Troubleshooting Static or no Dial Tone on your Telephone
1. Check to see if all of your telephones are hung up. Check all cordless phones and message answering machines with AC adapters. Unplug them from their outlets and see if your dial tone has been restored. Check all outlets to make sure the line cord is securely inserted. Turn off any dial-up Internet connections.

2. Find your Network Interface Device (NID). The NID is normally mounted on the exterior of your home or building in the general vicinity of your electric meter. The NID is the telephone company’s point of demarcation and where a customer can test their telephone lines. The NID is a gray box about 6″ by 9.”

Using a screwdriver, loosen the fastener and open the NID cover. Disconnect a modular plug from a test jack. This disconnects the inside, customer-owned portion of the line from the outside telephone company-owned portion of the line. If there are multiple test jacks, you will want to test each of them. Plug the line cord of a basic telephone (one that does not require any electricity or batteries to operate) into a test jack inside the NID. You are now plugged directly into the telephone company’s portion of the line. If you have dial tone, then dial 503.631.2345. This is the number for Clear Creek’s repair desk. A repair representative will be able to assist you further at this point.

If you hear noisy static or have no dial tone outside at the NID, the trouble could possibly be in Clear Creek’s portion of the line and you should contact Repair Service at 503.631.2345 to report the trouble. If your telephone has a clear dial tone at a test jack in the NID, then there may be a problem with the customer-owned inside wiring, jacks, and/or telephone equipment/accessories inside your home or building. Proceed to step 3. Once you are finished at the NID, disconnect your testing telephone and securely re-insert the original modular plugs. Finally, close the cover and twist the fastener with a screwdriver until snug.

3. Unplug all telephones from all inside jacks and electrical outlets (power sources). Remember to first write down any information you may have saved or stored in memory (numbers on Caller ID, Speed Dial, etc.). One bad phone can cause the same trouble on any other phones connected to the same line.

4. Try plugging one basic telephone (one that does not require any electricity or batteries to operate) into each of the jacks. If it doesn’t work on one or more of your jacks, you may have a wiring or jack problem. If the line is okay when tested with a basic phone, proceed to step 5. You have three options regarding repairs to wiring or jacks:

Clear Creek Communications can fix the problem for you. Contact Clear Creek Communications to request repair service. The charge to repair jacks and inside wiring is $65 per hour plus materials used. The minimum charge is $32.50.
You may hire any independent contractor or home repair expert to repair your jacks or inside wiring.
You have the option of repairing the problem yourself.
5. The problem could be caused by one or a combination of telephones or telephone accessories (such as an answering machine, speaker phone, modem, fax machine, splitter, cordless phone, security system, or night bell), please verify that they are each working properly. Follow the warranty instructions that came with your equipment, or contact your equipment retailer.

Troubleshooting when the Phone Rings but No One is There
Check for the following:

Have you activated call forwarding service? If you subscribe to Call Forwarding and have it activated, your calls may be going directly to your forwarding number.
This could be a misdirected call. A computer or fax machine could be programmed incorrectly to call your telephone number. You could answer a ringing phone and get no one on the line, a fax tone, or a computer tone.
If you discontinue one phone call by depressing your switch hook and then hang up the phone, the telephone company equipment (switch) may ring you back automatically. The switch interprets the switch hook flash as a request to make a 3-way conference call and rings your phone and an indication that you can add another party to your call.
Telemarketers may be calling you with an auto-dialer. There is often a delay between the time you answer and their equipment signals the telemarketer you have answered your phone.

Troubleshooting when you are Unable to Receive Calls
Try the following:
Verify that your telephone ringer is turned on.
If you have Call Forwarding and it is activated, deactivate it.
Unplug all of the telephones, answering machines, fax machines, Caller ID units, and computers from the telephone jacks and AC outlets. Next, try one of the phones in several of the jacks. If the phone does not work in any of the jacks, then try a different phone. If the second phone works then the first phone you used may have been causing the trouble. Plug in the remaining telephone equipment one at a time, testing after each addition.

Troubleshooting when you can Make Local, but not Long Distance Calls
Are you dialing a “1” before the telephone number or the appropriate digits for international calling?
Have you or someone in your home asked for a “toll blocking” restriction on your telephone line so that long distance calls can not be made?
If Clear Creek Communications is your preferred long distance carrier call our Business Office at 503.631.2101 for help.
If Clear Creek Communications is not your preferred long-distance carrier, you’ll need to contact the long-distance carrier you have selected to determine the cause of the problem.