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I'm not sure where to ask this: I have landline service here - I use cordless phones (unless an outage of course) - every once in a while I see on the base that the "In use" line is lit when I'm not on the phone! The other morning at around 5 am (I don't sleep well) I went into the living room and saw the base phone was lit for IN USE - I picked up a phone and it was a staticy sound, no dial tone - it stopped when I disconnected that phone. I'm wondering what would have happened if I'd tried to make a call, if someone called, etc. - it's just a little creepy to me.
It has happened that someone mysteriously gets a fat phone bill for an international call to someone unknown (London). It turned out to be the phone linesmen using some ones phone line via the phone line junction box down the street! Your's doesn't sound like that though.
The "staticy sound" is what usually happens after a period of off-hook, once the "please hang up" warnings are exhausted. I'd more suspect that your phone cord or connectors have a loose connection, or your wireless phone needs replacing than someone tapping your line, especially at 5 AM. Many moons ago, Radio Shack sold a CPA-1000 that logged all outgoing and incoming calls along with the length of call. I doubt you can find a working one these days.
The phone bill would show if your phone line was being hijacked.
Quote:
The "staticy sound" is what usually happens after a period of off-hook,
It could also have been a telephone company fault or as suggested, a fault in your home). If someone else was on your line you would hear a conversation - unless the 'hijacker' had not have hung up properly.
The phone bill would show if your phone line was being hijacked.
It could also have been a telephone company fault or as suggested, a fault in your home). If someone else was on your line you would hear a conversation - unless the 'hijacker' had not have hung up properly.
That's what it was the several times I've had similar problems with my line. Each time it happened right after the local AT&T technicians worked on the lines in my neighborhood. I think they were adding lines for customers in the neighborhood and weren't competent technicians.
Getting a technician to perform diagnostic tests specifically on your line is the best bet to get the problem solved.
Thanks all, I wouldn't know if the bill changed (I have the TOO EXPENSIVE bundle of home landline, TV and internet). I'm tending more towards thinking it's something w/the wiring - a couple months ago I had to switch the cordless phone system as the old phones wouldn't hold a charge anymore (another rant I won't go into over how much more it costs to buy batteries for them than a new system) - This is an AT&T system which I never had before and have issues w/the flash not working, etc. - Thanks for all the input!
Which service are you using? As far as batteries they can usually be found pretty cheap on Amazon. I only buy phone systems that use standard double or triple A batteries.
NHDave - for years I used VTech (they have the "bundled battery packs" and seemed to not be able to hold a charge after a year or two) - I bought AT&T - which has also the "bundled batter packs" - I've never seen a cordless phone system (with an answering machine) - that has just batteries in it - care to share?
We had it happen twice. The first time, we could pick up the phone to use it and someone was on it like a party line but there was no party. I complained to the phone company who said it was not possible. When one of the technicians was at my house, it happened. He found the people on the line talking, tried to ask them what number they were calling from and they hung up. He found in the alley that they had connected into our phone line. The other time, I had complained about the costs that the phone company was charging so on a Friday afternoon, they connected our line to another and for the weekend, we had to use it like a party line and thank goodness, these were nice and considerate people we were partied with.
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