How To Install a Phone Jack

When Phone Jacks Are Needed and DIY Installation

Telephone jack's exposed wires held by hand
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
Project Overview
  • Working Time: 15 - 30 mins
  • Total Time: 15 - 30 mins
  • Skill Level: Beginner
  • Estimated Cost: $5 to $10

Many homes now rely on cell service and do not have any landline phones, which means there's less use for the once ubiquitous phone jack. Sometimes, however, there is a need for a phone jack. Fortunately, you can install a phone jack yourself since this increasingly rare DIY project is still quite an easy one to complete.

When Phone Jacks Are Needed

There are a few instances where you may need a phone jack installation:

  • If your home still has a landline, it's sometimes necessary to establish additional phone jacks that are hard-wired to the main telephone system.
  • In very large homes, wireless receivers may have trouble receiving signals from a single transmitter. In these instances, the solution is often to run phone cables to remote locations and install jacks in other rooms that can serve as their own transmitters.
  • It's also possible you may need to replace the main phone jack that serves the central cordless transmitter, should it wear out.

Phone Jack Wiring and Installation Tips

In older telephone installations, the phone cable typically has four small-gauge wires inside the outer jacket: red, green, black, and yellow. If you're extending a line to another room or other part of the house, you can continue to use this type of cable, or you can use newer Category 3 or 5 (Cat-3 or Cat-5) data cable, which also has multiple wires but with a different color scheme.

Cat-3 or Cat-5 cable works just as well as the old cable for phone service, and it works much better for data (such as for a DSL internet connection). With either type of cable, once the cable is run to the jack location, the wiring of the jack is a simple matter of matching up the correct wire colors. Here are some tips on wiring and installation:

  • Running phone cable is generally an easy process, in which the wires at one end of the cable are first attached to the matching screw terminals on the main phone terminal block.
  • After the cable is run through the walls or under the floor to the new location, finishing the job is usually just a matter of hooking up the wires to a new jack using the same color coding.
  • Running phone cable through finished walls uses many of the same techniques that are used for running electrical circuit cable, but the job is considerably easier since phone cable is quite small and flexible.

Safety Considerations

Telephone wires inside your home carry a very low-voltage electrical current and are generally quite safe to work on without shutting off the power. Only the phone company can shut off the power to the phone system. The most important safety measure when working with phone jack wiring is to never touch the wires if they're wet, if you have wet hands, or if you have to stand in water to reach the wires.

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What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • Wire strippers
  • Screwdrivers
  • Needle-nose pliers

Materials

  • Telephone jack
  • Wood screws or drywall screws

Instructions

How To Install a Phone Jack

Our project assumes the phone cable to the new jack location has already been installed.

Materials and tools to wire a telephone jack
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
  1. Strip the Outer Sheathing

    • Strip 2 to 3 inches of the outer sheathing from the phone cable, using wire strippers. An old-style four-wire cable can be stripped using the 10-gauge slot on the wire strippers.
    • Rotate the strippers as needed to cut all the way around the sheathing. Be careful not to cut into the insulated wires inside the cable.
    • Pull the cut piece of sheathing off of the end of the cable to expose the inner wires. 
    • If the phone cable has a pull cord inside that strips the sheathing when you pull it, start by stripping only a small amount of the sheathing using wire strippers.
    • Next, use the pull cord to cut back the sheathing 2 to 3 inches.
    • Trim off the portion of cut sheathing using the cutters on the strippers or using cutting pliers.
    Wire strippers stripping the outer sheathing of phone cable
    The Spruce / Kevin Norris
  2. Untwist and Strip the Individual Wires

    • Untwist the individual wires inside the cable from one another. 
    • Strip 1/2 to 3/4 inch of insulation from each wire that you need, using the 20- or 22-gauge slot on the wire strippers.
    • In many cases, you'll need to strip only two of the wires if you are installing a standard one-line residential phone line.
    • A second pair of wires is used if you are installing a second line, such as a second voice-phone line. 
    • Often the phone wire or Cat 3-5 wire can be stripped by squeezing the individual wire's insulation with needle nose pliers and moving the pliers toward the end of the wire and the insulation comes right off.
    • Then, identify the individual wires you'll be using.

    Old Four-Wire Cable

    • Line 1 (primary phone line): red and green
    • Line 2 (secondary line): black and yellow

    Cat-3 or Cat-5 Cable 

    • Line 1 (primary phone line): blue and white-with-blue-stripe 
    • Line 2 (secondary line): orange and white-with-orange-stripe
    Individual wires untwisted and insulation stripped with wire strippers

    The Spruce / Kevin Norris

  3. Install the Mounting Plate

    • Remove the cover from the front of the phone jack, exposing the mounting plate and mounting screw holes.
    • If the phone cable has been run inside the wall, thread it through the opening in the plate as you position the plate against the wall over the access hole.
    • If the phone cable is surface-mounted, such as onto the front of a baseboard, the cable typically is inserted through a notch in the side of the phone jack. 
    • Mount the plate to the wall, molding, or other structure, using a screwdriver and small wood screws or drywall screws
    • Some phone jacks may have self-adhesive strips for securing the plate to the wall, but if this type of jack also has screw openings, it is a good idea to reinforce the installation with screws. 
    Mounting plate secured to wall with screwdriver

    The Spruce / Kevin Norris

  4. Connect the Wires

    Connect the stripped wires from the phone cable to the corresponding screw terminals on the jack.

    Use the following color combinations of wires that go together for a phone jack (each jack terminal is identified by the color of the wire that is pre-attached to it).

    Old Four-Wire Cable 

    • Line 1 (primary phone line): red wire to red terminal; green wire to green terminal
    • Line 2 (secondary line): black wire to black terminal; yellow wire to yellow terminal

    Cat-3 or Cat-5 Cable 

    • Line 1 (primary phone line): blue wire to red terminal; white-with-blue-stripe wire to green terminal
    • Line 2 (secondary line): orange wire to yellow terminal; white-with-orange-stripe wire to black terminal 

    How to Make the Wire Connections

    • To make the wire connections, loosen each terminal screw with a screwdriver.
    • Wrap the bare copper end of the wire around the screw in a clockwise direction, using needle-nose pliers.
    • Tighten the screw to secure the wire.
    • The wire insulation should just touch the screw terminal and there should be no excess bare wire extending out from the screw.
    Stripped wires connected to screw terminals with screw driver

    The Spruce / Kevin Norris

  5. Reinstall the Cover

    • Reinstall the cover onto the jack's mounting plate. Some covers are secured with a screw; others simply snap into place.
    • Plug a phone into the jack to make sure the line is working properly. 
    Phone jack cover reinstalled by snapping into place

    The Spruce / Kevin Norris

When to Call a Professional

Some new construction houses or smart homes may not have phone jacks installed unless you request them. If your house does not have a phone jack and you do not want to install it yourself, contact your local phone company and they can assist you with phone jack installation service. Phone wire is low-voltage so you can also use an electrician for this type of service. Depending on where you live, the typical range for this service is $109 to $270 or higher for complex installations.

FAQ
  • What type of plug does a phone jack have?

    The two common types of phone jacks are called RJ-11 and RJ-45 (RJ means registered jack, a designation of the FCC). RJ-11 is a basic jack and is used for a single phone line and dial-up internet service. RJ-45 is slightly different in that it has larger bandwidth and is used for ethernet cables. Other types of phone jacks and plugs are available in different sizes and used as connectors for audio systems (such as amplifiers and speakers).

  • Where should I install my phone jack?

    You have the option of either a baseboard surface-mounted (for non-metal baseboards) or a wall-mounted jack in the room where you'll need the jack.

  • Do old phone jacks still work?

    If you still have an active telephone service for a landline, there may still be a small amount of electricity in the phone jack. The jack should be tested for power before working on it.

  • Do you still need phone jacks?

    You do not need a phone jack for cable, fiber, or satellite internet service. The only time you may need a phone jack to access the internet is if you have dial-up or combined phone and DSL (digital subscriber line) service. It isn't uncommon to still have these services available in rural areas. However, if you want to convert existing phone jacks to accept ethernet cables for a speedier internet connection, you may need the services of an electrician to have that done.

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  1. How Much Does It Cost To Have a Phone Jack Installed? HomeAdvisor.