It can be really helpful if you borrow a landline handset and plug it in - call a free phone number perhaps, or call the landline from your own mobile and see if you hear crackling that way around.
Sometimes you can even hear crackling before dialling, just by lifting the receiver, @JohnWes.
If there's noise on the line it can affect your internet. Worth taking these steps.
I had a similar problem the last week of October and phone calls were crashing out as though the phone had been dropped. Thereafter the internet was dropping out or crawling perpetually for several days, but sorted by an engineer at the cabinet. No need for an engineer to my house. Worth your while plugging a phone into that socket.
There's no fallback when things go wrong other than using your own data on a mobile; or taking yourself off to an internet cafe etc. Finally, remember that these residential services are meant for domestic use - the Ts&Cs don't reflect changes in working practices since lockdown. There's Talktalk Business that you could look into as an option sometime if you want the level of reliability that's needed for working a serious amount from home.
Gliwmaeden2, a fellow customer.
