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Should you require or request a BT engineer visit it is important for you to be aware of potential charges. Until an engineer has been to your premises and can confirm the cause of the fault we are unable to confirm whether or not you will be charged (The only exception to this is if you are informed of a guaranteed charge before booking the appointment).

As a guideline, if the fault is found to be with a piece of equipment connected to your phone line, for example your telephone handset or if it is something that you have caused or could have prevented within the boundaries of your premises (your home or garden), or if there is an upgrade required to your line to get an acceptable level of Broadband service, you will be charged for an engineer visit. If the engineer is unable to gain access to your premises, replicate your fault or cannot find a fault then you will also be charged.

However, if the fault is found to be outside the boundaries of your premises, there will be no charge.

This charge will be £129.99 and will be charged within the 4th TalkTalk bill of the engineers visit.

Phone problems can occur for any one of several reasons, such as other equipment in your home interfering with the signal.

If you are unable to make any outbound calls and you do not have a dial tone, there are some handy tips in our How to get a dial tone video.

To fix the problem, please follow the steps below:

Check your cables and connections

Please follow all of these steps as this does fix almost all issues with making calls:

• Check if all phones in the house have the same problem and also that none of your phones are off the hook.
• Check that all your connections are fitted securely and none are loose.
• If possible do not use a wireless phone, but one where the handset is connected with a cable.
• Unplug all the phones in the house except the one that is connected to the master phone socket. Also unplug any other connections to your phone sockets, such as Sky digital or a broadband router.

If you can get a dial tone with just one phone plugged into the master socket, it may be that another piece of equipment is faulty. Connect all of your other phones and devices one at a time and check each time that you get a dial tone. If the dial tone goes away again, unplug the last piece you plugged in as it will probably be that device or connection that is causing the issue.
Note: If you have broadband please ensure you have a microfilter connected directly to each phone socket in your home.

If you are using wireless handsets, check that the batteries are charged and make sure that you are close to the main base station. If possible, connect a different phone, that you know is working, directly to the master socket with nothing else connected to any other phone point in the house.

If you still have no dial tone please contact us and we will get our engineers to check the issue and resolve any fault that there may be with your line.

If you are unable to make any outbound calls and you do not have a dial tone, there are some handy tips in our How to get a dial tone video.

Step 1: Check your connections

Please follow all of these steps as they do fix almost all issues with making calls:

• Check if all phones in the house have the same problem and also that none of your phones are off the hook.
• Unplug all the phones in the house except the one that is connected to the master phone socket. Also unplug any other connections to your phone sockets, such as a Sky box or a broadband router.
• If possible do not use a wireless phone, but one where the handset is connected with a cable.

If you are still unable to make calls please carry on with the following steps.

Step 2: Check if the problem is with the line

To check where the fault may be, you need to see if you can make a call over a different network. From the same phone, try to dial the same number you are calling, but dial 1280 before the number.* This routes the call over the BT network instead of the TalkTalk network.

If the call still does not connect, and you pay your line rental to TalkTalk, please contact us so that our engineers can investigate and resolve the problem for you. If you pay your line rental to another company, you will need to contact them.

If the call did connect when you used the 1280 before the number, but you still can not connect without using that code, please carry on with the final step below.

Step 3: Check if there is a carrier pre-select problem

The final test is to try the number again, but this time dialling 1840 before the number you are calling.

If the call still does not connect, please call Customer Services on 0870 444 1820^ where we will investigate and resolve your problem.

* If this call connects you may be charged directly from BT for it.

^ This call is free of charge if made from a TalkTalk phone line, but may not be from other providers or mobiles.

Occasionally you may experience a problem using your TalkTalk service - whilst we are doing our utmost to make sure you don't experience a fault by making sure we are using the best service providers and networks to carry your calls, there are times when you may experience difficulty in either making or receiving calls. Please read the advice below and the frequently asked questions received from our TalkTalk customers.

If you're experiencing difficulty with your TalkTalk landline, there are a few simple checks you can carry out before calling us. These can not only help us identify the problem for you, but may even help you to solve the problem yourself.

Is your line rental with TalkTalk?

The company providing your line rental maintains your phone line. If this is TalkTalk, we are more than happy to help. If your line rental is with BT or another service provider, you will have to contact them if:

• You have no dial tone
• Your telephone is not ringing
• Your incoming calls are crackly or quiet

If your line rental is with TalkTalk, try this

You will need to check your main BT phone socket to ensure it is in working order. The following checks will help you do this:

1. Unplug all devices from your main BT phone socket, including any microfilters.
2. If your main BT point looks like the one below, you can follow the instructions under the picture. If it doesn't, do not try the steps below and Contact Us.

If you're still having problems after exhausting all our troubleshooting advice, please contact our fault team on 0870 087 8777*. Select 3 for technical questions, set up and faults and then select option 1 for landline faults or option 2 for broadband faults. Our opening hours are 8am to 10pm Monday to Sunday and 9am to 6pm on bank holidays. Please see contact us for further ways to get in touch with us.

Note: This number is for fault reports only. Our agents are trained to answer your questions about faults or problems with your line, and will not be able to help with any other TalkTalk enquiries you may have.

What happens now?

A TalkTalk Representative with run through some tests with you and ask you a series of questions to establish whether or not you have a fault. They may need to raise the fault with a third party such as BT or one of our network providers. We will endeavour to contact you within two working days of reporting the fault with an update. Please note that if we have to send an engineer to your property you may incur a charge. See our Broadband Terms & Conditions for details.

* Calls to this number are free from your TalkTalk landline.

The master phone socket is a white, square-shaped socket made up of two parts - one on top of the other. The bottom part is removable and has two screws on either side of it. The top part usually has a BT logo on it.

The master socket is usually found at the point where your phone line first enters your home. This is most commonly found in the hallway.

You should filter this socket using a microfilter and ensure that any other phone sockets that are in use are also filtered.

Sometimes the master phone socket already has a microfilter built into it. If this is the case, your master socket will have two ports, one for broadband and another for your telephone. If you have this type of socket you don't need to use any microfilters.

If you're having problems with your phone there are some simple checks you can do to try to find out what's wrong.

If your landline appears to be dead or your broadband is not working at all, it may be a general problem that we are already aware of. 

Check the status of our services.

Testing your line

You should always undertake a line test on bt.com before completing any further tests.

Click here to test your line online

If this does not identify your problem you need to complete extra tests using your phone socket.

Testing your socket

Before you start testing you must check what type of phone socket you have got. Please, click the images to be taken to relevant advice.

	Line box socket - has a horizontal groove through the middle of the plate with the screws and socket located in the lower half

Master socket - has no horizontal groove

External connection box - these have been fitted to some new properties within the past 2 years

 Video:Testing your telephone socket & equipment

You may like to view or print this guide on testing (PDF document, 151kb):

  Quick help guide

Here you can check if the internet and telephone network is OK in your area. This list of known issues and planned engineering works is updated regularly. Click on a message title to see details.

If a broadband problem affecting your area has only recently been resolved, you may still need torestart your modem or router to restore your broadband service.

There are a few simple checks you can make to test if you've got a problem with your line box socket. Please find here a step-by-step guide to checking for faults.

Testing your line box socket:

1. Remove the 2 small screws on the faceplate (see Figure A).
2. Carefully take out the bottom half of the socket.
3. On the right hand side you should now be able to see the test socket.
4. Plug a corded phone you know works properly into the test socket (see Fig B).
5. If the phone works normally then your internal wiring or equipment is faulty.

If you think there's a problem with your internal wiring or equipment:

• Try to find out where the fault is located by checking each piece of equipment in your property by plugging it into the test socket.
• If each piece of equipment works when plugged into the test socket, reattach the face plate and try a corded phone in each extension in the property.
• If you find a faulty extension, you can contact BT on 0800 800150 or a local electrician to fix the problem. You will be charged for this repair.

If your phone didn't work when plugged into the test socket:

• Double check the problem is likely to be with your line by plugging another corded phone into the test socket.
• If you're still having problems you can report your fault online at www.bt.com/faults

Checking your line using a master socket

• Unplug anything connected to the sockets within your house before testing to make sure nothing is interfering with the master socket. This includes house alarms, telephones, faxes, computers, satellite TV digital boxes, adaptors and double adaptors.
• Test your master socket with a corded phone which you know works properly.
• If the corded phone works when plugged into the master socket then it's likely the cause of the fault is a piece of equipment or your internal wiring and the BT Network is okay.

If you find there's a fault with a piece of equipment or your internal wiring:

• To try to find the fault, plug each of your devices in, one at a time, and check the line again sfter each piece of equipment is added.
• If you find plugging in one particular piece of equipment causes the problem to reoccur, unplug it and consult the user manual it was supplied with or contact the manufacturer.
• If each piece of equipment works correctly try plugging a corded phone into each extension.
• If you find a faulty extension you can contact BT on 0800 800150 or a local electrician to fix this problem. You will be charged for this repair.

If you find the corded phone does not work when plugged into the master socket:

• Double check the problem is probably with your line by plugging another corded phone into the test socket.
• If you're still having problems you can report your fault online at www.bt.com/faults

Checking your line using an external connection box:

• Remove the cable tie from the top right hand corner and the screw from the top left. Open the box and remove the yellow plug.
• You'll need to run a second line test on www.bt.com/faults or by using our automated line test system on 0800 800151 if you haven't already done this.
• If you identify a fault with the BT Network then you can log your fault online.

If you've identified a fault with your internal wiring or equipment:

• If the line never worked it is recommended you contact your housing developer before taking any further action to make sure the line has been fully connected.
• To try to identify the fault yourself try plugging each piece of equipment into the socket, one at a time, checking the line again after each device you add.
• If you find that plugging in one particular piece of equipment causes the problem to happen again, unplug it and consult its user manual or contact the manufacturer.
• If you don't find a problem with any piece of equipment reattach the face plate and try a corded phone in each extension.
• If you find a faulty extension contact BT on 0800 800150 or a local electrician to fix the problem. You'll be charged for this repair.

Do you have the same problem with all your telephones?
If only one of them is affected, it’s probably a fault with that connection or handset.

Do you use another supplier for your phone calls?
If so, dial out using the prefix 1280 (this will route your call via our network, so you will be charged at the normal BT rate). If the call connects, the problem is probably with your call provider’s network – so you need to contact them to have it fixed.

If nothing previously mentioned has resolved the issue, you can carry out a thorough test to identify the problem.

Please check the following:

• Are all your phones on the hook and ready to receive calls?
• Is your ringer on? Check the switch, then test it by calling your number from a mobile
• Is your cordless phone charged? Check the battery indicator and that the charger contacts fit the phone snugly

• If the problem is only on calls to or from one number, it’s likely that the fault is with that number
• If you’re a broadband customer, make sure you’re using a microfilter with every piece of equipment. You need to do this to reduce any noise interference
• If you’re using a cordless phone, try attaching a corded phone to the socket. If you no longer hear the noise, the error is probably with your cordless phone

If nothing previously mentioned solves your problem, you can carry out a thorough test to ascertain whether there is a fault on your line.

Most faults are resolved for free, but you may be charged £130 for an engineer callout if:

• the fault is within the boundary of your property
• the fault is with your own equipment
• you've damaged part of the BT network
• no fault is found when the engineer visits
• you've asked for work such as an extension socket or shift of socket

The charge of £130 includes the engineer driving to your home, all the time fixing the fault and any replacement equipment used.

Engineer charges for faults outside your home

Most chargeable engineer visits are caused by faults inside your home but you could also be charged for faults within the boundary of your home.

Some chargeable faults we see outside of your home are:

• Damp
• Guttering falling down
• Tree damage
• Flood/Fire damage
• Telephone wires accidently cut
• Removal vans accidentally removing the phone line

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0800 800 150 

From a mobile dial:
0330 123 4150* 

Opening hours
Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, Saturday & Sunday 9am to 6pm 

If you need to call us from abroad, you can reach us on +44 179 359 6931. The cost of the call will depend on which country you are calling from.