Initial Troubleshooting Tips Clear Rate Repair is at your service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. However, most problems can be solved before you even call us. Below is a series of tests that our technicians will need you to perform before we can dispatch a technician.

Who is responsible for repairs?

The Customer shares the responsibility for maintaining their phone service.

The Customers local telephone company is responsible for repairs and maintenance to the telephone network and outside wires leading up to their home or business. The customer or the property owner are responsible for the wiring inside their home or business, jacks, and equipment such as telephone sets, answering machines, modems, fax machines, etc. The point where the telephone company's network ends and the inside wiring begins is called the network interface device.

Phone Company 1. Cable 2. Terminal 3. Drop Wire 4. Network Interface Customer 5. Inside Wire 6. Jack 7. Telephone (Answering Machine, Fax etc.)

a) Check all internal equipment (Isolation Test).
Inside unplugging all phones, answering machines, Caller ID units, fax machines, computers, or any other equipment that utilizes phone service from the wall jack for 20 minutes can test equipment. If the phone is cordless, please unplug the AC adapter as well. After leaving the line idle for 20 minutes, take a corded phone and plug into one of the internal jacks. If that phone does not work, try a second corded phone to assure the phone is not faulty. Take a corded phone to each jack within the house one at a time. If you find that all jacks have dial tone when a corded phone is plugged in, start testing each piece of equipment individually to see if any of them are causing the trouble.

b) Locate the Network Interface Device.
This is the box that connects the outside phone lines to the customer’s location. The box is usually gray or beige in color and is clearly labeled as the telephone interface. The location of this box is needed to properly dispatch a technician. If this box is located inside your house we would need to set up a 4-hour window for someone at least 18 years old to be home to allow the technician access.

c) Check for dial tone at the Network Interface box.
The interface can be checked with a corded phone. The box itself is fastened shut in the front with a Phillips head screw. Once the screw is loosened you can open the left hand "Customer Access" side. Inside you will find jacks, like the jacks inside your home, with a black or gray cord plugged into each. The Interface box will have one jack for each line coming into your house, and boxes with multiple lines should be tagged as to what jack goes to what line. A lack of dial tone or presence of reported trouble at the interface indicates trouble in the outside lines. If dial tone exists or problem reported is not present at the interface, the trouble may be inside your home.

d) If the problem is with the Inside Wiring only?
If trouble is isolated to wiring in the home, after testing at the Network Interface and ruling out all of your equipment, you will want to consider options to diagnose and repair the inside network. Inside Wiring is the customers financial responsibility, and you may repair the network yourself, hire out an electrician or contractor, or have Clear Rate schedule one of its technicians to correct the problem*. Clear Rate technician dispatches for diagnosis or repair of inside wiring troubles are billable at $119.00 for the first hour and $29.75 for each 15-minute interval of labor**.

And don't forget, you can protect your inside wiring with our Line Manager wire maintenance plan.  For just $3.95 per month, Clear Rate will provide inside wiring repairs to your home or business should the need ever arise.  Call 877-877-4799 to order Line Manager insurance, and for just pennies a day, know that you are protected from costly phone technician fees. 

* Truck Roll Charges: When an ILEC Technician is dispatched to the customers premise and no trouble is found or trouble has been determined to reside in the customer’s home, a minimum fee of $99.00 will apply.