• Standard wired landline phones too loud on Fios

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    • This topic has 20 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 1 year ago.
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    #2652405

    When I got Verizon Fios Internet I also got my standard home wired phone connected to the Fios too.  It works okay but now the volume is very loud.  It’s so loud you have to hold the phone away from your ear.  Has anyone experienced this or know what to do about it?  I’ve got the phone’s volume control turned down as low as it goes and it’s still very loud!

    Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's
    • This topic was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by Charlie.
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    • #2652559

      Most likely the RX gain (receive dB) in the FiOS modem is set too high and, unless you have access to the modem settings and know exactly what you’re doing, messing with it could make things even worse.

      It’s also highly likely Verizon will simply “overwrite” any change you make during their next remote update cycle used to ensure their modem continues to work properly.

      I suggest contacting Verizon FiOS support to let them know about your issue and have them turn the RX gain down to a more usable level for your particular phone.

      Doing that would also mean the new setting will have been saved in their system as applicable for your modem so it should stay the same during the next update cycle.

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      • #2652630

        I forgot to say that I did call Verizon about that and some other things, but the technician tried something but didn’t get the volume lowered.  I’ve got a large .pdf file on the Fios modem/router that explains a lot of the settings, but I didn’t see anything about phones.  I will check again though now that you mentioned RX gain.  Thanks!

        Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's
    • #2652661

      Most likely the RX gain (receive dB) in the FiOS modem is set too high and, unless you have access to the modem settings and know exactly what you’re doing, messing with it could make things even worse.

      Fios handles POTS with VOIP, and they do not have modems. They supply an ONT (Optical Network Terminal) and a router. It’s not like cablecos modems with phone service built in.

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      • #2652684

        Fios handles POTS with VOIP, and they do not have modems. They supply an ONT (Optical Network Terminal) and a router. It’s not like cablecos modems with phone service built in.

        ONT’s simply provide a fiber ⇒ ethernet connection and aren’t capable of any sort of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) connection for a phone!

        Just like the VoIP enabled modems cable companies use, there’ll be an RJ-11 port on the VoIP enabled FiOS router (i.e. fiber modem) if they’re providing VoIP service.

        And somewhere in the modem settings “should” be a control to set the TX/RX gain needed to adjust the volume levels (the Obi200 I use with Google Fiber for VoIP has such a setting.)

        BTW, TX = transmit/RX = receive.

        • #2658648

          My FIOS ‘ONT’ has my phone RJ !! plugged into it. I guess the ‘modem’ part is integrated into it.

          🍻

          Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.
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          • #2659148

            Look at Posts #2653062 and #2653401 below.  My phone line is plugged into L1 on this ONT.

            Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's
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    • #2652664

      What I don’t have to put up with just to try and have what I took for granted in the 1960’s!  Still researching.

      Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's
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    • #2652675

      What I don’t have to put up with just to try and have what I took for granted in the 1960’s!  Still researching.

      I think what you are seeing is the demise of POTS. I think most young people today skip the home phone and use their cell for everything. It is possible that you could call Verizon to install a true POTS landline.

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      • #2652686

        Where I am in the U.S. Verizon is already not doing any service calls on POTS.  My original POTS line was working just fine until one day I picked up the phone and there was nothing, it was dead.  I called Verizon and got their usual answer – “We don’t provide service for copper land lines anymore”.  I was told I could get Fios and since I wanted Fios anyway, I got it and added the phone to it.

        Yes indeed, I’ve been aware of the demise of POTS for some time now.  One upside to this is that I no longer have to pay “Long Distance” charges within the U.S.  That is great.

        Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's
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        • #2652842

          I have a landline phone which is part of my Spectrum bundled service…TV, internet, and phone.  Several advantages…don’t have to give my cell phone number out to everyone, phones thruout the house (don’t have to carry my cell phone from room to room or run back to wherever I left it to answer a call, caller ID shows on the TV, and people can be on the same call from different rooms (everyone doesn’t have to huddle around the cell phone, and, for us, a $5/mo Asia calling plan, which is very useful…try using your cell phone to call abroad and see what that call cost you.

          iPhone 13, 2019 iMac(SSD)

          • #2652945

            Yeah, I’ve got RJ-11 telephone jacks in the walls in every room except the bathrooms.  I only have phones connected to the ones in the kitchen and recreation room.  I agree with you about giving out my cell phone number, only a few people have it.

            Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's
    • #2653047

      Just out of curiosity – is the Tx level also too high?
      That is, do your called-parties remark that ‘you’ are coming through too loudly? Or perhaps too softly?

      • #2653395

        I haven’t gotten any remarks or complaints from anyone yet so I think the TX level is okay.

        Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's
    • #2653062

      ONT’s simply provide a fiber ⇒ ethernet connection and aren’t capable of any sort of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) connection for a phone!

      I have Fios but I do not have Fios Digital Voice. I just know that you can use any router you want. According to Verizon, the ONT does supply the FDV. https://community.verizon.com/t5/Fios-Digital-Voice-and-POTS/hardware-installation-question/td-p/1578755

      If you get the Fios Digital Voice this is a Voip but the software is handled at the ONT.  You do not have to plug your phones into a modem as you would use your existing phone jacks in the house.  We connect the existing copper wire up to the ONT.

      Frank_VZ

      Here is a press release https://www.verizon.com/about/news/press-releases/fios-digital-voice-heres-how-it-works

      And here is a picture of my ONT with the RJ11 jacks.

      20240324_205919

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      • #2653401

        This back box looks exactly like what I have installed on a wooden board in the basement, and this is where my phone line is connected (L1).  It also has the Internet connection line running up to the “modem”/router upstairs.  I don’t see anything adjustable on the outside, and a Youtube video only describes what the you see on the outside and what the LED lights indicate on the other side.  They don’t say what that little clear opening is for and that intrigues me, but I dare not fool around with this unless I could be absolutely sure of what I was doing.

        Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's
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    • #2653413

      This back box looks exactly like what I have installed on a wooden board in the basement, and this is where my phone line is connected (L1).  It also has the Internet connection line running up to the “modem”/router upstairs.

      The coax on the left also connects to the router for MoCA and QAM, since I have TV and Internet, no FDV phone.

      You should really force Verizon fix your service. Maybe it needs a new ONT. If not, look at alternatives. For example, I currently use the VOIP service Ooma, where I am Grandfathered in on their free, no tax service. (They still say it is free after paying for the adapter, but they now charge monthly taxes.)  But, I would first demand support if FDV is what you want.

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      • #2653437

        Yeah, if I can get through to a person with some smarts and clout I might be able to threaten to go with Ooma as way to get them off their rear ends.  Failing that, I may have to put an appropriately sized resistor on the little speaker in the AT&T model 210 Trimline phones.

        Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's
    • #2654258

      It’s looking like a 400 ohm resistor in series with the speaker will bring the volume down to a normal level according to what I’ve read on Google.  The only thing I need to figure out is whether to use a 1/4, 1/2, or 1 watt resistor.  1 watt would be the safest if I have to guess.

      Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's
      • #2654261

        …I may have to put an appropriately sized resistor on the little speaker in the AT&T model 210 Trimline phones.

        We still have a REAL AT&T Trimline 210 I bought back in 2012, and it has a slider on the side of it to change the speaker’s volume. That slider has 3 settings to it, and I usually use it on the lowest setting.

        BUT, perhaps your model is one of the older ones that still has the metal base, so it may not have that slider??

        • #2654494

          My phones have that same 3 position switch and as I stated in my original post above, I keep it on the lowest volume setting.

          Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's
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