Note that, as is typical for a single line install, you only have 2 wires active, and a 2 or 4 wire jack would work just fine as it's only the white-with-blue (going to green, old-style)/blue (going to red, old-style) pair that are doing anything, on the center two contacts of the jack. 4 contacts of a 6 wire jack are doing nothing.
You may want to disconnect (unplug) your line at the Network Interface (typically a gray box on the outside of the house with a telephone symbol, and a screw marked "customer access" keeping it closed) before rewiring, as there is some danger of shock if anyone happens to call while you are moving the wires. Ring voltages run about 90VAC.
Answer from Ecnerwal on Stack ExchangeNote that, as is typical for a single line install, you only have 2 wires active, and a 2 or 4 wire jack would work just fine as it's only the white-with-blue (going to green, old-style)/blue (going to red, old-style) pair that are doing anything, on the center two contacts of the jack. 4 contacts of a 6 wire jack are doing nothing.
You may want to disconnect (unplug) your line at the Network Interface (typically a gray box on the outside of the house with a telephone symbol, and a screw marked "customer access" keeping it closed) before rewiring, as there is some danger of shock if anyone happens to call while you are moving the wires. Ring voltages run about 90VAC.
What you have there are punch-down connections, where the wire is forced into a slot that cuts through the insulation and makes the electrical connection.
To replace them with your new screw-terminal type jack:
- Pry the wire out of the slot.
- I would suggest that you cut off the part of the wire where you can see the insulation is nicked, because the metal will also be nicked and might be fragile there. This might not be necessary.
- Use a wire stripper to expose some bare wire.
- Hook the wire around the screw and tighten it down.
To keep the jack wired the same as before, make sure you pair your blue-with-white-stripes wire with the jack's red wire and the white-with-blue-stripes wire with the jack's green wire.
However, there is something weird here: the blue-with-white-stripes wire seems to be looped through the jack and on to a splice with the green wire. This is strange, because wires should always be paired and the white-with-blue-stripes wire isn't doing the same thing. But perhaps the other splice is joining 3 wires (I can't quite tell). In any case, make sure to preserve any wire joins, as they might be part of the wiring for another jack on this same phone line. You may wish to replace the loop with a new 3-way splice, or you can try cutting the loop and putting both ends of it under the red screw.
The exact way you make the connection doesn't matter too much, as long as everything has continuity that did before.
We’re changing backsplash in the home we recently purchased and no longer need the phone jack. Can I simply cut the wires, wrap with electrical tape and leave in the wall?
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Old Phone Jack and rewiring inside house - DoItYourself.com Community Forums
Is it worth keeping old phone jacks for future home network wiring?
Old phone jack. Can I just cut the wiring and leave in the wall, then patch over?
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Note that, as is typical for a single line install, you only have 2 wires active, and a 2 or 4 wire jack would work just fine as it's only the white-with-blue (going to green, old-style)/blue (going to red, old-style) pair that are doing anything, on the center two contacts of the jack. 4 contacts of a 6 wire jack are doing nothing.
You may want to disconnect (unplug) your line at the Network Interface (typically a gray box on the outside of the house with a telephone symbol, and a screw marked "customer access" keeping it closed) before rewiring, as there is some danger of shock if anyone happens to call while you are moving the wires. Ring voltages run about 90VAC.
Answer from Ecnerwal on Stack ExchangeMy wife and I recently bought an old house (built around 1870). Most of the interior walls are plaster and lath. The house isn’t wired for Ethernet cable but it has been wired for a phone line, with jacks in many of the rooms. (Coax in one or two of the rooms as well.) since we don’t have a landline or use cable (we have a Fios for internet, currently over a mesh network), my wife would like me to cut the wires and patch the holes.
Someday in the future when I have a bit more cash I’d like to wire the house for a home network, but in terms of budget and priorities that’s not going to happen for a while, especially given how hard I expect it to be in such an old house. My question is if it’s worth keeping these phone jacks open (and just covering with a blank plate) for a hypothetical future network. I know the actual phone cables (which are old) would need to be replaced, so I suppose my question is if it would make fishing and installing the wires significantly easier/cheaper.
Mostly I just don’t want to go to the trouble of patching the walls and sometime down the road realize my life would be easier if I’d left the jacks in. Thanks for any advice !