Loud hum when it rains on landline (pots)

Carverman2006

Every time it rains, i get a loud hum on my landline. Verizon has done nothing to fix the problem nor have they suggested a fix. It only clears when the lines dry out for a couple days. I’m tired of paying $65.00 monthly for service that doesn’t work!!!

Accepted answers

dexman

The hum at the demarc pretty much points to an issue before the drop.

I would continue to open trouble tickets with Verizon Repair. Repeated tickets should trigger upstream cable work, most likely at the slick.

Verizon should be repairing OSP copper if no real company alternative is available. In the town I live in, Verizon rolled out Fios back in 2007/8. I am an early adopter.

The company retired the legacy Bell System OSP copper. People with problematic telephone lines were given the option to migrate over to Fios. Our three POTS lines all developed noise towards the end. Once all were switched to Fios, the noise problems went away.

All comments

Cang_Household

Summoning @dexman
, the POT guru

dexman

Knowing that the problem is far worse during rain/inclement weather, the problem is highly likely being caused by wet cabling.

Take a basic single line telephone to the Verizon Network Interface. On the customer side of the demarcation point is a test jack. Plug the telephone into the jack, go off hook and listen to the dial tone.

If it is noisy, then the problem is between the Central Office and the demarc. Contact Verizon Repair to have the telephone line tested.

If Fios is available in your area, consider switching to the fiber-based service. If it isn’t available, Verizon will dispatch a technician to test the cable segments to isolate and repair the point(s) of failure.

If the problem is between the demarc & inside wiring, Verizon can test the demarc and replace/repair based upon the test results.

clem21

@dexman
wrote:
Knowing that the problem is far worse during rain/inclement weather, the problem is highly likely being caused by wet cabling.
Take a basic single line telephone to the Verizon Network Interface. On the customer side of the demarcation point is a test jack. Plug the telephone into the jack, go off hook and listen to the dial tone.
If it is noisy, then the problem is between the Central Office and the demarc. Contact Verizon Repair to have the telephone line tested.
If Fios is available in your area, consider switching to the fiber-based service. If it isn’t available, Verizon will dispatch a technician to test the cable segments to isolate and repair the point(s) of failure.
If the problem is between the demarc & inside wiring, Verizon can test the demarc and replace/repair based upon the test results.

Do you also have cable over the POTS line? If your connection is via coax to the pole, there is a really good chance there is water in the cable. Try unhooking the coax line coming from the pole to the house and see if water runs out. If it does the line needs to be replaced. I had the same thing happen to me many years ago and it was amazing to see the amount of water that was trapped in the cable.

Carverman2006

Hello @dexman,

A tech replaced the copper wire (non coax) from the pole to my house years ago but that didn’t help. BTW, the hum can be heard on a standard phone when connected to the demarc on the outside of my home. At one time, all of the copper lines on my block were connected to a slick 96 box located some 1 1/2 miles away at the entrance of our development. When someone complained, a tech would frog the complainers card with another to temporary fix their hum. But it never lasted. I believe that the slick96 was changed out at one point but the problem still exists. I needed the 49 volts to periodically transmit heart transmissions from a heart monitor but since newer monitors are wireless, i don’t need it anymore. Just did a check and fiber is not available but LTE is available. I need to determine the install requirements since the current connect block is in a area of my basement that is not available right now.

dexman

Hi Clem!

Legacy Verizon telephone service drop cable is UUP. The way the question is written implies that the OP has Verizon POTS which wouldn't utilize coaxial cable.

dexman

The hum at the demarc pretty much points to an issue before the drop.

I would continue to open trouble tickets with Verizon Repair. Repeated tickets should trigger upstream cable work, most likely at the slick.

Verizon should be repairing OSP copper if no real company alternative is available. In the town I live in, Verizon rolled out Fios back in 2007/8. I am an early adopter.

clem21

@dexman
wrote:
Hi Clem!
Legacy Verizon telephone service drop cable is UUP. The way the question is written implies that the OP has Verizon POTS which wouldn't utilize coaxial cable.

OOPS, my bad! Didn't read the issue properly.