Learn how to connect a phone directly to the phone terminal to troubleshoot wiring issues or no dial tone issues with your work phone. This can be useful for determining if wiring issues in the building are causing no dial tone on one or more of your phones.
Identifying the Tel 1/2 port on your phone terminal
Before attempting to connect direct to the phone terminal ensure you have an analog phone, not a PBX. Many multi-line office phones from Nortel, Toshiba, Cisco, and others are known as PBX. PBX phones cannot be plugged into your phone terminal, and doing so could damage your phones. If your phones are PBX systems, you can still plug any fax machines or phone-connected payment terminals in to the phone terminal for testing purposes. See Do I have a PBX phone system? for more information.
Identifying the Tel 1/2 port on your phone terminal
In order to connect your phone directly to your phone terminal, you will need to identify the Tel 1/2 port on the back of your phone terminal. These will be located in different places depending on the model of your phone terminal. Use the images below to identify what phone terminal model you have and where the Tel 1/2 port is located.
Arris TM502G/TM602G: Connect phone line direct to Tel 1/2
Arris TM604G: Connect phone line direct to Tel 1/2
Motorola SBV5220: Connect phone line direct to Tel 1/2
Arris TM508A & TM608G: There is no way to easily connect directly to these models
Connecting to the phone terminal
Now that you have located where the Tel 1/2 port is on your phone terminal use the steps below to connect directly to the phone terminal.
- Disconnect one of your phones/devices from the wall outlet and place it next to your phone terminal.
- On the back of your phone terminal, locate the phone cord. This will be the only cord with a push-tab release (generally in clear plastic), and will be connected into the port labelled Tel 1/2.
- Remove this phone cord from its port on your phone.
- Connect your analog phone directly to the now-empty Tel 1/2 port on the back of your phone terminal.
- Test this phone for a dial tone. If you have a dial tone, then you have successfully bypassed a problem with the internal building wiring. Contact Rogers Business Technical Support for additional assistance in solving your building wiring issue.
- If you still have no dial tone, your phone terminal may need to be reset. If so, refer to Reset the Phone TerminalM for more help.
If you’re still unable to hear a dial tone after trying the reset, contact Rogers Business Technical Support for additional assistance.