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Phone doesn't ring, but only between two specific residential numbers
I am looking for guidance in solving a curious problem that has been going on for several months. My aunt calls me nearly every day. She lives in CT and is a customer of Frontier, formerly AT&T, and I am in VT with Consolidated Communications. She says that after she dials my number, she might hear one or two rings, and then silence, as if the call has been terminated. She will try again, sometimes three, four, or five times before it will ring long enough for either me or my answering machine to pick up.
I thought the problem might be with her phone, so I bought her a new one for Christmas, but it didn't help. When I am home, I hear my phone ring for a few seconds and then stop each time she tries to call me, so the signal is going through.
Last night, I told her to call me, but don't hang up when the ringing stops. My phone rang for maybe five seconds and stopped. I waited several seconds more before picking up, to find her still on the line.
This only happens when my aunt is calling me. She has no problem with any other outgoing or incoming calls, local, out of state, or anywhere in between. I likewise have no problem with any other incoming or outgoing calls, and whenever I make a call to her, it rings normally at both ends. Both of us are using basic, no frills, corded landline phones.
I have no idea about what would be causing this, but think it must be something in the lines between her home and mine. I would appreciate any help to figure out what is going on, and who to call to get it resolved. Thanks.
spoom2
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19.4K Messages
5 years ago
Makes zero sense to me. The ring voltage comes from your end, a high resistance fault can cause ring trip, but it would happen on more than just one caller. In any case there's nothing AT&T could do to help, you'll have to report it to your local provider.
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Debbie_D53
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4 Messages
5 years ago
Should it be reported to my provider (Consolidated) or my aunt's provider (Frontier)? I don't really understand what you are saying about a high resistance fault. If this happens when my aunt calls me, but not when I call her, is the problem on my end or hers? With something in the house or outside? Thanks.
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spoom2
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19.4K Messages
5 years ago
The ring is coming from your provider and it's your phone not ringing, so it's your end. You said it only happens when your aunt calls, how about when other people call you? In your original post it sounded like it only happens when one person calls you but not when others call you, that's the part that makes no sense. What I was saying about the high resistance fault is it wouldn't only happen with just one person if it were that type of fault. I'm betting it happens to others that call you and it happens more when there's moisture in the air.
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Debbie_D53
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4 Messages
5 years ago
I know it makes no sense. I don't know if it ever happens when other people call, except that no one has ever mentioned it. Having moisture in the air would make sense, except for the fact that when I do answer, the voice quality has been crystal clear. I thought there would be static or other noise from moisture, or is the voice carried by a different part of the line than the ring? I'm sorry I don't understand more about how all of this works. All I can add about moisture is a little background. I have lived at this address just under ten years, and have had intermittent issues with static and noise since the beginning, that can last from a couple of hours to a day or two, with usually many months of good sound in between. The cable from the box into my house is enclosed and dry. Way back, someone---I don't remember who---told me that there are sometimes nicks in the insulation of the cables running between the poles along the road and elsewhere, likely caused by nature (chewing squirrels, falling tree branches, etc.) Moisture from rain and melting snow can get in there to cause static, and the breaks in the insulation can be difficult to locate. The consensus seems to be that people just learn to live with it, and wait for the next sunny day to dry things out. By now, I probably sound crazy to you, but this is a remote area, where there can be a lot of cable between one phone line and the next. What I am getting at with this long rant is that I wonder if the same thing that causes the occasional static could be causing the ringing problem, just not at the same time. If so, I might check with some of my neighbors to see if any of them are having similar issues. I don't know where to go with this, but it is upsetting my aunt, who is elderly, and wants the problem fixed.
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spoom2
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19.4K Messages
5 years ago
Well you've pretty much proven my theory. It won't always cause static, but it could still be enough to trip the ring. So with that I guarantee you that you have the same problem with other callers at times. I also sounds like, from what you've stated, your carrier also knows there's a problem. So yes it's the same thing that causes the intermittent static.
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Debbie_D53
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4 Messages
5 years ago
My aunt called me again since my last reply, and she got disconnected after a ring or two no less than seven times before I finally answered on the first ring. I didn't want to make her keep trying to call, but I wanted to see if after enough tries it would ring long enough for my answering machine to pick up, so at least she could get through to leave a message if I was not home. The problem seems to be getting worse. It looks like I will have to call Consolidated to try to get this resolved. Many thanks for all of your help!
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