Office of Information Technology's 

Telephone Troubleshooting Guide

Do you not hear a dial tone when you pick up the phone?

• Make sure your phone set plugged into the proper wall jack.  In the residence halls and townhouses, 'voice' or phone jacks are differentiated from 'data' or network jacks by a number containing the letter V, such as 49VA001.

• In Independence Plaza apartments, the 'voice' jack is marked on the jack plate by a telephone symbol - .  
• If you have a cordless/ portable phone, make sure the batteries in your portable phone are charged! 
• Test your phone in a working  phone jack (such as in your neighbor's room) to see if your phone set is working.  If it is not, then the problem is with the telephone.  If it is, then contact Telecommunications.
• Alternately, ask a neighbor whose phone is working to borrow his/her phone and test it in your jack.  If his/her phone does work in your jack, then the problem is with your telephone.  If his/her phone does not work in your jack, then contact Telecommunications.

Do you hear a busy signal BEFORE completing your off-campus phone call?

• Make sure you dialed an '8' to get an outside line.

• If you're calling a '215' area code number, do not put a '1' in front of the area code.  Just dial 8-215-xxx-xxxx.
• If you're calling a newly established area code, the area code may not have been programmed into the University's telephone system.  Please contact Telecommunications if this is the case.

After you enter your PIN#, you hear dead silence and then a disconnect.