If you find your AT&T cordless phone not ringing, it’s usually not that serious. In fact, you can perform a few basic and simple troubleshooting steps to try and resolve it on your own!
For this tutorial, we’ll be discussing the causes of why your AT&T phone is not working along with the resolutions or the troubleshooting steps that you can perform to fix it!
If your AT&T wireless home phone is not ringing, check if you have the ringer turned off first. Then, ensure that the wireless phone is not connected to the in-home phone wiring. After that, check if the calls are forwarded to another number. Proceed to reset the device.
Before we get to the resolution, it is important to understand the real causes of why this problem is happening.
Reasons Why Your AT&T Wireless Home Phone Won’t Ring
There could be several reasons as to why your AT&T home phone is not working or ringing. Among the most common of these include:
- The ringer is turned off
- Call forwarding is turned on or activated
- Hardware problems
- Service problems
In fixing or solving this problem, it is important to approach or address it comprehensively. This is so that even if you’re not able to get to the root cause, you’ll still be able to resolve and fix it.
Without further ado, let’s head right onto the guide!
Fixing AT&T Cordless Phone Not Ringing – Steps
Many guides online will instruct you to perform a reset of the home phone. But, that’s not the only thing you need to do!
It will work most of the time, but there are instances where the culprit is anything but the home phone.
Step #1: Check if the Ringer is Turned Off
Most of the time, people often miss the fact that their ringer could be muted or it couldn’t be activated. So, how do I turn on the ringer on my AT&T cordless phone?
To check this, follow these steps:
- On your home phone, press [MENU].
- Then, press DIR or CID and navigate to Ringers, press OK/Select.
- After that, highlight Ringer Volume and press OK/Select.
- Then, choose the line that you’re using.
- Adjust the Ringer Volume by pressing CID or DIR.
- Finalize the changes by pressing SET.
NOTE: It’s imperative to note that when you do this, the home phone must not be in use. Toggling these settings while on a call can disrupt the service and can possibly drop the call.
Step #2: Check the In-Home Phone Wiring
The next step is to ensure that the cordless phone is not connected or attached to your home’s phone wiring.
It’s wireless, so you don’t really need to link or connect it to the phone jack that’s in your home.
To use it, you simply have to connect an existing home phone to the wireless or cordless phone, and then connect the cordless phone to power by plugging it into a wall outlet.
This is also the perfect time to restart the handset. To do this, simply take the batteries out of the handset for a good full minute, and then reinsert it to the device.
Step #3: Is Call Forwarding Turned On?
Another issue that haunts many subscribers is the fact that the call forwarding feature of their home phone is turned on.
If this were the case, the calls that are routed to your home phone would be transferred or forwarded to another number, making it seem like you’re not receiving the calls. This will result in your home phone not ringing.
Here’s the process of how you can deactivate call forwarding on your wireless home phone:
- Perform Off-Hook by pressing Flash or Talk on your wireless phone.
- When you get the dial tone, dial #21# on your cordless phone.
- Then, wait for a few seconds to receive and get the confirmation tone.
This is the signal that all the calls that are forwarded will be routed to the wireless phone; they wouldn’t be forwarded any longer.
Step #4: Check the Cables of the Wireless Phone
The next step is to check the cables linked to the home phone. Since some AT&T cordless phones require the internet, it would be worth checking the connection to the gateway or the modem, too.
Check the deck and its connection to power, the Ethernet cables (if it requires internet), as well as its connection to the primary home phone, too.
Unplug and re-plug the connections so you’re sure that there are no loose connections or wires that link these devices.
Step #5: Check the Batteries of the Phone
The next thing you want to do is to ensure that the batteries inside the cordless/wireless phone are still working.
Most cordless phones are portable, and therefore, they’re equipped with batteries. So, check the status of the batteries. In fact, replacing the current ones inserted with a fresh new pair would be a better thing to do.
If you find that it’s still not ringing, then you can cross out batteries in the list of culprits that could possibly be causing the problem.
Step #6: Reset the Wireless Home Phone
And for the last step, involves performing a reset of the AT&T cordless phone.
Akin to any other type of device, factory resetting the wireless home phone will rid it of all the saved or cached data on it. But, it has been reported to be one of the most effective solutions out there.
To reset your cordless home phone, follow these simple and easy steps:
- On the deck, locate the power cord.
- Disconnect the deck from power.
- At the same time, remove the handset’s battery.
- Wait for three (3) to five (5) minutes before reconnecting the base again.
- After that, place the batteries back inside the AT&T cordless phone.
Once you finish the reset process, wait for the phone to reinitialize and to detect a connection. This should do a total reset of the AT&T wireless phone.
After you finish this 5-step process, test out if your cordless phone would ring if an incoming call is placed, it should be perfectly working again!
My AT&T Wireless Phone is Still Not Ringing, What Should I Do?
If the problem is still there after doing these troubleshooting steps, the issue could already be with the handset or the unit.
To help you even further, the next best thing to do is to contact customer support of AT&T home phone. Let them know about the steps you’ve done, and they’ll tailor a resolution for you!
If it’s a problem with the handset, they will deploy a team of technical experts to check up on the device. But, if it’s already at the point of no return, they’ll suggest a replacement.
Read Next: What is Data Transfer on AT&T Bill?
Final Verdict
Don’t panic when you notice your AT&T wireless phone not ringing. Instead, check if the ringer is on mute or if it’s not activated. Then, check the phone wiring and if the call forwarding option is activated.
Proceed to reset the home phone to finalize the process.
Many people jump to the conclusion that their hardware is always the one at fault. But, with our guide, we’ll help you approach it completely and comprehensively.
The next time you notice that your AT&T wireless phone is not ringing, you can go back to this tutorial to put an end to it once and for all!
Kevin has over five years of experience working in various Tech startups and providing Technical solutions. He has contributed to many Tech publications and websites. Check out more about him here.