Modem phone line cable 2-wire versus 4-wire?

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I need to replace my 2 wire phone line cord to the modem. I have a Heavy Duty 4 wire cord. Will the extra line connection give me any problems with the DSL setup, as in interferences or so on?

My set set is DSL Centurytel Westell 6100 modem with the Netgear N900 router. Filters on all phones but the DSL modem.

I have a single phone line now but the phone line was wired for 2 lines. I had Line 2 disconnected by the phone company a long time ago, but it still has a beeping busy beeping signal.

Will this not working but beeping busy signal on line 2 cause me problems with using a 4 wire phone cable?

I am now using the 4 wire 2 line cable, but I am concerened about it’s use.

Thank you for your input.

GiddyUpGo

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GiddyUpGo,

I would assume that the DSL modem is wired to use the two wires which are usually setup for a single line setup so you should not have a problem if your installer followed the normal setup procedures. I say that because in my previous home I had all kinds of trouble because the previous owner self wired the house and had the pairs mixed up something fierce. When I added a second line things went completely haywire until I tested and rewired the outlets all over the house. :cheers:

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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GiddyUpGo,

I would assume that the DSL modem is wired to use the two wires which are usually setup for a single line setup so you should not have a problem if your installer followed the normal setup procedures. I say that because in my previous home I had all kinds of trouble because the previous owner self wired the house and had the pairs mixed up something fierce. When I added a second line things went completely haywire until I tested and rewired the outlets all over the house. :cheers:

I connected my 2 line phone to all of my wired phone connections. On every connection, Line 1 and Line 2 were correct….so maybe that part is OK.
I do not yet know if it was a fluet or not, but once today I got a red light on my Westell 6100 modem ethernet port light. My connections were still up and running. Even my second computer, which is wired and was on, was still up and running. I have never seen this happen before. I turned the modem and router off and restarted them. Everything was back to the normal green light. I have only seen this red ethernet light before when my ISP site was down with no internet connection.

Is it possible the 4 wire cable could be doing this? I do not have a 2 wire phone cable, but if you think yes, I will try to find one.
Thank you for your input!

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GiddyUpGo,

I wouldn’t think so but to be sure I’d check w/your ISP. :cheers:

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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If you lose your connection to your central office it will turn red. If it gets shorted, it will turn red. four wire line vs two wire line will not affect your DSL in any way unless miswired in your house or shorts.

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In a four wire phone connection, the center two wires are “line 1”. The outer two wires are “line 2”. DLS / telephone need only the one pair of wires to work.

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I have a single phone line now but the phone line was wired for 2 lines. I had Line 2 disconnected by the phone company a long time ago, but it still has a beeping busy beeping signal.

All good advice from everyone. The quote above gives me pause for a moment, though. If you have NO dial tone on your line 2 you should hear nothing. Not sure what you mean by a “beeping busy beeping signal”, and where you hear it.

That being said, if you can, it is better to use a standard one line telephone cord from the jack to your DSL modem. I work in telecom and was an install/repair tech for many years, and I have seen isolated cases where DSL was interfered with by simply using a two line phone cord. Can’t really tell you what was going on, just that replacing the cord fixed the issues.

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All good advice from everyone. The quote above gives me pause for a moment, though. If you have NO dial tone on your line 2 you should hear nothing. Not sure what you mean by a “beeping busy beeping signal”, and where you hear it.

That being said, if you can, it is better to use a standard one line telephone cord from the jack to your DSL modem. I work in telecom and was an install/repair tech for many years, and I have seen isolated cases where DSL was interfered with by simply using a two line phone cord. Can’t really tell you what was going on, just that replacing the cord fixed the issues.

Thanks for all the advice in this post. I now have the answer I asked for!

First: I has asked the phone company to disconnect my second phone line because I was going from dial up to DSL and only used the second line for internet access. I only know that even to this date I still have a busy beeping signal on line 2, like the one you receive when you call a number that is busy. The service has been disabled because I do not get a solid dial tone, just the busy signal all the time now.

Second your point that the 4 wire 2 line cable gave you problems, was the same for me. I had random disconnects with the modem light turning red with my 4 wire 2 line cable. It could be a day or so, or just in an hour or so.

I made my own 2 wire cable using the center connectors as stated from dlaskowski’s post.

In the two months since this first post, I have no more disconnect problems. SO a 4 wire 2 line cable will not work for me. Maybe because I still have a signal on my line 2?

Again I THANK YOU and ALL THE OTHER posts that got me up and going. You all were the best!

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I need to replace my 2 wire phone line cord to the modem. I have a Heavy Duty 4 wire cord. Will the extra line connection give me any problems with the DSL setup, as in interferences or so on?

My set set is DSL Centurytel Westell 6100 modem with the Netgear N900 router. Filters on all phones but the DSL modem.

I have a single phone line now but the phone line was wired for 2 lines. I had Line 2 disconnected by the phone company a long time ago, but it still has a beeping busy beeping signal.

Will this not working but beeping busy signal on line 2 cause me problems with using a 4 wire phone cable?

I am now using the 4 wire 2 line cable, but I am concerened about it’s use.

Thank you for your input.

GiddyUpGo

It will NOT make any difference so long as you have 2 twisted pairs and use a pair that is twisted together and not one of each. This will be obvious when you remove the outer jacket from the wire.

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Glad it is solved, but I would get my phone co to check that former second line connection in the terminal box at my location… something is bleeding through. I too had two lines, one for dial up and one for telephone use. When I went to satellite we had line 2 disconnected, and there is absolutely no sound on that line.

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The beeping busy signal on your second line is probably the result of an unwanted connection somewhere between your home and the Central Office. Your telephone supplier can trace this out at no charge to you if it is a result of problems in their equipment.

Try opening the connection on the customer side of your NID (they grey box where the telephone line from the pole connects to your house). If the beeping busy signal disappears, the problem is external to your home. You can leave the connection open. If it still there, there is a problem inside you house and you will have to pay to have it repaired unless you can fix it yourself.

If you feel brave enough, disconnect the wires for that line leading into your house.

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