plug a phone line into a ethernet converter thing that has cabling from telephone box?

[guest26]

Hi,

This may be a bit off topic, but since sonic had done the installation, i thought i'd ask here. Anyways I tried sonic dsl service some years back, I had a sonic tech come into the house to check my wiring. Eventually supposedly to get better speeds the tech cut the line from the telephone box to the internal wiring mechanism which distributes the phone lines inside to the phone jacks in the wall. Where the tech cut the wire inside he connected to a cat5 thing that has the wires from telephone box connected on one side and you can plug ethernet cable into it and to your dsl modem. My question is can i plug some kind of rj45 to rj11 cable or converter/adapter that they sell on amazon and use it with just landline telephone service? There is no internet currently there and I just want to establish landline service. Thanks in advance.

[danielg4]

Just a passer-by, but which service from Sonic did you have at the time? Legacy DSL? Fusion DSL? Fusion FTTN? Gigabit Fiber?

If you had either of the first two, then the device installed (a splitter) does not use Cat5 at all even if it looks like it does, and the line will still "just work" when landline phone service is connected.

If you had FTTN, then the device is an analog telephone adapter (ATA) that was supposed to be returned to Sonic upon canceling the service, and the cut wires will need to be reconnected. Sonic now also offers landline phone service without Internet on it for $10/month plus tax, and if you got that, they would of course include reconnecting the wires in their $150 connection fee. AT&T would do the same if you paid them to, or you can do it yourself, or you can get somebody else.

If you had Gigabit Fiber from Sonic, then the device is an optical network terminal (ONT) that is permanently installed, but the cut wires will still need to be reconnected, so the rest of the above still applies.

[guest26]

Hi and thanks for your reply. It was the fusion dsl i believe which they do not offer in that area anymore because it's too far from central office.

It's not a splitter as it only has one port. I do believe it is a ethernet port though, but I will take a closer look and probably a picture too.

[danielg4]

If you can discern a manufacturer and model number from the device, you can just look it up.

[guest26]

it is a cat5e something.

http://imgur.com/7W04yEL

http://imgur.com/sTVKfwQ

[danielg4]

Even though it plainly says "CAT.5e" on the connector, it does not look like any kind of Ethernet device. It looks like an ordinary phone jack. I recommend that you pry the cover off from the end where the wires come in and look for markings inside.

[guest26]

it fits a ethernet cable and not a rj11 cable

[danielg4]

it fits a ethernet cable and not a rj11 cable

Physically, yes. Electrically, maybe not.

[guest26]

So if it is connected, i could plug some kind of rj45 to rj11 cable or converter/adapter that they sell on amazon and use it with just landline telephone service?

[danielg4]

That depends on what it actually is, which is why I recommend that you pry the cover off from the end where the wires come in and look for markings inside.