I need to replace a phone line from the NID to my home. The NID outside my home(5-story) has about 12 phone lines connect to it. I don't want to dissconnect my neighbour's phone line when replacing it.
Last week, when verizon(NY) came to my workplace and did some repair. I saw them just connect a test tool and dial several numbers on the phone to retrieve the number that belong to that line. I saw they also successfully retrieve it using a regular phone.
Does anyone know what number to press in order to retrieve the phone number?
I think they are different from phone company to phone company but what works where i live is 959-9833. then it reads the phone number your calling from back to you in a computer automated voice. cheers
ANI (Automatic Number Identification) equipment access varies from telco to telco and, in recent years, changes quarterly. The old standby, static "958" doesn't work much anymore.
telcos are also removing it because it's never available when their techs need it. it was never intended to be a public service. some offices only had one playback device for the entire office.
Slightly OT, but when I was a teenager in NYC, there used to be a number you could call and it would ring your phone back.
My parents hassled me less if I had a valid reason to go out, so I would dial the number, answer my phone and then tell my parents something like "That was Russ. We're going bowling. See ya later."
There used to be one of those here, before they put in the ESS switching. Its original function had to do with party lines (which is how I found out about it) but it was useful from any line.
Sometimes I've wished it still worked. I'd call the operator and she refused to do it. Of course, now I have a cell phone and can use that.
Sometimes for fun I'd call my grandmother in the other room when the paper came. She knew and answered with "Jimmy Carter's residence".
BTW, it seemed strange that most local calls required 5 digits then, but if you wanted to call someone on your party line it took 10 digits.
Depends on your location and your local phone company. But be careful, in some places, the phone wires for an apartment belong to the landlord (building owner.) In one community I lived in, municipal law requires landlord to hire a phone guy, for reason of neighbor's phone you mentioned above. (If you live in a Condo situation, I have no clue about who owns what.)
Also, most only use one pair of lines for their home land lines, and most cables are 2 or 4 pairs, there is the chance an unsavory person could tap into a neighbor's phone line and record all conversations. Another reason for phone guy in multi-tennent building.
So lets say, some unsavory person wanted to know the unlisted number of a someone they were stalking. Then all they would need do is go to the outside NID, connect onto the line, dial this secret number and get the private phone number of the person they were stalking? Then this unsavory person could harass by making phone calls all night long. That is one of several reasons why the Phone Company doesn't want the general public to know that number.
Go to Radio shack, or your local big orange retail giant (BORG) and get a line tracer toner. Disconnect the phones in your apartment, connect the toner, and trace the line back to the NID. Last I checked, the toner and tracer were about $25.00.
Used to be, in the Rochester NY and Monroe county area, it was 511. East of that, in Wayne county, the number was 998 or 993. 958 worked in some parts of NYS.
If my memory is working, you can dial 1-700-555-4141 to find out what long distance carrier is on your line.
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