Phone only rings randomly

[Hobbes1218]

Hi folks, I only have a Virgin landline so my 97 year old mum can call me. For my mum it is a lifeline in case she needs me urgently. She does have other means of getting in touch but she may forget how. A few months ago I noticed that the landline was either not ringing when she called or had a strange strangulated sort of ring so I bought a new landline phone from a different company. This new phone has a similar problem. If I test it by calling from my mobile it either rings fine or doesn't ring at all. If I look at the landline phone when I call it, it sometimes shows the number that is calling but still doesn't ring. At other times the landline phone doesn't even show it is being called. If I pick up the landline when I call it there is always a connection regardless of whether it rings or shows an incoming call or not.

It would seem to be too much of a coincidence that I have bought two sets of phones that have the same weird problem. Can anyone offer any ideas as to the cause of this problem? I hate to think of mum trying to call and not being able to get me at her age.

Thanks for any help.

Chris

[Alex_RM]

Hi Hobbes1218,

Thanks for posting and sorry to hear there's an issue with the line.

Thank you for testing another handset already! When you call your line, can you confirm if you hear ringing from the handset? Is the line just not ringing out loud in the property?

Is is plugged into an extension or the main socket?

Alex_Rm

[Hobbes1218]

Hi Alex. I've tested it a few times today and it's been fine all day so far.

When it doesn't work either the call is recieved by the landline handset but the landline handset doesn't ring (I can tell the call is recieved as it tells me the callers number (my mobile) on the landline handset even though it is not ringing. At other times the landline handset doesn't even show a callers number (my mobile) but if I pick it up there is a connection and I can talk to myself via the mobile and handset.

The landline is plugged into the main socket.

It's a problem easily blamed on the landline handset which is why I bought a new pair. Very odd that I get the same problem even with a different brand of landline phone. I'll try yet another handset if no one has any ideas. If I get the same problem again the problem must lay elsewhere.

Chris

[goslow · Accepted solution]

I believe that your issue is referred to as a Bell Not Ringing (BNR) fault. Similar topics online often refer to cabling issues coming to the home or problems with exchange equipment being unable to generate an adequate signal to cause the phone to ring.

[Zach_R]

Hi @Hobbes1218,

Thank you for expanding. I've checked the line via our systems and I can't seem to detect any faults there currently to explain these problems that you appear to be facing.

As such, what I'm going to do is send you a private message so we can take a closer look over things for you. Please respond to this at your earliest convenience and we can proceed from there.

Thanks,
 

[Hobbes1218]

Thanks Zach. It's still working OK today so I will keep testing it this week and see how it goes. I'll post at the end of the week or if it stops ringing again.

Chris

[Zach_R]

Hi @Hobbes1218,

No problem at all. I'm glad to hear that things appear to have improved since your last post.

If you do need some further assistance then please get back in touch.

Thanks,
 

[Hobbes1218]

This problem seems to be manifesting itself more often again. I called myself six times yesterday and three times the phone rang and three times it didn't.

I watched the landline each time. When it didn't ring, once it briefly showed the number that was calling and the other two times the phone showed nothing.I tried twice today and both times it rang.

Thanks to goslow I have found out about the BNR problem that seems quite common after looking at various forums.

It seems likely that it will be a pain to get fixed

One would think Virgin would be aware of this sort of problem and fix the issue proactively without involving the customer? But I assume I will be in for a world of pain to get this fixed. It just feels likely. I may actually just get rid of the landline if it takes too much effort to fix + I need a connection to mum I can rely on.

A note below from a different forum from one of the lucky few who managed to get this sort of problem fixed. But it took too long for my circumstance.

----

If the engineers have given the cable pair a clean bill of health ( no partial short, battery, earth type issues ) have they moved you onto a different line circuit in the exchange. Your ‘line’ will probably be connected to a System X ( H/W Conc ) or System Y LIC, line circuit and these are getting pretty long in the tooth, there are some age related common issues ( like BNR , bell not ringing ) where the System Y line circuit doesn’t send ringing current to the called line , but the caller hears ‘ringtone’, the fix requires the line to be re-jumpered onto a different line circuit and the number re-provisioned onto that new line circuit in software. I’m not sure ringtrip is as common as BNR, but your issue could be a combination of your individual line characteristics, a borderline faulty line circuit and your cordless phone in combination produce the fault , swapping the phone to a simple corded one, changes the line characteristics, possibly only a small difference but enough for the line circuit to operate satisfactorily.

If you still have the fault open, next time and or an engineer visits suggest they swap you onto a different line circuit in the exchange

----

A quick follow up: reported the fault and once again and asked if the engineer could phone me before he attended our home. Engineer duly phoned and I was able to inform him of your suggestions. Instead of coming to us he went to the exchange and would you believe it after 7 weeks and three engineer visits the fault was finally fixed within an hour.

[Zoie_P]

Hi Hobbes1218, 

Thank you for your reply, we can book tech to come to take a look.

As it is not clear from your post, is the bottom part from another post or did you have a tech already come around?

Zoie

[Hobbes1218]

OK thanks Zoie. I've not had an engineer out yet. That was a post for the solution from another forum.

Chris