If your landline is not working but the internet is, start with the handset and the socket it uses. A dead phone line, a loose cable or a separate voice-service problem can leave you without calls even while websites load normally.
The first question is simple: does the phone connect to a wall socket, or to your router or a voice adapter? The right checks depend on that answer.
Why can the internet work when the landline is dead?
Broadband and phone calls do not always use the same service settings. With digital voice, the internet connection may work while the phone service still needs to be activated or fixed. A cordless phone can also lose its link to the base without anything being wrong with broadband.
| What you see | Check first |
|---|---|
| No dial tone or “No line” | The phone cable and the correct wall, router or adapter socket. |
| “No link to base,” “No link to Hub” or “Out of range” | Base power, handset range and the phone’s registration instructions. |
| A blank cordless handset | The handset battery and charging base. |
| Outgoing calls work, but the phone does not ring | Ringer volume, Do Not Disturb, blocked callers and call diversion. |
| The phone stopped after a new router or fibre installation | The new phone connection and whether the provider has activated voice service. |
Check the phone connection in this order
- Make sure the handset and its base have power. Charge a cordless handset if its screen is blank.
- Push the phone cable fully into the base and the correct socket. Check for visible cable damage.
- For digital voice, use the phone port or adapter named in your provider’s setup guide. An Ethernet socket is not a phone socket.
- For a traditional copper phone line, follow the provider’s wall-socket and filter instructions.
- If you have one, try another compatible phone or cable.
- Test an outgoing call, then call your landline from another phone. Write down which direction fails.
Landline not working after switching to fibre broadband
Your old wall socket may no longer carry phone service after a move to digital voice. Plugging the phone back into that socket will not fix it. Check the connection supplied for the new service, and ask the provider to confirm that your number has moved successfully.
For example, BT’s Digital Voice guide tells users of a compatible existing cordless phone to connect its base to the Hub’s phone socket. Other providers and routers may use a different arrangement.
If you need the equipment details for support, see how to find your router’s model and hardware version.
Should you restart or reset the router?
A normal restart may help when your provider recommends it. Follow its steps and wait for the connection to return. A factory reset is a different action: it can erase working settings and should not be your first response to a phone fault.
Also check whether internet access is coming from a mobile backup. BT says Digital Voice does not work through its Hybrid Connect mobile backup, even if that backup lets you browse. Check your own service’s rules.
When to contact your phone provider
If the phone still has no line after the basic checks, check the provider’s outage page and contact support. Give them the router model, exact screen message, when the fault began, and whether incoming calls, outgoing calls or both fail. Working internet does not rule out a separate fault with the voice service.
Updated October 14, 2026. Instructions and available features can vary by device, account and software version.