Cordless phone behaving abnormally - any ideas? (It's probably something really simple!)

Fogmatic

I know I could probably replace it easily enough, but in our fairly remote area it’s quicker to try and fix things (and we need our phone!).

It’s a Panasonic KX-TG6811E (with 2 handsets), though users of their other models or makes could well have the answer.  It may simply be down to some feature we’ve never used, but invoked unintentionally (e.g by trying some button to see what it does).

It’s started ringing, very loudly, at regular (I think) intervals of perhaps 10 or 15 minutes.  (Quite like its usual steady one-note rings when someone calls, and with the same rhythm I think, but probably loud enough for a disco).  So far, the only way we can shut it up is to leave the mains power disconnected from the base unit.

It’s been a bit confusing to diagnose, as it started directly our power was restored after storm Eowyn.  We did have some strange bits of electrical stuff happening during the night of peak storm here (including with this phone), but it seemed unscathed as usual.  (Perhaps it is).  The displays on the handsets were as normal, I got the usual dialling tone, and the handsets and my mobile were able to ring each other (only just, but that’s down to our extremely weak mobile signal).  Our area and house have always attracted lightning, but our Panasonic has sailed happily through storms throughout the 10 years we’ve had it, including plenty of direct or near direct hits to the house, and we’ve always left it on 24/7.  (It’s been the same both before and after ditching our old Eircom line for a Voip service).

I haven’t yet timed the frequency of these cacophonies, or the number of rings each time.  (That needs a time when nobody’s trying to concentrate, listen to something, relax or sleep!). But from memory), at a guess I’d say it rings for about 30 seconds per session.

From a look through the instructions, it seems that the culprit could be one of several features; Paging, or the Handset Finder (or maybe those are different terms for the same thing, depending on which section of the instructions they’re in?)  Or an ‘alarm clock’ facility, or a distress call.  (It certainly seems penetrating enough for any of those!).  If so, it’s hard to know which one, with not knowing what they’re supposed to sound like.  The only mention I could find for turning any of those off was re Paging (press the big button on the front of the base unit, and the red ‘End call’ button on the handset(s); separately, or at the same time, wasn’t specified.  (That didn’t do the trick, and was quite a physical challemge to do, so I’d guess it’s for paging an extension, or another person in the same building, rather than finding a handset?)

If the cause could be surge damage, I could easily test that with an unused spare set of the same model (base unit & I handset), that I bought at the same time, meaning to put a 3rd handset somewhere   I’m not sure about the pair of handset batteries that came with it (and rechargeable batteries are unavailable locally) but we happen to have 2 pairs of the correct type in the house, that I bought just a year or so ago.

 

wildwillow

It is probably related to the power cut. I had a problem with a panasonic having an engaged tone and also the mesh network was down so no broadband. I unplugged everything phone and internet connected, including the modem, for a few hours overnight and all was working in the morning.

As an aside it is a good idea to switch off sockets on the fuse board while power is out and give it a few minutes when power returns. Helps avoid surge damage.

Fogmatic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123138042#Comment_123138042

Thanks - I'll try your disconnection tip if the chance arisises, though that's not very likely in my case (long story). I've only tried the usual brief disconnections that are often all that's needed with electronic glitches. (On the rare occasions when we've needed to lift a finger at all when the power's restored, that is).

Re the fuse board, my husband designed & made ours so that we can either flip off the tripswitch, or switch off just a part of the circuitry (e.g. whichever ceiling light needs a bulb replacing). Rather than disconnect everything at once, we find it more useful here to leave the tripswitch on, then turn off each item, except for a sonic mouse repellant plugthat lives plugged in within sight of the bed, and most of our living area, for the sake of its LED light. It gives us a way of knowing whether te power in our area has been restored, and if it stays on steadily for a while, we gradually switch on theother things, as and when needed. (There's also the little trill the cordless phone makes while connecting to power, but we're not always within earshot, even when we're at home (and it sounds the same however briefly the power is on. anyway).

Are you by any chance familiar with the aforementiomed phone functions (e.g. what they sound like, and/or how to turn them off?) It would be useful to know whether to eliminate them as the cause.

Or anyone?

Esel

Phone has an alarm function, and a locator function (from a brief search).

Do you have the manual? If not, you can download a copy.

Hope this helps.

wildwillow

Haven’t a clue about the functions. It is rarely used, mostly to find my mobile! But a good suggestion to download the manual.

Fogmatic

Thanks, Esel, but I have the manual.  (The booklet version that came with our model back then; it was identical to the online version (still is, last time I looked), and is quicker to refer to at the same time as online activity (e.g. this discussion).

It’s how I learned that this very loud ringing might be caused by accidentally enabling one of several features that my model may have.  (One of 9 covered by the instructions, though the features I’m thinking of sound simple to program into any cordless phone).

It’s also how I found that the instructions don’t seem to include how to enable or stop any of them, except for the one I tried, which I think was designed for office buildings and/or extensions.  (Neither of us has worked in an office recently enough to help me sort out this problem). And that the manual doesn't say what they sound like.

I’ve searched the whole thing forwards, backwards and following trails of cross-references, but with the way it’s set out, I might have missed something.

It would be good to find out for sure whether our problem is a settings one.  If so, I could fit in trying each setting between one of the loud rings and the next one, instead of having to wait for an unknown time to fit in a session of possibly swapping every piece of the set to find the culprit(s).

Fogmatic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123142700#Comment_123142700

I was about to ask what you do to stop the ringing omce you've found it. The time between our loud ringings feels about right for stumbling down the average garden with a torch before the noise wakes the whole neighbourhood). But I was confusing mobile and cordless!

I thought a photo or two of the symbols on the phone might somehow help someone to help. (If only to save a few words, or help with talking about the same setting, or terminology for it). I'd guess much of it is standardised across makes.

The bottom middle button is lit up when the power is plugged in (or at least some of the time). There are 2 labels on the back of the base unit with technical and identifying details, if a photo of that would help anything. And I could easily take snaps of what the screen shows (not in the evenings though, or my husband could get a rude awakening if the power's connected!) The other 3 snaps are the handbook pages re the symbols (The 1st page is the 3rd photo -sorry!)

I don't think anything about voicemail is relevant in this case (our VOIP service takes care of that, and is still working normally).