Phone Jack USB Charger

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  • jsharmon7

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    I was at Walmart and found a USB charger that’s powered through your house’s telephone jack. It also has a micro-USB port. In the event of a power outage, you can power your phone or other devices while still having a phone line. It also doubles as a night light. I bought one, and it sure does work as advertised. We don’t have a landline, so it was wasted space. They’re in the electronics section marked as $8, but they ring up $4.
     

    JettaKnight

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    I was at Walmart and found a USB charger that’s powered through your house’s telephone jack. It also has a micro-USB port. In the event of a power outage, you can power your phone or other devices while still having a phone line. It also doubles as a night light. I bought one, and it sure does work as advertised. We don’t have a landline, so it was wasted space. They’re in the electronics section marked as $8, but they ring up $4.

    That can't be legal.

    If it's what I think it is, you're basically pulling electricity from the small voltage that's on the line for the telephones to indicate if you pick up the receiver. Connecting any other device to those lines is illegal, IIRC. And pulling current off them is tantamount to theft.

    Of course, as more and more phones go to fiber optics, the electricity on those lines isn't from the phone company - it's from your own house.
     

    DoggyDaddy

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    That can't be legal.

    If it's what I think it is, you're basically pulling electricity from the small voltage that's on the line for the telephones to indicate if you pick up the receiver. Connecting any other device to those lines is illegal, IIRC. And pulling current off them is tantamount to theft.

    Of course, as more and more phones go to fiber optics, the electricity on those lines isn't from the phone company - it's from your own house.

    With so many people (like me) that have VOIP service, but still have phone jacks (which I assumed were no longer working since I don't pay for regular landline service), how would it be illegal? If there is still power going to them, like you said, I would think it would be coming from the house power supply rather than the phone company. And if that is the case, if the house power goes out, then you're still SOL.
     
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    Cameramonkey

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    Dead product because it requires a POTS line. Seriously. Just like a muffin warmer you put on top of your table lampshade that uses the waste heat from the incandescent bulb to heat the muffin. What's that you say? They have pretty much stopped making those bulbs? Yep... about the same.

    https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...witched-telephone-network-moves-ahead-at-fcc/

    Older article, but gets right to the point quickly. There are alreadly carriers that are refusing to sell new service. POTS lines are going away. (POTS=Plain Old Telephone Service)

    ETA: I'll bet lunch in those places out west like Paradise, CA that totally burned to the ground, POTS infrastructure will not be rebuilt. The first city in a long list of many. I anticipate towns affected by hurricanes to follow suit if the damage is too severe. They'll rebuild wiring for DSL/Uverse, but wont put POTS voltage on those lines. (called a dry pair)
     

    bwframe

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    We're talking about the same Walmart that supports anti-gun organizations with the dollars we spend there, right? :dunno:
     

    fullmetaljesus

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    If the power on the phone jack came from your house power how would you expect them to work when the power went out?

    The power on phone lines comes from the phone company.
     

    jamil

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    Jul 17, 2011
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    I was at Walmart and found a USB charger that’s powered through your house’s telephone jack. It also has a micro-USB port. In the event of a power outage, you can power your phone or other devices while still having a phone line. It also doubles as a night light. I bought one, and it sure does work as advertised. We don’t have a landline, so it was wasted space. They’re in the electronics section marked as $8, but they ring up $4.

    Can you better explain your setup then? Do you have voip set up through your home's telephone wiring?
     

    10-32

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    I found one of these in Avon Walmart for $2 so I thought I'd give it shot. The one I found has a micro usb connection, a USB-A, and a place to plug a land line into. When I plugged it in, the nightlight/power failure light came on right away. I plugged my cell into it and it began charging. I do not have any type of service through my phone line and my internet comes in through the cable connection. To the best of my knowledge the phone line isn't connected to anything in my home.
     

    jsharmon7

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    Nov 24, 2008
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    I found one of these in Avon Walmart for $2 so I thought I'd give it shot. The one I found has a micro usb connection, a USB-A, and a place to plug a land line into. When I plugged it in, the nightlight/power failure light came on right away. I plugged my cell into it and it began charging. I do not have any type of service through my phone line and my internet comes in through the cable connection. To the best of my knowledge the phone line isn't connected to anything in my home.

    This is pretty much my setup.
     

    Cameramonkey

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    May 12, 2013
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    If your home had a POTS line in the last 10 to 15 years, you are likely still connected to the CO. Around that time the phone companies figured out it was cheaper to logically disconnect a phone line from the switching logic then to send out a technician to disconnect your pairs when turning off service.

    when they did that and somebody new moved in or the original resident decided to get service again, once again it was just a switch flip and it was live again. They didn’t have to pay for a truck roll to make it work again. Cheaper for them both directions.

    Thats why you may have voltage on the line even without a phone number.
     

    KJQ6945

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    If your home had a POTS line in the last 10 to 15 years, you are likely still connected to the CO. Around that time the phone companies figured out it was cheaper to logically disconnect a phone line from the switching logic then to send out a technician to disconnect your pairs when turning off service.

    when they did that and somebody new moved in or the original resident decided to get service again, once again it was just a switch flip and it was live again. They didn’t have to pay for a truck roll to make it work again. Cheaper for them both directions.

    Thats why you may have voltage on the line even without a phone number.

    This is mostly correct. Disconnects havent been done in the field, since party lines. There is no need, short of the house is to be demolished. Disconnects are handled at the switch, but that still leaves the customer with connected facilities (CF/CT). As long as they are still wired to the OE, they'll have battery still.

    The problem is, the OE's are being consolidated and removed from most central offices. Very few people have connected facilities these days.
     
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