Fios Digital Voice - no dial tone

[fredd4]

I recently opted out of Fios TV but continued to subscribe to internet and digital voice phone service. When I made this change the rep. said they were no longer offering 100Mbs and would upgrade my internet to 300Mbs with no cost increase. Since then my phone service has been intermittent and I have had no dial tone for the past week or more.  I tested the ONT and have dial tone on test jack #1 but nothing on test jack#2 or on the NID jacks connected to the tip/ring wires run  from the ONT. Continuity testing of the tip/ring wires from the NID to the premises appear ok. Just wondering if both ONT test jacks should have dial tone and why the NID jacks are dead. (NID: keptel SNI 4600).

[dexman]

A few questions to get the ball rolling.  🙂

When Verizon upgraded the Internet service, did a technician stop by to replace the ONT, or, was the existing ONT reused?

When the telephone service is interrupted, does the Internet also drop or is it just the telephone service?

In situations where only one telephone line is active, L1 is used. If dial tone is heard at L1, but not at the NID or the telephones in the house, that would point to an intermittent problem with the wire between L1 and the NID. Possibly the act of unplugging from L1 to test causes a poorly crimped modular plug to temporarily re-gain connectivity.

Is the cable that is normally plugged into L1 the one that came with the ONT, or is it one that was custom made?

Another clue is that, if the ONT sees an off-hook condition, an LED on the front should be illuminated. If there is a wiring problem, the LED might be off when it is expected to be on.

Could a picture of the ONT and NID be posted for clarification purposes? 🤔

[fredd4]

The ONT was not changed and the internet speed bump was done remotely. The internet connection is ok, just the phone. On my account description it lists Home Phone 3.0, not digital voice which is what I had prior to canceling  FIOS TV if that is significant (?).

[fredd4]

Also, the tip/ring wires(blue and white connect the ONT to the NIDNID boxONT

[dexman]

Ah...that is an older ONT as opposed to the current Alcatel-Lucent (Nokia) 211.

The picture of the ONT looks unusual in that none of the status LEDS appear to be illuminated. That would indicate that the unit isn't in use.

The wiring inside the ONT enclosure looks OK to me. The wiring in the old NID is a bit hard to follow, and there appears to be some corrosion (surface level anyway).

Based on visuals, the ONT looks clean. The old NID looks a bit suspect.

The original post where dialtone is always found at the ONT rules out a problem with the ONT itself unless one of the BL/WH conductors has a break inside the insulation.

If you feel comfortable working with the bl/wh pair, it should be easy to snip off the ends of each wire at the ONT end and re-insert them into the clip.

There is always the possibility that there is an intermittent issue with the ONT, but Verizon  can check the ONT's error logs.

[fredd4]

There are led status lights lit but are hard to see in sunlight. Green PWR, Amber Link/Carrier.

Not sure of any others. The NID box is from the original copper POTS ca.1977 install from NJ BELL😁

[dexman]

Almost 50 years old! 😳

I feel ancient (57 years old).

I suggest having Verizon check error logs to see if anything looks suspicious. 🤔

[fredd4]

Ah, to be 57 years old  again, those were the good times 😎. The service tech comes tomorrow and I'll ask him to check the log. Thanks for the replies.

[dexman]

Post what the technician finds! I feel like I'm 57 going on 77.  🫤

[fredd4 · Accepted solution]

Simple fix, the tech just removed all the wiring in the NID and attached the tip/ring wires from the ONT to a new terminal block in the NID. 15 min. Job. see below:

NID reconfigured

" ...I feel like I'm 57 going on 77" - Don't rush it, 77's no picnic 😉

[dexman]

I'll take a peek at the picture once it appears. 🙂.

Now if I could only spin time back by...say 20 years. 😁

[dexman]

The inside of the NID looks much emptier now..

The old cable that the blue/white pair is on top of looks pretty worn. If it goes inside to another terminal block, it might be a candidate for replacement...but that is down the road.

If the problem has been resolved, post an update in, say, a week and the topic can be closed. 🙂