How to Install Telephone Wires

Telephone wires are easy to work with and very safe due to the low voltages involved.

The most complex part of installing telephone wires is complying with the defined standards.

When installing additional telephone wires into an existing facility, it is usually best to determine which telephone wiring standard is currently in use and conform to that standard.

When installing telephone wiring into a new facility, EIA/TIA T586A is the standard to utilize.

How the Wire Gets into a Residence

Historically, telephone companies ran telephone wires above ground with telephone poles to make wire issues easy to repair. The wire itself is sourced at a telephone company and goes through various paths to get into a home’s general vicinity.

Above Ground Wiring

In older neighborhoods (1970s and earlier in the US) and areas that have a high water table, telephone wiring is most likely above ground. There is one or more telephone poles in easement areas in the neighborhood that distribute phone service wire pairs to residences with an aerial connection method. A breakout box is attached to the pole, with the main service lines for the area entering in one side and residential lines running out of the other side. Wires are then run from the breakout boxes to each neighborhood residence.

Underground Wiring

Most modern U.S. neighborhoods have telephone wiring underground. During the neighborhood build out, before home building commences, breakout boxes are installed in geographically strategic points and lines are trenched back to the neighborhood’s primary distribution can and to each property nearby.

The Residential Network Interface Device

Regardless of how the wire is run to a house, the wire terminates on a Network Interface Device (NID), which is connected to the home. This device is a gray or tan box about eight inches wide and twelve inches long with a door(s) concealing two compartments. Access to the customer compartment is possible with a simple slot headed screw. A specialized screw head controls access to the telco compartment. Users can open the NID’s customer access compartment to check lines for a dial tone, check wiring connections inside the NID, and to trace lines coming out of the NID into the home. The user does not need to open the NID’s telco compartment. If there is a wiring fault between a house and the central office, the customer cannot repair it. Most NIDs handle up to 5 different lines.

The telephone line from the pole or breakout box goes into the telco compartment and exits through the customer compartment.

If the customer only has one telephone line and there has been no maintenance on the line for a long while, he/she may have a box that is a predecessor to the NID. This box is simply a plastic or metal cover that is screwed over a telephone wiring box to protect it from the elements. The telephone company will replace the old box with a new NID at no cost if there is time, available equipment, and the customer demonstrate a need such as a method to test for dial tone. Sometimes, phone company technicians leave the original box in place and just install an NID between the box and the wiring running to the pole or breakout box.

Testing Phone Lines

Always use a previously tested corded phone for phone line testing. This is the only way to be sure that only the phone line is being tested. If unsure about the test phone’s functionality, take it over to a neighbor or family members home and test it with a known good phone line. Once there is dial tone, the phone is usable for a line test.

First Just Pick Up the Phone

When the telephone company initially installs a phone line into a home, they should provide at least one phone jack to connect a telephone. The easiest phone service test is to merely plug a phone into this jack with the proper wire, take the phone off the hook, and listen for the dial tone. Some people may need to consult their phone manual.

No Dial Tone

If there is no dial tone when the phone is taken off the hook, there is probably a phone line problem. If there are multiple jacks in the home, test each one to verify which jacks work and which do not. If some of the jacks are functional and others are not, the wiring fault is between the NID and those specific jacks. The phone company may be willing to help with these problems for a charge. Read more on how to repair these problems in the “Repair” sections below. If none of the jacks in the home is working, test the phone lines at the NID.

Testing at the NID

When the NID’s customer compartment is opened, there are phone jacks lined up, usually vertically. For each phone line installed in a house, there is a phone jack with a line plugged into it. Do not worry if there are jacks that have no line plugged into them, it may be that there was a second line to that home at one time, that the wiring box was faulty, or that they just installed more than one wiring box and jack as a standard install. If there is more than one line, labels on the NID lid should tell which jack is associated with which phone line or number. If they do not, just try them all until the one to be tested is found. To test, disconnect the line from the jack and plug the corded phone into it. This will disconnect the line from the jacks in the house, so do not panic if there is no dial tone inside. If there is a dial tone when the phone is hooked up, the wiring fault is in the house. If there is no dial tone, call the phone company for repair, nothing further can be done to fix the problem.

Sometimes the Wire Colors Do Not Match

Many phone companies have updated their color standards due to the use of Cat 5 cable for most phone line installs and to keep residential and business installs in line with each other. In this new standard, there are no green, red, black, or yellow wires. White/blue, blue/white, white/orange, and orange/white wires have replaced them. Knowing how to identify the wire color is a simple matter. The wire is going to be primarily one color, with small stripes of a secondary color on it. If the wire is primarily orange with white stripes then that color is orange/white. The following simple table will help users to understand which colors match. The NID labels will most likely have the old coloring scheme on them and most telephone wiring components for sale will still reflect the original colors.

New Telephone Jacks in the Home

Installing new telephone jacks in a home is really simple, but there are some tools and basic hardware needed to perform the install.

Tools:

• Drill
• Drill bits
• Flathead Screwdriver
• Fish tape
• Cable Test Equipment

Hardware

Most hardware, electronics, and many grocery and department stores have the items needed to complete an installation.

Modular jack boxes come in two variants, one with a wiring box and one without. If installing an entirely new jack, get the jack box with the wiring box. Users only need a jack box without a wiring box when replacing a jack box that is damaged, but the wiring box inside is still intact. There are both four and six contact modular jacks available. Buy a four contact modular jack unless there is a special reason to buy a six contact modular jack. This process needs one jack box for each new jack to be installed.

Buy four wire flat silver satin telephone wire for any new jacks in the home. Users may save a little money if they only buy the individual wires without the silver sheath. However, having the sheath will save time and frustration in the long run. Wires with sheaths are flexible, can easily be stripped off in locations that require it, and keep the wires together so they can easily be placed where needed.

If there are more than two lines in the home and jacks for all of them will be placed in the same location, six or eight conductor telephone wires can be used as well. Keep in mind that there are three pairs of wire: a blue pair, an orange pair, and a green pair in six conductor wire. Eight conductor wire has the same wiring colors as the six conductor, it just adds a brown pair for the last pair. Connect the same wires to the proper posts on the wiring block to avoid any problems.

• Modular jack boxes with wiring box
• Four, six, or eight strand telephone wire

Always Have a Corded Phone for Emergencies

Customers may need to plug a phone or phone base into house power if they have a cordless phone or a phone with an integrated answering machine (or some other capability). Standard corded phones receive all the necessary power over the phone line itself, so no additional power is required. It is always a good plan to have a corded phone just in case the other devices have issues or to use in emergencies when house power is out.

General Reference Information

The information following may help users understand the standards and wire plans in their home. They are merely reference materials to assist with planning and diagnostics.

The Christmas and Halloween Standard for Telephone Wiring

Many homes have only 2 pairs (4 wire) of telephone wiring.

The first telephone line is connected to the Christmas pair. This wire pair is called the Christmas pair because one wire is Green and the other is Red.

In the Christmas pair, the Green wire is Tip and the Red wire is Ring.

The second telephone line is connected to the Halloween pair. This wire pair is called the Halloween pair because one wire is Black and the other wire is Yellow.

In the Halloween pair, the Black wire is Tip and the Yellow wire is Ring.

The EIA/TIA 568B Standard for Telephone Wiring

The EIA/TIA 568A Standard for Telephone Wiring

The USOC (Universal Service Order Code) 8 Wire Standard for Telephone Wiring

The USOC (Universal Service Order Code) 6 Wire Standard for Telephone Wiring

The 25 pair Telephone Wiring Standard

Telephone Wiring Pin Number Orientation

When looking at a telephone jack, Pin 1 is the left most pin.

When looking at a telephone plug, Pin 8 is the right most pin.

Telephone Wiring Jacks and Plugs

In telephone wiring, the plug is the male end of a telephone cable and the jack is the female receptacle in the wall.

Telephone Wiring Tip and Ring

The terms Tip and Ring are used extensively when discussing telephone wiring.

Tip is the electrically positive wire and Ring is the electrically negative wire.

Related Reading on Telephone Wiring

• Telephone Wiring