I have an issue with 4 phones not ringing at the same time. When a call comes in there is no consistency in the phone rings. We had to upgrade to a new NID box to get DSL. Hoping this may resolve the problem (not). In the new NID box I had a DSL splitter installed and a separate CAT 5E for the DSL. We still have issues with the phones not ringing at the same time. DSL seems fine. Also, each phone drop is point to point (Cat3). Some is old but not that old. Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks SA

Although the voltage change that signals a phone to ring will come in at the same time to each phone, the phones all process this differntly. Most phones today don't actually use the voltage change that comes through the line the same wasy they did when the phone system was first implemented. Phones used to take the voltage change and send it through a bell, which would then make the ringing soud. Most phones today just detect the voltage change and then trigger a rining function in the phones programming. This allows more phones to be connected to the same line, because each phones takes up a fraction of a RIN (a RIN was the amount of voltage it would take to make one phone ring, and if you connected too many phones, none would actually ring because the total voltage over the line would be too low).

To get all the phones to ring simultaniously, you would probably have to have all your phones be the same model. Otherwise, there is really no garuntee that they will ring at the same time.