, follow the same steps above. If it is only a junction block and does not have a test jack, complete the equipment reset steps on this page.
If the problem continues
Contact us by clicking on the chat bubble icon in the lower right corner of this page to chat with our Repair Team Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 11 p.m. CT. TDS Repair Advisors are also available 24 hours a day by calling 1-888-225-5837.
