How to Wire a Telephone

Enabling a Landline Jack

1. 
   Locate the Network Interface Device box on the outside of your house. This is a gray or tan box that measures roughly 8 inches by 12 inches. The Network Interface Device box is where the telephone wire from the phone company terminates, and also where the phone wiring going into the house will connect to your landline phone.
2. Open the box. You may need to open an additional compartment labeled "Customer Access" as well. Inside, you will notice modular plugs and two screws. The plugs look just like the phone jack that you plug your phone into inside of your house.

   1. There will be a line plugged into each modular plug for each phone company line that runs to your house.
   2. The pair of screw posts will contain one red screw and one green screw. These posts are where your new wiring will connect to the phone company wiring.
3. Unplug the phone company line. Before you begin your wiring project, you'll need to unplug the phone company line that is plugged into the jack inside the box. This is just a safety precaution, as it will disconnect the power flowing from the phone company line.

   1. This line must be plugged back in once you've completed the wiring.
4. Install your telephone jack if necessary. If you don't have a telephone jack and cable installed in your house, follow the steps in the linked article. This will allow you to install your telephone jack along with the cable that you'll use to connect to the Network Interface Device box.

   1. If you already have a telephone jack in your house, skip this step.
   2. If you have a telephone jack but no cable, follow the linked article's steps to connect one end of a telephone cable to the telephone jack.
5. Run the telephone wire back to your Network Interface Device box. This part is entirely up to you; some landline users opt to run the wires through the walls, while others choose to run the wire out through the attic or the foundation and then along the side of the house.
6. Attach the telephone jack to your Network Interface Device box. You'll use the colored screw sections in the Network Interface Box to do this:

   1. Clip the end of the phone cable off.
   2. Strip an inch off of the end of each of the colored wires.
   3. Separate the green wire and the red wire.
   4. Unscrew the red connector screw and the green connector screw (or both of the screws in the "Line 1" area).
   5. Wrap the red wire's bare section around the red connector's screw, then repeat with the green wire and the green connector.
   6. Re-tighten the screws.
7. Plug the company line back in. It should plug back into the port into which it was initially inserted. At this point, your landline is active; you can now proceed with attaching your landline phone.

   1. You may have to call the company and request that they activate your phone line before you can use your landline.