Troubleshooting no dial tone on your home phone

If you’re using a cordless home phone, follow these troubleshooting steps. Otherwise, go to Step 3.  

1. Verify if the cordless phone has lost contact with the main base. A cordless phone that’s displaying No Link to Base, Searching , or No Line on the screen has lost contact with the cordless phone's main base. If you see these messages, proceed to the following steps. 

2. Make sure that the base is still plugged into power and that the outlet is still providing power.  

3. Confirm the cordless phone battery is charged and within range of its main base. 

4. If the main base is plugged in and has power, try unplugging it and then plugging it back to make all the phones connect. See if this solves your problem.  

5. If the message persists after doing these steps, contact the manufacturer of the cordless phone for help.

Some models of phones are equipped with a feature designed to screen calls and send callers directly to voicemail. Normally, this shouldn't affect your ability to get a dial tone or make outgoing calls. But on some simpler phones, this feature can turn off the phone's dial tone, which can affect both incoming and outgoing calls. If these features are on, you can try disabling them to fix your phone issues. 

1. Ensure that no such feature is enabled. 

2. If your phone does have a screening feature enabled, follow your manufacturer’s instructions to disable it and test your dial tone again. 

3. If the issue persists, continue to follow the other troubleshooting tips in this guide.

Check to ensure that your phone is properly connected to a phone outlet. 

1. Confirm that there is a phone wire running from the connection on the back of your phone or cordless base unit to the phone outlet, or jack. 

2. Confirm that the connection is secure, with no visible damage to the outlet, connector, or wiring. 

3. If the wiring between the phone and its outlet appears to be in good condition, try a different phone jack. Disconnect the phone from the outlet and connect it with another outlet.

If the above suggestions don’t resolve the issue, try these steps in the following order to resolve the issue from your modem: 

1. Go to your Rogers Home Phone modem (usually beside the fuse panel in a home or by the internet home phone modem or TV in an apartment building), and check if there are any lights on the front face. 

• When the Rogers Home Phone modem is working properly, all the lights on the front face should be on except for Link (or Battery if it is dead or removed). All the lights will be solid, with no flashing. 

• If no lights are on, the home phone modem has no power and the battery has been discharged. Make sure the power cord is secure to the home phone modem and still plugged in to the wall. If plugged into a power bar, make sure it’s still turned on. If you can't get the home phone modem to start up after confirming it’s plugged in and there's power in the outlet it's using by connecting a different device (or plugging the home phone modem into an outlet you know is working), please contact Technical Support. 

• If just the Power light is on, the home phone modem needs to be unplugged from power and the battery removed so it shuts down completely, then reconnected. These articles will help you get the battery out: 

• • Reset the Battery for the Arris TM602G Home Phone modem 

• • Reset the Battery for the Arris TM502G Home Phone modem 

• • Reset the Battery for the Scientific Atlanta DPX2213 Home Phone modem 

• • Reset the Battery for the Cisco DPC2203 Home Phone modem 

• If the home phone modem returns to only the power light on and doesn’t continue to turn on the other lights after you plug everything back in, please contact Technical Support. Otherwise, give it a few minutes and see if you have dial tone. 

• If the DS or US lights are flashing and the lights after them are off, your home phone modem has lost connection with the Rogers network. Make sure that the coaxial cable (the round cable) is screwed tight to the home phone modem and the wall. Then, press and hold the Reset/Reboot button on the home phone modem for 15–20 seconds to force it to reconnect to the network. These articles will help you find the button for your home phone modem: 

• • • Perform a Physical Reset for the Arris TM602G Home 

• • Perform a Physical Reset for the Arris TM502G Home Phone Modem 

• • Perform a Physical Reset for the Arris TM402G/P Home Phone Modem 

• • Perform a Physical Reset for the Scientific Atlanta DPX2213 Home Phone Modem 

• • Perform a Physical Reset for the Cisco DPC2203 Home Phone Modem 

• If the lights keep flashing at DS or US after you reset, something is stopping the home phone modem from getting or sending a signal. Please contact Technical Support for assistance. 

• If the Tel 1 light is flashing (or Tel 2 if it’s your second line that’s not working) but all the other lights are solid as expected, one of your phone sets is off the hook or a device connected to the home phone line is holding it open. Try removing phone sets and devices one at a time until the light stops flashing. If you’re able to find a device that's holding the line open, leave it disconnected and try a different phone set (if available). 

• Note: Powered phone sets and devices like fax machines can “brain freeze” and refuse to release the line. Often, simply unplugging them from power and plugging them back in will restore normal operation. However, if they continue to hold the line open after a power cycle, it may be necessary to replace them, the telephone cord connecting them or the wall jack they are plugging into. 

• If all the lights on the front of your Rogers Home Phone modem are solid except for Link and you still have no Dial Tone, press talk on one of your cordless phones or leave a handset off the receiver and then check if Tel 1 (Tel 2 if you’re troubleshooting the second line), starts to flash. 

• If Tel 1 starts to flash, you’re likely experiencing One Way Voice. This article can help you fix this. 

• If Tel 2 starts to flash, you’re plugged into the wrong telephone jack on the back of the Rogers Home Phone modem. You’ll need to move the telephone cord to the other grey jack to restore service. 

• If neither Tel 1 or Tel 2 starts to flash, there’s no connection between your telephone set and the Rogers Home Phone modem. This could be caused by the following: 

• Telephone cord is currently plugged into the yellow or silver Ethernet jack on the Rogers Home Phone modem. If it is, it needs to be moved to the grey Tel ½ jack. 

• The telephone cord from the Rogers Home Phone modem or your phone set is disconnected from the wall outlet. Check and reconnect if necessary. 

• Intercom Users: You may have an additional device called a TLSD next to the home phone modem to make the building intercom work. This can sometimes stick on the Intercom line. To reset it, simply disconnect the telephone cord from the Rogers Home Phone modem, count to 10, and then reconnect it. This usually restores service. 

2. If not already done, reset your Rogers Home Phone modem by pressing and holding the Reset/Reboot button on the back for 15–20 seconds. 

3. If your phone currently plugs into a wall outlet, disconnect it and then bring it to your Rogers Home Phone modem. Remove the phone line connected to Tel 1/2 and set it aside. Then connect your phone directly into Tel 1/2 (or Tel 2 if you are troubleshooting a second line). 

• If this fixes the problem, something about the phone wiring inside the home is preventing Dial Tone from reaching the outlets. You can contact us and we can investigate this for a fee. You can also use any local contactor or resolve the issue yourself, as the wiring inside the home belongs to you. If you’re renting, we’d recommend you contact your landlord for assistance as they may have a preferred contactor for resolving issues with the property. 

• If you still have No Dial tone when you are plugged into the Rogers equipment with nothing in-between, contact Technical Support for further assistance.