Incoming calls - caller can't hear me, but I can hear them

[DebSki]

Hi

Occasionally (not every time) when I answer an incoming call, the caller can't hear me, but I can hear them. If they then ring back, usually it's OK & we can have a conversation. This is now happening more frequently & is, obviously, incredibly frustrating! Still on old style cable to the house (i.e. NOT VOIP)

[Chris-TalkTalk]

As ferguson has said, you could just leave it connected to the test socket but I understand that this might be inconvenient. 

Chris

[ferguson]

Well, if you leave it connected at the test socket for a while and the fault reappears then you can come back here and state with some certainty that it is external. 

[DebSki]

I get that, but, again, as it's an intermittent fault, how do we know whether plugging the phone into the socket has fixed it or if it's just not happening?

We'll just poke up with it for now.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi DebSki,

I'm sorry but to investigate we do have to run through diagnostics, we can't assume that because someone else is experiencing a similar problem then it must be related 

Chris

[DebSki]

You have completely missed the point I made about the lack of mobile signal & therefore the reliance on wifi calling. When there's a powercut (which we do have relatively frequently) very often we are unable to make calls using our mobiles & therefore rely on old fashioned land line.

No I haven't connected the phone to the test socket. As previously mentioned, other people seem to be having the same issue all round the country & as it's a sporadic issue, we could end up with the phone plugged into the test socket for weeks. Too much hassle for an intermittent fault - especially as the main socket is not that accessible. I'll just put up with the occasional problem.

Good to know that TalkTalk really listen to their customers...

[Karl-TalkTalk]

Hi

You can still use Wi-Fi calling on mobiles when Voip is installed, and mobile signal if there is a power cut.  Full fibre when it is available to you would be more reliable as fibre optic cables are more resilient than the older copper lines.

No matter which system you use, or which supplier, every system will always have a point of failure, that is to say that any system can fail.  So  a power cut could affect a voip system.  If there was a battery backup, a battery could be faulty or not charged properly etc.  No system is infallible, but if something does fail, we and our partners, Openreach and other altnets such as Cityfibre will always work as quickly as we can to resolve the issue.

With regard to the current issue with the landline, have you connected the router and phone directly to the test socket for a few days to see if this happens when bypassing the faceplate.

Thanks  

Karl. 

[DebSki]

It's still happening occasionally, but we don't receive many incoming calls these days on the landline (partly because our "regular callers" know that there's quite often an issue with them hearing us), but having Googled the problem & seen the responses from others on here, it seems that it's a common problem with TalkTalk landlines, which you seem to be basically ignoring, by getting your customers to go to test port etc.

As it's an intermittent fault, by definition it's very hard to replicate & therefore hard to resolve. However, as there would appear to be quite a few people with the same problem, in different parts of the country, I would suggest that there could be things TalkTalk could look into with a view to fixing it.

Of course, we're all supposed to be going over to VOIP (which is a whole other can of worms) & so I guess that TalkTalk aren't that bothered about sorting out these little intermittent problems in the hope that when we are all forced into VOIP that the problem will magically disappear.

FYI, VOIP for us will be a big issue as our mobiles only work sporadically at home & we therefore rely on wifi calling. If there's a powercut, then we potentially won't be able to make any outgoing calls at all, so not great!

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hi DebSki,

Do you still need assistance with this?

Thanks

Michelle

[andrew66]

yes you have the same problem as everyone else on talktalk but they just try and fob you off with microfilters, test sockets etc instead of realising if the speech is ok in one direction but not the other then the line, filters and everything else between you and the exchange must be ok and its an exchange problem on the line finders, ie 1 or more is faulty. 01244 deeside is especially bad at the moment and thats what reminded me to come back on here tonight.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi DebSki

Do you have any telephone extension sockets in your home or is the master socket the only one?

Chris

[DebSki]

I have microfilters thanks

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hi DebSki,

If you don't have a microfilter then we can send one out for you.

Thanks

Michelle

[ferguson]

Well, if you connect your phone and router to the test socket using a plugin microfilter then all services should work. It will eliminate the faceplate as the source of the problem. 

[DebSki]

No I haven't. The socket isn't very accessible &, if memory serves, with an ADSL router, you can't use it as the test socket only runs on the normal phone line. As we don't receive very many incoming calls, it's more convenient to put up with the occasional problem rather than not have proper internet use - we use that all the time

[ferguson]

@DebSki 

Have you tried connecting at the test socket as suggested by Michelle a few days ago? 

[DebSki]

Hi Andrew

Yes, I sometimes have that problem too. Generally hang up & redial & it's fine.

It's all a bit of a nuisance, but I guess we just live with it. Soon we'll have to go VOIP & that will create many more problems I'm sure - like no phone calls in a power cut (we get quite a few) & we're told that in the event of a power cut we can use our mobiles... .Except that without wifi calling, our mobiles basically don't work at home, so that will go well!

[andrew66]

this is a common problem with talktalk, you may also get times when dialling out that you get dial tone, the number tones dial and just get dial tone again, i gave up trying to get it fixed as it is everyone on talktalk in the area having same problems on and off, just hang up and usually works ok second or third time. if you ask others in your area on TT you will find they have the same issue mainly over about the last 5 years. im in the 01244 area and its bad around here. its an exchange problem but they wont admit it.

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Morning @DebSki 

How are you getting on?

Thanks

Michelle

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hi,

Thanks for confirming. Would it be possible to connect the microfilter, router and phone at the test socket for 24-48hrs to see if the same fault happens please?

Michelle

[DebSki]

Don't think the weather makes a difference - happened today & misty, but no wind/rain at the time. We have an "OpenReach Master socket" which I believe does have a test port if you take the cover off